REVIEW: Khoya Khoya Chand

Here comes yet another film about vintage Bollywood, sigh.

What's it about: This week's release Khoya Khoya Chand revolves around a background dancer Nikhat (Soha Ali han) who is ready to make all compromises to become a star. Impressed by her 'talents', superstar Prem Kumar (Rajat Kapoor) decides to give her a break by launching her as his latest discovery. But Prem, a man of many relationships, breaks her heart by getting married to an outsider. Nikhat finds a shoulder to cry on in Zafar (Shiney Ahuja) – a struggling writer looking for a chance in Prem's film. Zafar and Nikhat have a passionate affair that doesn't remain a secret for long. But despite being in love with Zafar, Nikhat chooses to follow her dreams and allows herself to be exploited by industry big shots like Prem. Zafar too pursues his own directorial debut but fails and goes into a life of anonymity. What happens then, forms the plot of KKC.

What we liked:The '50s setting is genuinely unique and director Sudhir Mishra has successfully captured the feel of a film set. The chaos, the language, the characters, everything is vintage Bollywood.

Rajat Kapoor is the scene-stealer and looks every bit the arrogant superstar he plays. Ditto for Saurabh Shukla and Vinay Pathak who do complete justice to their roles as the Punjabi producer and shrewd secretary respectively.

Soha looks good in her sarees and has a graceful screen presence. Her performance too is quite sincere, but it doesn't have the impact, thanks to a confused characterisation.

What we didn't like: The film does not really have a story. Most of the movie is about how Bollywood functions and the process of shooting a film, with bits of the plot thrown in. It's only in the last 30 minutes that the focus suddenly shifts on the Shiney-Soha love story, to become a case of too many twists too soon. You don't really feel for the two because their love gets lost in the overwritten plot.

Mishra also introduces too many sub-plots about Zafar and Nikhat's disturbed childhood and the troubled relationship they had with their parents, Prem's married life, Vinay Pathak's feelings for Soha, Zafar's lust or another actress and many such tracks that are left undeveloped in the end.

The director clearly loves his story and wants to convey the emotional side of movie star scandals. Perhaps the viewer just wants to watch a gripping story. So sequences where the director tries to blend the scenes being shot with the actual feelings of the characters end up confusing at times. They also add to the length of the film, blame it on symbolism.And not to forget the songs, which crop up every five minutes, diluting the impact of an otherwise hummable soundtrack.

Shiney Ahuja looks disinterested mouthing away complicated lines monotonously. His droopy eyes and 'Lucknawi shayarana' are reminiscent of Mishra.

KKC is well-intentioned; but you don't know whether it is about making movies or the troubled personal life of a female superstar. It's an inconsistent film, saved to a certain extent by some
natural performances.

We Recommend: Don't go with expectations and you might not be too disappointed.

Rating: 2/5