Movie Review: Kapoor & Sons
Human beings are complex creatures. Even when we can tell the difference between wrong and right, we tend to accommodate bad decisions. Even though we feel a sense of love and respect towards our kin every day, we tend not to express it. Brushing things under the carpet comes naturally to us. Which is why endurance plays a big part in the success of families in our culture. More so, in India. Such are the themes at work in Shakun Batra’s Kapoor & Sons. The content of this film isn’t just good; it’s relevant enough to overcome its minor flaws.
It might have the right ideas and the emotional maturity that’s rare in Hindi films, but it doesn’t take the best path at telling the story. It’s a minor grouse, simply a technical nitpick at the art of filmmaking. Some of director Shakun Batra’s decisions with the screenplay are just too formulaic. If you’ve seen enough films you’ll second guess when something bad is about to happen in Kapoor & Sons. Most of all, you’ll mildly scoff at the idea of it raining during an emotional scene of conflict. But this treatment doesn’t rob the film of its heart. Kapoor & Sons is an honest effort at portraying relationships and family dysfunctions. Family flaws are sort of a neglected topic in India, just like depression. Nobody talks about it. So when you see two brothers and their parents go through a series of bad decisions and their emotional repercussions you can only draw parallels to real-life experiences. It’s like Kapoor & Sons recreates a reality and it does so with deftness and authenticity.
Director / writer Shakun Batra and his co-writer Ayesha Devitre Dhillon are the true heroes of this film. Their story, their dialogue and some of the situations they’ve created add depth to the movie. Some moments in the movie are so brilliant they’ll choke you out. The story deals with a Kapoor family based in Coonoor, a hill station in Tamil Nadu. You’ve got two brothers Rahul (Fawad Khan) and Arjun (Sidharth Malhotra), their parents Harsh (Rajat Kapoor) and Sunita (Ratna Pathak Shah) and their spirited grandfather (Rishi Kapoor). The Kapoors are colourful people but as a family unit they’ve got a lot of skeletons in the closet. The drama, the conflicts and the love of this family makes Kapoor & Sons a compelling watch.
The credit goes to performances that aren’t just great, they’re phenomenal. The leads, Sidharth Malhotra, Fawad Khan and Alia Bhatt are spectacular. Sidharth and Fawad showcase great chemistry as brothers. Their scenes together are casual and effortless, just like the rapport between siblings. Sidharth delivers a strong and rightly nuanced performance. He plays the underappreciated sibling with shades of persecution complex to great effect. Fawad on the other hand plays the apple-of-everyone’s-eye character with verve. And just when you think he’s great, he opens the Pandora’s box and unleashes a tsunami of talent. His control and finesse at acting is jaw dropping. Same goes for Alia Bhatt. Even though her character isn’t as prominent as the Kapoor brothers, in just a few scenes she does enough to bowl you over.
The supporting cast hits a few home runs as well. Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah are both in top form. But the show stealer is Rishi Kapoor, acting under prosthetics and heavy makeup, he lets his eyes do the talking and his senile but colourful act makes you laugh and cry. The acting in Kapoor & Sons is truly its strength.
Going back to Shakun Batra’s decisions, even though Kapoor & Sons is a better film than his previous offering Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, it still has grey areas. The music in his latter film by Amit Trivedi was a better choice than the creations of Badshah and co. Also the cinematography and editing in Kapoor & Sons is not up to the quality of his first film either. Thankfully the average choices don’t reflect on the content, which drives the film.
All said and done, there’s no way on earth you should miss this movie. It will be a tough order for any film this year to be as good as Kapoor & Sons. This film about families and relationships will make you want to give your loved ones a big hug. Such films are rare. They give you a piece of your own life, wrapped in meaning and clarity.
