Real life couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor come together for Rensil D’Silva’s Kurbaan produced under the Dharma Productions banner. No publicity is bad publicity and hence the controversy surrounding the film right from the time Karan Johar revealed the first look on Twitter to the Shiv Sen protests just before release, has only helped raise the curiosity level. But come Friday, when the film witnesses a global release, it all comes down to the merits. Does Rensil D’Silva in his debut deliver? Read on to find out
The story revolves around Avantika (Kareena Kapoor) and Ehsaan (Saif Ali Khan), both professors at a university, fall in love, marry and move abroad to the United States of America. All’s good, until Kareena discovers her husband works for a terror sleeper cell and along with others, is planning an attack similar to 9/11. Under house arrest, Avantika’s only hope is a journalist (Vivek Oberoi), who is also on a mission to take his revenge on the terrorists, who were responsible for the death of his girlfriend (Dia Mirza in a special appearance).
Kurbaan Review
What works for Kurbaan
- The first half is fantastic, extremely gripping. Aided by a powerful screenplay in his very first film as director, Rensil D’Siva has managed to keep the intensity level going throughout. He also proves to be an expert story-teller, a director to watch out for.
- Also there aren’t any unwanted scenes or excessive melodrama, due to which the pace remains very consistent.
- The second half though, does get a bit heavy with the cold-blooded characters and the crafty yet involving plotline . Don’t expect a moment of relief, till the credits roll – a good 2 hours 40 mins later.
- What makes Kurbaan a must watch are superlative performances (rated below) from the entire cast – right from the lead stars to those FBI characters played by foreigners.
- Technically the film is brilliant too. High on production value, even the blast sequences and the aftermath have been shot with attention to every small detail.
- Music, like in most Dharma productions, is top notch. Shukran Allah and Ali Maula deserve mention.
- Dialogues (Anurag Kashyap and Niranjan Iyenga) are very effective, especially those written for Saif and Vivek.
Scenes to watch out for (Possible spoilers below)
- When Kareena gets to know the ‘shocking’ truth.
- Vivek’s test at the burger / sandwich shop, when he is asked to shoot the chef down.
- Kareena cutting open the wound to remove the bullet off Saif’s chest.
- The much discussed love making scene featuring Kareena and Saif. Loads of skin show (bare back) but tastefully shot.
- Climax
Performances (in order)
- Vivek Oberoi – Given a meaty role, Vivek delivers a performance comparable to the likes of Company and Shootout at Lokanwala. Re-birth of a star, if you could call it so. Here’s hoping, he gets noticed and Kurbaan proves to be the much needed boost to his career. What also deserves a mention is his enunciation, which is spot on.
- Saif Ali Khan – Very consistent and a performance that stays with you, long after you leave theaters.
- Kareena Kapoor – In a depressing character is very effective.
- Om Puri, Kirron Kher and the rest of the cast are very good.
- Dia Mirza – In a very sweet character, looked stunningly beautiful. How we wish, she had a longer role.
Negatives, not many
- Family audiences may not enjoy a few sequences. As the movie progresses, it does get too heavy. There is a decent amount of blood and gore too.
- 4 -5 people organizing a terror attack of such magnitude. isn’t too very convincing. Especially the first plane bombing.
- The climax, while shocking, may not be universally accepted.
Overall, Kurbaan is a fascinating watch and arguably the best Dharma Productions film this decade. Forget comparisons with New York, this ones much better. Go for it.
Rating: For performances, direction and screenplay. Must watch.
Other Notes : We would love to repeat, something we have said time and again. Buying, renting CDs / DVDs or downloading it from the internet is illegal. Its quite simply like going to a shop and stealing something that you want to buy. A lot of money and more importantly effort, goes into the making of each film. If you decide to watch it, do so ONLY in theaters. Its a request :)
Already watched the film? Drop in your Kurbaan Reviews below in the comments section.
^ oh tats sad… but indicine my frnds didnt lik it tat much… dey said its not tat great… khuda ke liye was better dey said…
From the initial reports that we have got, the youngsters have liked the film, but mixed from 30+ audience.
Khuda Ke Liye was awesome, but this has better production values and is equally good I feel. Anyway, to each his own. Watch for yourself and decide.
