Kidnap (Movie Review)

After “Dhoom” and “Dhoom 2”, director Sanjay Gadhvi’s latest film could have been titled Doom, such is the unpleasantness of experiencing it. With two mega hits behind him and two A-list actors with him, it’s hard to understand how the filmmaker got his act so wrong.

Billed as an action thriller, “Kidnap” neither has the action nor the thrills. For most parts, it’s either dull or lifeless, and even the ample show of skin and cleavage fails to revive it.

Apparently, it’s a script Gadhvi sat on for a couple of years before he could get Sanjay Dutt’s dates and start filming. Meanwhile, he made his “Dhoom” films and not just raised the bar for himself but the expectations of him too. The Sanjay Dutt-John Abraham starrer “Zinda” also came and went in the interim, a movie whose plot is somewhat similar to that of “Kidnap”, thus robbing Gadhvi’s theme of its novelty.

So what is fresh here? Three actors in a new look.

Most noticeable is Minissha Lamba’s new image. The girl-next-door has been reinvented and we see her in a sexy avatar. She has lost weight and is toned, and she’s flaunting it. Which isn’t so bad really, the body, that is, though unfortunately her acting skills seem to have also shrunk in the bargain.

Also reinvented is Imran Khan, whom we saw as the boy-next-door in the summer hit “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na”. He is the anti-hero here, also sporting a buffed body and a new hairstyle. His performance? Though it may seem better because of being among the bad, the fact remains that his expressions are just limited to varying degrees of the deadpan. He comes across neither as menacing nor angry or anything else a young man hardened by life in jail or seeking revenge should be.

Vidya Malavade (of “Chak De India” fame) makes a courageous career move by choosing to play mother to Minissha’s character. But as she is the glamorous, cleavage-flashing New Age screen mom, there’s little danger of her being typecast as the middle-aged mother. Her acting? Another long role showcased by a handful of expressions.

And what’s just not fresh?

For one, it’s Sanjay Dutt. Seen on the big screen after a considerable gap, Dutt, one of the busiest stars of the moment, looks unfit, uncomfortable and completely disinterested in the proceedings. He doesn’t even suit the part, probably because it presents him with no challenge as an actor. Also, maybe, we have just got used to seeing him play Munna Bhai and Bhai the underworld don, so unless he gives the performance of a lifetime, it will be difficult for him to be convincing in any other role.

As mentioned, also not that fresh is the film’s story of revenge. In “Zinda” we have seen the anti-hero kidnapping the protagonist to avenge a past injustice. Here we have the anti-hero kidnapping the daughter to take revenge against the father. But what had redeemed “Zinda” to some extent was its engrossing treatment and slick presentation.

Gadhvi, himself having made slick, engrossing films, fails to dress “Kidnap” in the garb of a 21st century thriller. There is no technical wizardry, smart twists in the screenplay or even a background score to create an intriguing atmosphere. Emotionally, he fails to convey the trauma of the kidnapped girl or her parents as well as the disturbed state of the kidnapper.

As a result, “Kidnap” neither looks good nor feels good.

But along with Gadhvi the story-teller, the film's writer, Shibani Bathija, should step forward to take the brickbats.

In short, the plot may not seem bad: It’s a man versus boy revenge drama in which 22-year-old Kabir Sharma (Imran Khan) kidnaps billionaire businessman Vikrant Raina’s (Sanjay Dutt) daughter Sonia (Minissha Lamba) and then compels him to commit a series of criminal acts so Raina can realise he had wronged Kabir by getting him sent to prison 8 years ago.

But a plot that may sound interesting so far actually ends up as ridiculous because it’s developed rather brainlessly. The game Kabir sets out to play with Raina may have no rules as he says, but it has no sense either. Raina runs on the roads, drives a car, rides a motorbike and even scales buildings… but we wonder why? The kidnapper’s clues and the sequences just don’t piece together to lead to a dramatic climax, which we wait for but never comes.

Instead, Raina and Kabir ultimately come face to face for a very tame exchange of some words of wisdom before Kabir melts into the darkness. By that time, at least we are traumatised and desperate to dash out of the cinema hall for some light and fresh air.

Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Imran Khan, Minissha Lamba, Vidya Malavade, Rahul Dev

Director: Sanjay Gadhvi

Music: Pritam