Ki & Ka - it is not about gender equality

Ki & Ka…I go Balki wah wah!! What is so different about a Balki directed movie is purely the “smoothness” in the script. He has no jolts and bolts for you, despite addressing very serious issues on gender, old age, relationships, diseases, etc. The dramatization of the script is kept at a realistic level with every detail well thought through. I think it is most difficult to classify a Balki film for being commercial or parallel, but truly it is a work of art. Briefly, Ki & Ka is a romance, drama, comedy and a new age film

   Ki & Ka  starts off as a story about exchange of gender roles, or rather exchange of widely accepted gender roles i.e- man is a breadwinner and the woman runs the house. Arjun Kapoor is a lucky lucky fella, this macho man has the best personality combo of emotional vulnerability and masculinity and no better fit for this role (Kabir- Ka) or his role in Finding Fanny . Though, largely one could credit the astounding dialogues given to him to render, am still sure this chap has done his homework before the shoots really well or he is truly just natural.  Kia, had to be Kareena. – as strong and sassy as Kareena herself comes across. I will specially also credit Manish Malhotra this time to add on to the necessary externals to Kia’s character- A corporate wardrobe that practically means business and nothing else. Yes! When an actress is playing a corporate honcho she better NOT look ready to go to a nightclub, a common faux pas in most Indian movies. It was delightful to see the talented Swaroop Sampat onscreen after ages, as a kid she was my “yeh jo hai zindagi wali funny aunty” and plays the role of Kia’s mom. Not just the dialogues but the lyrics of the songs in this movie have depth.

By the end of the movie, you realise that the movie is  truly NOT about gender equality, nor does it push you to accept the exchange in gender roles. Well yes! it addresses all these, but what it really focuses is on how ego plays up in human nature and can take a toll on relationships, irrespective of gender. A person can feel as victimized or as insecure but that is ego-driven too. It’s a story that ends well, leaving a message that you have to understand your ego driven reactions first, than judging another to keep a relationship going.

With a very special place in my heart for Mr. Balki and Mr. Maniratnam, you make the south proud. Your work speaks for you and the culture you come from – dignified, modest, understated, to the point, visionary, global practical etc, etc, etc and visually spectacular -kudos! 

The Intern, Turned out Pretty good!

Pic Source: IMDB

I have obviously loved this movie so much that I couldn’t wait to drive back home and start writing about it. This workplace comedy is a must watch, with a very strong script and excellent actors. The fact that Nancy Meyers also has scripted this movie was of no surprise; her direction has no gaps in the onscreen visual interpretation.  The casting of the movie couldn’t have been better, with Robert De Niro who is surely an actor par excellence and Anne Hathaway is indispensable too, although she had apparently replaced Reese Witherspoon, who was originally casted to play her role.

Robert De Niro must have this particular role close to his heart, with his own popular quote “You'll have time to rest when you're dead”; he plays the role of Ben Whittaker a widowed, retired 70yr old ex VP of a company who is looking to make his boring life more meaningful. Ben lands an internship at an e-commerce startup run by Jules Ostin(Anne Hathaway) under a senior internship program. The character of Jules is that of a perfectionist feminist CEO who is trying hard to run her company on one hand and keeping her family together on the other.

The story highlights the passion for work of the two central characters of the movie and beautifully showcases nuances of work cultures of two different generations. I must add here, there is a bit of the exaggeration though, depicting an overly glamorous startup setup (or maybe I am jealous, everyones' got a MAC, including interns), however, this bit is innocuous to the central theme of the movie. It is refreshing to a watch a movie that has no unnecessary infusion of romance, the relationship between Ben and Jules is that of two people who have similar values. Ben finds his purpose by helping Jules center/ balance her life and achieve her goals without sacrificing her passion.

The  comical plots of this movie are hilarious, especially the one where Ben and a group of interns housebreak in to Jules mom’s house to delete an email from her computer. The secondary characters of this movie are well characterized and give you many laughs and awws!.The funny feminist comments and dialogues of Jules took my heart away. I must mention, this movie wasn’t patriotic, or had an heroic ending, yet there was a huge applause from the audience as the movie ended. Truly well made!