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Karam

By Taran Adarsh, March 11th, 2005 - 1745 hrs IST


Do accomplished cinematographers make excellent story tellers? Can they narrate a story with flourish in those two hours when seated in the director's chair?

Well, they do deliver sometimes. But, at times, they miss the target. When a cinematographer narrates a tale, be assured of picture perfect frames. But there's more to a film than astounding visuals.

Sanjay F. Gupta's directorial debut KARAM suffers on these grounds. The film has a hackneyed plot [screenplay: Suparn Verma] and though Gupta compensates it with style and panache, the film lacks the power to keep you hooked as it unfolds.

Very frankly, KARAM is akin to a mannequin. You admire it for all its dressings, but you cannot overlook the fact that it lacks life.

John [John Abraham] is an assassin who works for mob boss Captain [Bharat Dabholkar].

One fateful day, John ends up massacring an entire family. As he stares into the eyes of the little girl, whose life is slowly ebbing away from her, realization hits John and he decides to quit and start life afresh, sans bloodshed, with his wife Shalini [Priyanka Chopra].

Captain is facing a major threat from a rival don Yunus [Vishwajeet Pradhan] and after an attack on his life, he decides to retaliate. Captain wants to kill the city's top industrialist, top film producer, the cop backing Yunus and lastly, Yunus himself. His strategy: Set a precedent so that everyone else toes the line and no one dreams of becoming another Yunus.

But to execute this plan, Captain needs the help of his ace assassin - John. One man who can make this audacious plan work, but he is one man who has sworn never to pick up his gun again.

Captain takes John's love, his wife, away from him and holds her hostage; in return, he has to kill the five targets in the next 36 hours. From this point on, John plots, double crosses and triple crosses everyone. Friends turn foes and the body count begins to grow.

On John's trail is Mumbai's tough cop Wagh [Shiney Ahuja]. In a game of cat and mouse, John tries to fight the forces of nature and cut loose from the masters of puppets.

Gangsters and the underworld rivalries are subjects that have been tackled a zillion times in Bollywood. KARAM falters primarily in this sphere. With not much clay on hand, debutante director Sanjay F. Gupta dares to attempt a work of art that tries to be different. But the sad part is, the film constantly gives you the feeling of déjà vu.

For any high-octaine thriller to leave a mark, it ought to be embellished with nail-biting moments, but that razor sharp impact is clearly missing in KARAM. After a reasonably impressive start, the screenplay meanders in the same lane that the viewer has visited umpteen times earlier.

A major flaw of the film, in fact two flaws, is the way the film has been shot and its slow narrative. In fact, you constantly feel that Gupta has made a Hollywoodish film in the garb of a Hindi film. One wonders why the director has gone overboard in filming the scenes in sepia and tint effects.

Besides, the slow narrative is another deterrent. The story unfolds at a weary and lackluster pace, with boredom seeping in soon after it has taken off. Even the pre-climax and climax have been stretched unnecessarily.

Yes, there are a few well executed sequences. Sequences that do leave an impact. Like, the murder at the start of the film keeps you spellbound. Also, the interaction [dialogue] between John and Priyanka in the post-interval portions [Priyanka's finger has been cut] is another sequence that stands out. But a handful of deft strokes aren't enough to camouflage the defects. For a thriller, the script has to be taut and the screenplay ever crisper and sharper. But KARAM piggybacks on trite situations.

Director Sanjay F. Gupta has mounted the film well, but the film will be remembered more as a stylish fare than a gripping fare. As a director, the emotional moments between John and Priyanka seem superficial. Music [Vishal-Shekhar] gets no scope in a film like this. Yet, 'Tinka Tinka' is the only track that seems decent. The track in B & W, 'Tera Hi Karam', should be deleted for it only acts as a speed breaker.

Cinematography is in keeping with the mood of the film. Action scenes seem repetitive, especially the 'Matrix' kind of stunts. But the one in the bank seems innovative and is well implemented.

John Abraham makes a sincere effort to live his role and he succeeds largely. The extremely talented actor seems to be taking giant strides with every film. Priyanka Chopra is quite effective.

Bharat Dabholkar seems more convincing than his earlier film outings [PAAGALPAN, GOD ONLY KNOWS]. Shiny Ahuja suffers due to a sketchy characterization. He is okay nonetheless. Vishwajeet Pradhan is passable. Murali Sharma is efficient. Rajesh Khera is adequate. Anjan Shrivastava is wasted.

On the whole, KARAM is all gloss, no substance. At the box-office, its rejection is foreseeable.
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