The writing is lucid, literate, luminous and funny. It doesn't falter.
To go back to the beginning, post 1947, a Pakistani soldier played by Vijay Raaz strays into Indian territory and gets embroiled in a bitter-sweet verbal-physical duel with an Indian soldier. In a film such this where the dialogue between two characters sustains and nurtures the under-nourished drama, it is acutely imperative that the two central performances and the dialogues are perfectly cooked, crisp crunchy and easily digestible.
On both the counts, KDKD emerges trumps. Manu Rishi has not only written the dialogues, he has also played one of the two protagonists, the Indian soldier, if you must know. And what a fine job Manu has done in both the departments. The verbal sparring between the two soldiers could have easily lapsed into cheap name-calling between the two sides. Eschewing every provocation to get nasty, the dialogues take digs at India-Pakistan differences without losing their basic sense of humour.
Sample this: "Your watch says it's 7 p.m. when ours says it's 6.30 p.m. You people will always be behind us."
Well, ha ha. And Ahem. KDKL makes us uncomfortable without pointing accusing fingers at either side. As a director Vijay Raaz, is not in search of solutions to the age-old cross-border conflicts. There is a deliberate staginess to the proceedings, a pronounced verbosity that never gets cumbersome, because, like I said, the writing has a distinct and distinctive 'quoting' edge without getting show-offy.
