Planet Bollywood
Kismat
 
Producer: Dhirajlal Shah
Director: Guddu Dhanoa
Starring: Bobby Deol, Priyanka Chopra, Kabir Bedi, Sanjay Navekar, Mohan Joshi, Smita Jaykar
Music: Anand Raaj Anand
Lyrics: Dev Kohli
Genre: Action
Recommended Audience: General
Film Released on: 13 February 2004
Reviewed by: Narbir Gosal  - Rating: 4.0 / 10
 
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Public Rating Average: 5.11 / 10 (rated by 410 viewers)
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It´s not clear why Guddu Dhanoa is still making films. His formulatic, mundane action ´thrillers´ are a decade too late, Guddu may have seen more fame had he been directing in the 80´s. Albeit Ziddi and Bichhoo did well at the box office, but ever since he hasn´t lived up to the hype. His latest, Kismat, is another routine masala flick with all the ingredients that you would expect from Guddu. The only difference is that instead of Sunny, Guddu got little brother Bobby to take over the angry man role, and along for the ride is Priyanka Chopra. Other than that everything else is the same, so here goes nothing...

Tony (Bobby Deol) was abandoned on a train as a child by his chacha and chachi. He quickly adapted to life on the streets and we presume he grew up doing dirty deeds. As an adult he´s basically getting paid to threaten people into doing things against their will. Along with his friend (Sanjay Navekar) he goes to a show after a hard days work and is introduced to Sapna (Priyanka Chopra), a rising singer. He wants to marry Sapna but she´s already been promised to some doctor protégée of her father (Mohan Joshi). Tony decides to make more money to woo Sapna and in the process he ends up unknowingly threatening Sapna´s father into signing a contract. The contract allows for old vaccines to be released onto the market, which results in a few dead children. Sapna´s life is ruined; her father is in jail, her mother (Smita Jaykar) commits suicide, the family is publicly ostracized and her engagement is called off. When Tony realizes what he has done, he decides it´s time to make things right, and he goes after the man behind the whole conspiracy (Kabir Bedi). Will Sapna´s father be brought to justice? Will Tony win the battle? Will Sapna forgive him? Do we care?


So where do I begin? Well the story speaks for itself, like I said had this film been released in the 80´s it would have run for a year! But these days Bollywood is changing, and that´s a good thing. Kismat is a completely typical film. Guddu Dhanoa´s direction is the same old thing. If you´ve seen Salaakhen or  Ziddi , you´ve seen this one too! There is nothing new or fresh in the camera movements or angles. The progression of the story is predictable. There are a few action sequences which may mildly interest you, but in the end it´s a lot of exploding cars, broken glass and dead bodies. Cinematography, background score, dialogue etc. everything is pretty lame. Anand Raaj Anand´s music is more of a liability than an asset really. He mangles three or four old punjabi folks tunes and remixes them for Priyanka to dance to, and they aren´t really fun to watch either.

Performances are equally lackluster. Bobby Deol looks angry which is good since the roles calls for it, and he does his action sequences with ease, but it´s nothing impressive. It´s a role Sunny Deol would have done, it´s just Bobby this time. Priyanka Chopra is the decoration piece literally. She looks really nice all dolled up, and makes do with the few emotive scenes. The girl really does have potential, but films like these are a no-no if you want your career to progress. The supporting cast is functional for the most part. Mohan Joshi does the crazy wrongly accused man bit with a little too much enthusiasm. Smita Jaykar easily fits into the worried housewife role. Kabir Bedi pulls off the villain with style. Sanjay Navekar is good, his comedy stands out in a boring film.


Kismat has already been forgotten, it´s no surprise why. Guddu Dhanoa has lost his ´charm´, films like Kismat don´t stand a chance in today´s Bollywood. The industry is going through a revolution and it would be nice if Guddu caught up. Kismat has absolutely no redeeming factors, and while the movie is watchable, you will forget it within days. If you must watch it, then rent the DVD.

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