Vivek Oberoi’s performance too hasn’t been universally accepted. Some feel his accent was fake, but since his character was born-American, that’s how it should have been..! It wasn’t exactly an easy role to portray too.
PS- That De Dana Dan trailer released long back. On the louder side, but looking forward to watching Akshay – Suniel – Paresh together again. Here’s hoping we like the film, we want to. :)
^ Like Ajab Prem Ki right? Stop this bullshit. If you can’t get your facts right, stay away. Kurbaan morning afternoon shows combined all India is around 50%. It should pick up.
kurbaan film gets ‘ A’ certificate . this is not a family film . it has lot of intimate scenes beyween saif & kareena which is not necessary for this kind films .
i just read in boxofficeindia.com that kurbaan has taken an below average start morning 40 to 45 percent and evening 55 to 60
at morning i saw the film it is not very convincing like new york but kareena’s performence is very good . this films music very low average accept saif kareena’s romantic number .
Indicine Team- u mean to say my frnds r 30+….;) ha ha no yaar v r 25…
hey i asked u some Q`s in most popular actor/star of bollywood-voting page.. dunno if u `ve seen it… a lot of problems regardin votin in dat page so i can understand..;)
INDICINE TEAM:I m not saying about old theatrical trailer…new one has been released!!!!I donot know when was it released but i only found that video on erosentertainment.com!!!May be u critics have received earlier but no other site have put tht video ..not even in youtube.com also
http://ondemand.erosentertainment.com/product/movie-trailers-videos.asp?ID=S10894&Movie=De_Dana_Dan&Title=Theatrical_Trailer_-_De_Dana_Dan&mainpg=Trailers&secpg=New_Additions That’s the one right? It released in theaters two weeks ago, watched it with Ajab Prem Ki.
For those posting negative reviews, do mention about the positive reviews too
Taran – 4 stars
Rediff – 3.5
Buzz18 – 3.5
Positive review:
Zoom tv:4/5
Taran-4/5
INDICINE-4.5/5
buzz18-4/5
Negative:
NDTV-2.5/5
glamsham-2/5
Starnews-2/5
INDICINE TEAM:Do you who is this rajeev mashad of ibnlive.com reviewer!!!He never give 4 star to any film…In this year he have given 4 star only to Kaminey n even loveaajkal 2 star !!!!
Stars are Demigods here in India with a extremely passionate fan following. We understand what they feel, but the effort to keep the voting fair is proving to be extremely difficult and time consuming.
Sudeep, Masand gave Jodha Akbar 4.5 stars I think. He liked All the Best too. Anyway, he was biased with Aladin, the director of which (Sujoy Ghosh) and he are friends.
guys do u know why kurbaan didnt get good start ???
i think prob was promotion every one was thinking that is is sister of NewYork and new york is fresh in every one’s mind even i was thinking that i shouldnt go to cinema and i will wait for dvd but when taran gave 4 star and indicine 4.5 star then i became total crazy for this movie and i called to my friends that tonight we hv to watch this movie in any condition. movie is good and report is positive so kurbaaan picked in its evening shows . karan johar should say thx to indicine that they gave 4.5 star and this 4.5 brought the people to cinemas i think movie will pick up on sat n sunday coz test match has also finished tum mile n ajab ghajab crase is also near to finish now kurbaan shouldnt hv any excuse,
indicine am i right ???
Indicine team:U r wrong..he give jodha akbar 3.5/5 not 4.5!!! Ya ,thats y i m thinking y he give aladin 3 star!!even ndtv also give aladin 3 star!!! I like the way he talk but sometime irritating too!!He also love DEV D n gulaal…..I wonder y he is so proudy or wht…thinks no one movie is nice
KURBAAN have to score big in 1st week since next week another big release is gonna happen!!and if it able to entertain the audience then kurbaan will finish in avg movie!!!So Film fate depend lot on saturday n sunday
i thnk qurbaan is a very good nd thought provoking movie … itz in a different league altogether . the performances are all top notch nd it lack th unwanted melodrama … dia mirza is very gud in the guest appearance … overall the movie deserves a look
REVIEW KURBAAN:
story:
saifi n kareena are husbend wife saifi is muslim n kareena in hindu both are living in newyork. one day kareena got that her huby and his some muslim friends are actually terrorists and they are making a plan of bombing. vivek got that information accidently by kareena who is a tv reporter and he wants to find out whts going on and they joined their terrorist gang to pretend the bombing in subways.
