Kurbaan Movie Review

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)

  1. 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.
  2. Saif Ali Khan – Very consistent and a performance that stays with you, long after you leave theaters.
  3. Kareena Kapoor – In a depressing character is very effective.
  4. Om Puri, Kirron Kher and the rest of the cast are very good.
  5. 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: ★★★★½ 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.

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167 Comments

  • My Name is Khan will be different than Kurban, New York & Khuda ki Liye.. MNIK is about Shahrukh, he’s disturbed, playing as abnormal guy.. something like that.. but it’s not about terrorism as I read on one of the websites.

    It’ll do well for sure because everyone is waiting for this movie ( and both Shahrukh & Kajol are powerful actors) and if Shahrukh disappeared for a while, so he had his reasons for his absence one year, even if he doesn’t do movies for 2 or 3 years or more.. Shahrukh’s stardom will continue till the last breath. someone who’s strong will remain strong.. Amitab Bachan left bollywood for 10 years, and ppl could never forget him.. we were all eager to see him again in movies, so is Shahrukh.. he’s not less than bigb.. if he’d try to quit bollywood one day his fans won’t allow him!

  • Fathiya: MNIK is also about muslims living in U.S facing problems post 9/11….. So the subject is not different at all….Haan story can be different but with 100 Crore budget with the similar kinda subject, it will be very difficult for this movie to do well at the box office espacially when Indian Janata are not willing to spend on serious subjects even though the movie is good……In 2009, We haven’t witnessed any movie doing more than 65 Crores Nett. Business…….So, It will definitely be difficult for it to even recover its cost……..
    Sorry But My predictions are: Once again very good performances from SRK and Kajol, Good direction by KJ, Very Good plot, Nice Cinematography but the movie is a flop because of its huge cost….. That’s what is more likely that we are going to see in future……

  • The budget isn’t 100 crores. Its been sold to the wordwide distributors (Fox) for about 98 – 100 crores. Now, that’s a lot of money to recover. The biggest concern is – the audience is bored of films based on terror, which doesn’t augur too well for MNIK, also based around the 9/11.

    Having said that, it doesn’t look too risky. Indian first week figures should be somewhere around 50 crores (nett) and SRK – Karan johar movies open big overseas anyway.

    Exactly how much MNIK needs to do in India for HIT status is currently unknown.

  • Fahad: you’re saying this about MNIK.. but can u stop yourself from watching it? You think that it’ll be a repeated story, similar to Kurban or New York.. but my question is ( and I’m repeating the question again) Can you stop yourself not to watch it.. not to go to cinema and pay a ticket for it? I think your relpy will be (No).. and that’s what will make it a successful movie.. everyone is so eager to watch it even if it’s about the victims post 9/11.. how many movies we saw in East & West with the similar subject.. but we go and watch them.. right? specially MNIK because of Sharukh & Kajol

    Believe me Fahad.. the movie will be a blockbuster and I’ll remind you of what I’m saying.

  • Indicine Team: For my knowledge, please let me know that how much business should a movie do to be declared a hit???? Like MNIK has been sold to Fox Distributers for 100 Crores so It has to do nett. business of more than 100 Crores worldwide to be declared a hit right?????? Or it depends on the budget of the movie??????? Please clarify……..

    Other Question:- How do they calculate Gross business and nett. business at the box office?????? I mean what is the criteria??????

    And Fathiya: Yes I will definitely go and watch this movie in Cinema but the main issue remains the same with this movie and that is its subject as Indicine team has mentioned……. Is Indian Janata willing to spend its money on the same subject one more time????????? Are those entertainment hungry people ready to take one more serious blow in the shape of MNIK????????? Kurbaan is also a very good movie but it lacks entertainment factor as it should but Indian public is not ready for it……Most of the Critics appreciated the movie…..Indicine team gave it 4.5/5…..But what’s the result????? I mean If a movie like Kurbaan can be a flop then why can’t MNIK be as it will have to do a lot of business to even recover its cost………..It is very difficult in my view……Anywayz Let’s hope for the best……. I really want MNIK to do wonders at the boxoffice as the movie has the best actors that bollywood has right now…..Let’s wait and see……..

  • In short, here it is..

    Average – Manages to recover investment.
    Semi-hit – Double the distributors investment.
    Hit – More than doubles distributors investment.
    Super-hit – Doubles + much more
    Blockbuster – Triples the investment.

