Kalank Review - A Beautiful Film That Hinges on Varun Dhawan.

The only way I could view Kalank having sat through it is the product of Imtiaz Ali and Sanjay Bhansali’s school of filmmaking. The two’s films deal with overwrought messiness of relationships and opulence, respectively. But, Kalank isn’t a film by either of these two. Instead, we have 2 States director Abhishek Varman at the helm, and here, he’s an odd fit. Varman lacks the characteristic madness or poetry that Ali and Bhansali have. His filmmaking is largely stale, overly reliant on a faulty script, and remains wholly superficial. Kalank just proves to be too much for a filmmaker whose last venture barely served as passable popcorn entertainment.

It doesn’t help that the talent on screen, usually fantastic actors, are grossly inept. The only two actors that make an impact here are Varun Dhawan as Zafar and Kunal Khemu as Abdul. Zafar is the messiest character of the lot. His intentions are misguided, but the script, penned by Hussain Dalal, makes you slowly fall in love with him. His chiseled exterior is only a facade, and it’s Roop (Alia Bhatt)’s job to uncover the mound. Varun has a special fire burning within him. He’s both raw and cracked at the same time. Kalank soars because his restrained emotions hide a lifetime of pain.

Kunal is also the surprise wild card here. Abdul is grossly underwritten and supremely one-note. He orchestrates mass attacks, is shown as a villain for the most part and threatens men by speaking in metaphors - “Jis aag ko humne phook di thi na, usi aag se ye poora sheher jala dunga.” He exclaims in a key scene. But, we buy it, because the anger in Kunal’s eyes reflect a longing for more. His job isn’t particularly hard to do, but he manages to pull it off, while giving you a villain to care about, even if the script doesn’t have that intention in mind.

The film’s plot is so convoluted, in fact, that I had no idea if we were watching six different films until the second half. The storylines run parallel, so when they finally converge, they congregate in a tangled mess, that ultimately forms the larger portion of the second half. The six characters - Roop, Zafar, Dev (Aditya Roy Kapur), Satya (Sonakshi Sinha), Balraj (Sanjay Dutt) and Bahaar Begum (Madhuri Dixit) have interesting arcs. Roop agrees to a marriage of convenience, because she’s noble. Dev and Satya are happily married, but here, she’s the second wife. In the fictional city of Husnabad’s red light district, Hira Mandi, Zafar works as a welder, whose dirty digs are overlooked by Bahaar Begum’s ‘kotha’ whose palatial interiors would give even the mighty Shaniwar Wada from Bajirao Mastani a complex.

Bahaar Begum is honestly the most interesting character here. She’s soaked in greed, lust, wanting and betrayal, but the script never portrays her as a classic Hindi cinema ‘vamp’. Smartly, Madhuri underplays her. She always has an erect posture and a gracious visage. It’s nice to see her back to dancing as a courtesan in well-lit scenes, you’ll remember Devdas. The first half of Kalank is nicely done. The songs Ghar More Pardesiya and Rajvaadi Odhni help in colouring cinematographer Binod Pradhan’s delicious frames. The textures here are artificial, but the feelings look and feel real and raw, so we buy into it.

Yes, the storylines run parallel and sometimes confuse the hell out of you, but each character is enveloped with a morose cloud, one that threatens to engulf the film they inhabit. Because in the second half, Kalank just breaks down. The story becomes convoluted and loses any promise of a spark. Abhishek’s jaded characters turn cardboard, especially after a key reveal that is supposed to shock you, but I saw coming a mile away. That is the problem with Kalank. We’ve heard about this story for close to 15 years, so high-octane melodrama can’t have aged very well over that time.

As a result, Kalank is overly simplistic and predictable. The emotions that may have worked in moderation in the late 90s and early 2000s, do not have any place in Hindi cinema today. But, I suspect Kalank is the most visually sumptuous film you’ll see. Historically, it’s grossly inept - the songs First Class and Aira Gaira are a testament to that. Also trust producer Karan Johar to make a 1940s news organisation look like a hip, urbane, chic New York cafe. But, Abhishek does try his damn best to texture this narrative, and especially in that stunning climax, it works.

Sonakshi Sinha and Sanjay Dutt are wasted here. Sonakshi is given an impossible role to play, she has to be the devoted wife who actually finds her husband a second one. How is this piety viable in 2019? She does well in the limited screen time she has, and plays in more of an extended cameo. But, the always reliable Sanju is stiff and uncomfortable. His scenes lack gravitas or any emotion really. Aditya Roy Kapur has a one-note character. Dev is noble. Even though a second-half twist involving a sex scene does change the trajectory of his character, it’s honestly too little too late.

Varun, Madhuri and Kunal are the best things about Kalank. Their eyes hide lifetimes of pain. Even Binod’s loving frames can’t spare them from the trauma of their surroundings. Bahaar Begum is honestly a blatant ripoff of Chandramukhi from Devdas, but you buy it, because Madhuri is that spectacular.

The weakest part of this ensemble is Alia. She’s a fabulous actor and in that rousing climax, she’s brilliant. But Roop is just so dull a character and so one-note, that she has no shades. We never see her do anything throughout the film. She lacks spunk of better characters from other period dramas, like Kashibai from Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Rani Lakshmibai from Manikarnika (2019). She’s neither fierce nor coquettish, and hence, comes off as a damp squib.

But, through its overwrought messiness, I suggest you watch Kalank. There’s too much passion on display for you to miss it.