well story is fantastic and diffrent then other masala movies and similar to new york as well to some extent but actually kurbaan is diffrent then new york.
positive points:
1 – basic idea and story is good
2 – vivek and saifi and kiran kher’s performances are fantastic
3 – last 25 min of the movie is most valueable part of the movie
negative points:
plenty of
1 – kissing sceen in staff room it is realy realy unbelieveable that 2 mature teachers are kissing in a staff room . wht will be impact on students and teachers as well if karan realy want a kisisng sceen then he could chose any other place why in staff room ??
2 – we didnt get saifi’s back ground his parents and his mother land where was he from and how come kareena’s father agree and allow them to marry even he didnt knwo abt saifi’s ack ground
3 – when kareena knew that saifi and his friends are trying to blast a flight she tried to call dia mirza why she didnt call to police
4 – when kareena saw that his nieghbour is beeting his wife why she didnt call police?
5 – when vivek got that kareena’s huby is involve in plane bombing why he didnt inform police why he was trying to solve this case by his self ?
6 – FBI knows that saifi is a terrorist and he had bear but after that he is teaching in university , he has driving license he go his own house and he is hanging arround none of any cop recognise him even in air port when security officer checked vivek’s bag he didnt check saifi’s bag
7 – most bullshit part of the movie om puri , saifi n vivek are shooting each other in a train but none of any person could call to emergency or police or driver that driver could call to cops .
8 – in first blast in station every one died and all walls and roof broke but fbi agent didnt get hurt and he ‘was running till end of the movie with vivek even he was in front of sucidal bomber
9 – when kareena serve vivek coffee she put a small piece of paper undernieth the cup and om puri took that cup but he didnt see even 6,7 more people were there they also didnt noticed and after then vivek got that cup agian no one noticed. hahahaha ( all were blind for only that moment)
10 – om puri n saifi has a very big plan of bombing and they allowed vivek to join their group even they didnt know him properly . i cant digest this
i thing 10 are enough may be i am forgetting more aur may be some which i couldnt notice when i had full concentration of my pop corn and pepsi.
Performances:
1 vivek was superb and he did fantastic job after shoot out lokhandwala i dont know why producer didnt promote him in the promos of my i was think he has very small role but he is a hero of the movie and he ran the show
2 saifi is also superb like love aajkal and race
3 kareena is also good
4 kirren kher is fantastic her accent was looking like a real afghani pathan even om puri didnt hv afghani accent but he was also good
direction:
ransil got great idea from karan but he couldnt make it perfect and flowless his screenplay was too weak but last 25 min he did great job . he need more improvement.
Box office:
kurbaan took slow start but picked in evening shows because of taran’s 4 stars and indicines 4.5 stars but now audiance has known that taran and indicine is only favouring saifi movies doesnt hv worth more then 3 stars so may be sat n sunday movie will drop.
Rating:
2 / 5 ( good idea , good performences , last 25 min good thrill but bas screenplay , bad direction, plenty of flows).
indicine:
i mentioned 10 flows in this movie why u didnt metion or u didnt get it how come u can give 4.5 stars for this type of week movie ???
u know when u give more then 3 star for any movie now a days that movie always flop like jail , london dreams and now kurbaan.
and your 2 star of 2.5 star movies always get good business like ajab ghazab and KI and blue ( it got more then 40 cr ).
u should double check your rating standard.
Yaar nauman wat a review.. even my frnds told d same thing.. its not so gud…
Kurbaan’s business in sydney:
in my hall collection where near to 60 – 65 % because of indicine’s 4.5 stars. in another cinema collections where about 50 – 55 % . these collections are similar to ajab ghazab but very low then love aaj kal , blue , kaminay ( all these movies were houseful in their weekends.
batter then London dreams , wanted , MAMK and all the best .
Sajid and Indicine Team- I absolutely agree with u for vivek(most underrated actor). I too hope he gets his due and good movies and roles. Going to watch kurbaan soon….
