- Movie Name:Ki and Ka
- Critics Rating: 2.5 / 5
- Release Date: April 1, 2016
- Director: R. Balki
- Genre: Romance
Director R.Balki is known for his penchant for subjects others fear to tread into. In his latest offing, Balki turns the tables and aims at busting the gender stereotype.
Ki and Ka revolves around Kabir, a billionaire’s son who believes homemaking is nothing short of an art. Kabir wants to be like his mother and has a restrained relationship with his father due to the latter’s chauvinist nature. Kia, on the other hand, is a highly ambitious girl who quickly wants to climb the corporate ladder.
Ki and Ka run into each other in a plane, Kia gets attracted by Kabir’s thought process and starts dating Kabir who keeps enlightening her with his philosophies of gender equality. Knowing that they are perfectly suited for each other, the couple get hitched.
While Ka cooks, cleans and supports her from home, his wife Kia climbs the success ladder and becomes the VP in her company and supports him financially. So far so good. The plot thickens when her homemaker husband gets famous for his unique ways; and Kia gets extremely insecure and jealous.
In many ways, Ki and Ka derives a lot from Hrishkesh Mukherjee’s classic Abhimaan; albeit the gender roles are reversed here. The concept works, especially at a time when there is a griwing clamour in society for gender equality and putting an end to stereotypes. The film intends to take a progressive position on man-woman relationships
What fails Ki and Ka is its over-emphasis on melodrama. The film fails to bank on its fresh idea, as it turns itself into another mundane affair. The quirkiness which was in abundance in the first half, disappears later.
After suspecting a pregnancy, Kia takes multiple URT test with 4-2 negative results and reaches a logical conclusion that she has not conceived, instead of seeing a gynaecologist, sans realism. The interiors of Kia and Kabir's house may seem a bit overdone but will definitely make you yearn for a home of the sort.
The film also has a scene that makes an indirect reference to the Dec 16 Delhi gangrape case, where goons in the bus make crude gestures at Ki and get thrashed by the otherwise cool Kabir. There are other aspects too where the films loses its grip on reality.
Watching Arjun Kapoor wheeling his trike somewhere in Purani Delhi with non-existent traffic makes us wonder whether it was Delhi of the 21st century or the bygone Mughal era.
Moreover, the characters too lack shades that connect them with the realms of realism – something that Balki should have strived at given the subject. Arjun Kapoor has been shown way too cool than it’s possible in real life. His acting seems lazy in parts at times and his expressions look single dimensional.
Kareena looks stunning as she aptly gels into a role tailor made for her; she has effectively portrayed a character which gradually sinks into its own moroseness. Also, her unexpected outburst throughout the film seemed unnecessary and was a letdown.
Rajit Kapoor, playing Kabir’s grumpy father, is wasted in the film while Swaroop Sampat ( Kia’s mother) complements the film with her endearing performance.
The film’s concept is very interesting, though not completely non-existent in the society – there are male homemakers in India. Sadly though, the film’s plot gets lost in its execution.