    All this is purely from its Indian theatrical run. Exactly how much of those 100 crores, the distributors have paid for India is unknown.

    Gross is Total collections at the box office (theaters)
    Nett Gross is Gross minus entertainment tax which goes to the government (usually 30%)

    Read more here.. http://www.indicine.com/movies/bollywood/indian-box-office-verdicts/

  • I will give 5 of 5 star for this movie”qurban”. all of the movies that i have seen this year is not good enough infront of this movie..saif ali khan is doing great and i personally say good luck for your future movies..you should make more movies like this..Now i am biggest fan of you. i love you saif you should come to( sydney )Australia and come and visit your fans…you will get paid alot …and make a movie too…

    there was heaps crowd of afghans in cinema then the indians..i hate one thing in the movie the accent of that afghan lady..come on, we dont have such accent…we speak same like you with no accent…and the accent we see in the movie is urdu..we speak the same as in the movie…my friends told me you got bollywood accent.. i mean the my hindi accent not english lolz haha

    the only one thing in this movie would make it perfect would be, if the have shown the suffering faced by these victims and cauzed them to take such actions about it. through the visual would have been awesome movie. i like that it reminds the viewers the cruel act of these countries, and the affect on the victims..

    for those who didnt have chance to know everyone’s background in the movie and didnt watch properly..
    background:

    saif ali khan:(ehsaan) pakistani
    kareena kapoor: (Avantika) indian
    others mostly indian but didnt menstion in the movie and there was afghan lady, pakistani, and indians

    maybe we should watch more movies in cinema then the pirated movies because it ruins the film industry..their hardwork of every person will be worth nothing…i really hate pirated movies…and if i have seen this movie pirated then i would give 2 out 5 because there will be no good resoulation and graphics…and the sound would be crap..

  • I personally think, movies like these put not a very good impression about Muslims. 9/11 was an unfortunate event that happened in the United States, but looks like Indian film industry is more worried than Hollywood, because i have not seen that much movies on the same subject from Hollywood than bollywood. I am tired of watching movies on same old subject

  • the english film ‘avataar’ will break all box office records in india. you just mark my words and wait and see.

  • This is my first time visit on this web site. I don’t know what standards indicine follow to rate a movie. IF they have given it 4.5/5 then it speaks volume about the standards itself. No need to mention that. If Kurbaan deserves 4.5 then where does film like RDB stand. Okay. The film was weak in every aspect. Not only me but most of the people in the hall around me could predict the next scene, right from beginning to end. For me this is the standard to judge our movies. If you can predict the scene and also the dialogues before they are heard, leave the movie as just another typical Bollywood film. Kurbaan was no different.
    My rating 1/5 that too only for good performance by actors.

  • Hey Spiderman,

    Well said dude. However, I am not sure about India. But it will surely do in other countries. I am eagerly waiting for Avatar to release, for last few months. With Avatar James Cameron is going to launch Sam Worthington as the next big thing in Hollywood. Just like the Arnie after Terminator and Kennu Reeves after Matrix. Waiting for December 18. :))

  • Indicine ki rating hamesha galat hoti h
    jis movie ko ye buri batata h wo acha krta h aur jise acha batata h wo hi flop hoti h
    like kurbaaan
    ha
    ha
    ha
    blue ne acha kiya
    kambakht ishq ne acha kiya….

  • thank god KURBAAN flopped!!!!!ha lord this is wat i was i waiting for!!!suck you rebviwers and critics..got it??/it has grossed only 15 crores so far…you all reterds were waiting for kurbaan no…its a whack on the face of that gay karan johar,his arrogance..and the retards who support him…take that!!!!!!!

  • After a long time i have seen a sensible movie which gives on two sides of the coins about Islam and 9/11 attacks. Saif is simply superb, Vivek oberoi… wow!!! he has behaved just like any indian boy been brought up there… specially his accent.. its so cool.Casting is Impeccable…
    Movie is worth a watch.

  • I loved the movie
    and i think it was a very intreating movie
    i wish kurbaan all the very best
    hope it does well…………

    All i want to knw it dat , does kareena die at the end ?
    I would have liked the movie to have carried on and told us what happened with kareena her child and her father !

    I hope that they make kurbaan 2 with shahrukh khan and kajol devagan !

  • Inshallah they will make kurbaan 2
    with shahrukh khan and kajol

    and i will be the first one to go and watch it !

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