If there is one thing that Sanjay Gadhvi gets right in Kidnap, it is the casting. By making Vidya Malavade play Minissha Lamba's mother, Gadhvi (inadvertently perhaps) manages to appease the small but growing tribe of men who drool over older women. Being part of this clan, I had to try real hard not to hoot each time the always-in-control (oh don't we like 'em that way!) Vidya came on the screen. Dressed in stylish figure-hugging formals, Vidya was the one we were cheering for in Kidnap.
In fact, if Gadhvi had made Imran Khan's character abduct Vidya instead of Minissha Lamba, there would have been much more to look forward to in the film. Think of it – a sexy divorcee trapped in a lonely house by the beach with a boy who seems straight out of college… not a bad idea for a path-breaking Bollywood film, huh?
But Sanjay Gadhvi harbours no Oedipal complex. He chooses Minissha Lamba instead. Minissha plays a 17-year-old (and almost always) scantily clad girl, Sonia, whose parents are divorced. And even though her mother Mallika (Vidya Malavade) has given her all the material comforts, she's never managed to take the place of her divorced husband, Vikrant Raina (Sanjay Dutt).
One fine morning, an adamant Sonia insists on seeing her father and an argument with her mother follows. She storms out of the house and the next thing we know is that she's been kidnapped. The kidnapper, Kabir, (Imran Khan) has an old score to settle with her father and makes him run all over the country to get his daughter back. The drama that lasts over five days changes the lives of the two men forever.
Skin, sin and the chase
Needless to say the running around is amply interspersed with skin show (Minissha wears a bikini in this one if you don't already know) and songs. But through it all you cannot help but wonder just what is the point of this cat-and-mouse game after all. When you think of it, in the end there is a scene where the two rivals (Dutt and Khan) come face to face and try to convey it.
Probably it's something to do with Gandhi Jayanti and the 'Love all and find peace' sentiment that will prevail at least over the weekend that follows. But honestly, I'm not sure I get it.
Performances, some hot, some cold
The track of Minissha Lamba, the hottie who is trapped in a house makes you raise your eyebrows. How, for instance, does she manage to get all the sexy clothes in the hellhole, is a mystery that Gadhvi could probably explore in his next film. It can ensure two things – that Kidnap (like Dhoom) gets a sequel. And Minissha Lamba has some time to prepare by joining some acting class.
Imran Khan, for most part, does a fairly convincing job. Playing the boy-man with a troubled past, he remains honest to the character. However, towards the end you cannot help but wish for his character to have been slightly better fleshed out.
Sanjay Dutt too leaves his mark. He plays an arrogant industrialist who finds himself at the receiving end of a kidnapper's game.
What works, what doesn't
What works in this film are the locations. With breathtaking shots of some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Kidnap, it must be said, has been quite well shot. Also executed interestingly are some of the action sequences. Of course, they are far fetched at certain points but then again what the hell, many of us watch Bollywood films not so much to embrace reality as much as to escape from it.
The dialogues are penned in a style that makes you wonder whether to laugh or cry hearing some of them.
Sample this: It has been years since Sanjay Dutt's character met his daughter. Evidently, the little one is… er… not-so-small anymore. So when she's standing before him (scantily clad as always) the father says something to the effect of, "Tum kitni…" and takes a pregnant pause that has the auditorium in splits. After what seems like eternity he says again, "I don't know what to say!"
For once we seem to empathise with him. Really Sanju baba, we don't know what to say.
Verdict:
For those who don't mind going through anything for Imran Khan, it's a movie to watch out for. For the rest, go watch Flashbacks of a Fool.
Rating: 2/5
Bollywood n buzz will be back with its box office colletion.
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