Movie Review: Kapoor & Sons Is Rib-Tickling and Un-Bollywood-Like
Go for it with full parivaar and you won’t regret it.
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Out of all the people sent covertly or overtly to our country by our dear neighbour, Fawad Khan is clearly our favourite! And while yours truly takes her work of reviewing films very seriously and promises to be discerning and judicious about her views on this week’s newest release Kapoor & Sons, she admits to having been intermittently distracted by Fawad ‘oh so good looking’ Khan’s ‘oh so gorgeous’ face! She is, after all, only human and he looks nothing short of divine!
It’s Visually Rich
Kapoor & Sons is visually rich but this beauty isn’t skin deep, fortunately. As we delve deeper into their lives, we get to know the characters better as they try to navigate life with the various skeletons in their closet. We soon realise that while for producer Karan Johar, the “it’s all about loving your family” motif has a major role to play, the treatment is refreshing and very un-Bollywood like.
Director Shakun Batra, who has written the script along with Ayesha DeVitre Dhillon, has weaved together a story with some delightfully flawed characters. The action revolves around nonagenarian Mr Kapoor played by Rishi Kapoor, in a heavily wrinkled avatar, and his not-so-happy family. A perfect family picture is what dadaji wants but a lot of soul searching and conflict resolution must happen before that elusive click!
Alia is Perfect in Her Role
The performances lend the film an effervescent charm! Be it Ratna Pathak and Rajat Kapoor as parents who try hard to cover the cracks in their relationships, or Sidharth Malhotra and Fawad Khan who keep the sibling rivalry enticingly real. Alia Bhatt is her usual pretty self who rocks the “Ladki Beautiful” song and is perfect in her role. But the one to completely win us over is the quirky and lovable Rishi Kapoor. In his interactions with his grandchildren and his love for his favourite toy – an iPad – dadaji has all our love!
At 140 mins, the film may seem a little too long but the nuanced writing ensures we don’t complain much.
The first half is rib-tickling and super fun while the real action in the form of plot twists awaits us in the second half. Go for it with full parivaar and you won’t regret it. I’ll give it 4.5 QUINTS OUT OF 5.
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