Bollywood is really coming to age. The target audience has changed and so has changed the way film industry looked at various subjects. The Indian Diaspora scattered all over the world has become a potential market and even if a film does not do well at the box office, chances are that it will fetch enough money worldwide to bring shine on the filmmaker's face. Add music rights, satellite rights and others in film promotions; a small budget film is never a risky project. The trend moves on with this week's release 'Kiss Kis Ko'. Though coined to attract the viewers the film's title has done more harm than a gain for this film loaded with all fresh faces not only on screen but behind the camera too. Last week's release 'Kis Kiski Kismat' because of its bad performance made a wrong impact on the prospects of this film too.
The similarity in the names of the two films though both have no relation with each other have cost a lot to this week's release too. The film also makes a history by associating the Indonesian media with Bollywood. Bali TV has been actively involved in this project. And yet another feather in this film's cap is that it is the first Indian film to have a Band of Boys as its lead players. The film has a new director Sharad Saran, a new producer Raam Punjabi, a new writer Pankaj Kapoor and a new heroine Bhumika Puri! All this brings a lot of color to the film that is mainly aimed at teenagers and college going generation. The film is very beautifully shot and has some good music too. The only minus point is that it does not gel with the masses and has a very limited viewer appeal.
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Sudhanshu Pandey, Chintu Bhosle, Siddharth Haldipur, Karan Oberoi and Sherrin Varghese, the famous five of Band Of Boys make their debut on silver screen in their original avatar in 'Kiss Kis Ko'. These boys play their real life on reel, and most of the scenes seem to have come from their original encounters in life. All the boys want to make it big on the music scene and swear to remain united, come what may. Their manager B.D. (Aly Khan) works overtime (?) to get them work and the boys work very hard too from pubs to bars to break even. But, the fame and money is still eluding them. The gang of five is as uncommon among themselves as are the five fingers in one hand. Their habits differ a lot but their tastes for girls make the story take an interesting turn. It all starts with one of the boys of the band.
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He gets a letter written with love and passion (you can add blood to that if it does not look gory). The writer is none other than a girl who is crazy about Siddharth. The boys in turn do not feel the love for the girl and try to make a fool of her. The girl is hurt. And it is here when heroine Riya (Bhumika Puri) sets her eyes on the band of five. She is out to teach all of them a lesson and befriend all of them though one by one. Everyone among them dreams about this sensuous girl . Incidents happen all around; left, right and center. An interesting narration to watch. But, as soon the balloon is about to fly in the open sky, the unwanted twist in the story comes like the nine pins falling apart.
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It is not an easy thing to try a radical and very different thing in Bollywood. When a new producer like Ram Punjabi makes a dent on the stereotype, his efforts need to be appreciated. Ram Punjabi may not be aware of the nature of the Bollywood market in different parts of the country but his intention seems to be honest. He has made a film that looks like a dream being transformed into a film on screen. The treatment of the film is more like a musical video with a story. Even most of the songs picturzed have got a good treatment. Director Sharad Saran's approach and his viewpoint has been very clear from the very first frame.
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He sets eyes on the frame first and the props later on. Having got good assistance from the cameraman, Sharad Saran leaves his impression as a budding director who can handle various kind of emotions in a single film. His style of narration is also different from many new technicians. Sharad Saran has been lucky to get a creative writer in Pankaj Kapoor. After learning good lessons and leaving behind critics, this duo can set on a very bright sojourn in days to come. The competition (challenge here comes from Raj Jutshi and his protégé Aparna Kumar) should have been taken care of a bit early in the screen play and that would have also saved the day for the film.
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Coming back to the performances of the cast, Sudhanshu undoubtedly emerges as the winner. The rest of the team just tries to bring in more and more energy. Many on the stage have noticed their chemistry; they prove to be good buddies. Their quarrels over a girl bring in a lot of humor during the progression of the story. The film does falter at many points and songs come as a hindrance, but the flow remains normal till the end. The poor publicity planning coupled with no promotion of music on the channels has cast its bad effect on the opening of the film. The film has a metro appeal and will be able to get to the viewers in multiplexes mainly.
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