Well its a gud movie as i said but its disapointing to know that its collections r less than kaminey . Acc to me saif is much better in kurbaan than shahid in the former.
I have a lot of expectations that the movie has better prospects on sat/sun.
And ya sudeep , thanx 4 sharing ur views on 3 idiots as well.
Great review Nauman, its reviews like these that make running this site such a satisfying experience. :)
Will get back to you on the review in an hours time. Only I am working late night tonight, busy with the box office reports of Kurbaan, loads of emails coming in. Stay tuned.
Kurbaan opened to poor houses all over this morning with 30%+ response, Released on huge prints (1000+), movie may be able to do decent business collection wise. Screening of movie is approx. 40% higher than Ajab prem Ki Gazab Kahani . APKGK was 70%+ on first day and overall 75% weekend (21 crore) , Comparing to APKGK if Kurbaan able to do 50% average weekend , Collections will be almost same as APKGK i.e. around 20-21 crore. Afternoon shows of kurbaan hardly saw any improvement and movie is carrying Mixed reports. Terrorism theme is beaten to death in recent times with movies like Khuda Ke liye, Newyork etc. . Carrying with similar setup, Kurbaan will be having hard time finding enough audience.
Tum Mile as reported earlier falls heavily on weekdays, It collected 11 Crore in first week and second week is non starter. Should finish its run under 15-16 Crore.
2012 did extra ordinary business of 23 Crore in first week, this is eye opener collections which is bumper even for any Bollywood biggie. This business excludes collection of Regional language versions. Movie opened to good response today with better occupancy than new release Kurbaan.
Ajab prem ki Gazab Kahani is least affected by 2012 wave last week and did good business of 15 Crore (However this is little less than expected, but movie was strongest among all other victims of 2012 ). Now two weeks business stands at 52 crore.
London dreams Wrapped up under 31 Crore. FLOP.
– BollyBusiness
excellent movie worth watching grt work bt saif nd kareena ,its an eye opener
Actualy i watch ur review after watching film.Funny thing is that im expecting very rude review but it com completly opposite.Honesty film is slow,on same topic & predictable(cause in 25 min u remember plot of fanna).Hw karan johar can wrote this sript must b more thinkable.At some point i realy slept(thnx 2 direction)
I wud rather go for 2012 for second time.
Indicine Team: I will watch Kurban tomorrow at 6.00pm show.. our Bahrain timing… then will come back with my review.
Sudeep: we as audience always love to see romantic, comedy, drama, thriller, action, horror, historical, etc. every category movies.. but we don’t like repitation in any movie we watch right.. the big mistake which some producers and directors make is the following: a specific movie would win at the box office… so.. here we’re.. let’s make another one, a copy of the same but with little different colours! to satisfy the audience and to earn some money!! this way they think which is absolutely wrong!
We always look for movies in some different shapes, example: see the movie Twilight.. why did it win and there was such a hype in this world for this movie, and now there’s a part2 which is called New Moon.. because it was a romantic movie and a sweet thriller in the same time.. in a completely new shape…different.. there4 it was a nice movie and everyone enjoyed watching it.. I saw it many times.. and I loved the way it was shot.. the blue shade.. reminded me of Saawariya.. and one of the reason why I loved Saawariya coz it was “different” than other bollywood movies ( but some audience in India reject anything which is new!).
We can’t say anything about De Dana Dan now.. let’s wait and see.. we’ve expected Blue to be a good movie but it was not.. so this one might be a good romantic comedy.. we can decide after watching it.
INDICINE TEAM-IS IT CONFIRMED THAT VEER TRAILER WILL BE SHOWN ON DDD RELEASE
i saw the movie.the story was xlnt and screenplay was awesome.the way the role given to each character in d film has justified it.the scenes wr pragmatic.i xpected more songs and rensil d silva has directed ds mv superbly.this director will differ wt other directors in the industry.
Fathiya:I agree tht blue was not good movie..FIrst time for akshay movie,i was just waiting to complete the movie ,damn care abt it n just waited n waited…For me it is dissapointing movie..Even CCTC was better than Blue!!!!! But hope Akshay willnot dissapointed his fan in upcoming movie…Let see all hope lies on akshay!!!