Kaabil review: A thriller with good performances

The much-awaited Kaabil lives up to its expectations as a revenge thriller, with a notable performance by Hrithik Roshan as the blind-but-kaabil hero of the story.

Rohan Bhatnagar (Roshan) is a blind voice artist who falls in 'love at first sight' with Yami Gautam's blind and artistic Supriya. They are set up on a date through a mutual friend, and soon get married.

After spending most of the first half of the film just waiting for the story to progress beyond corny romantic dialogues, we get to the interesting part. Earlier in the film, Amit (Rohit Roy) frequently eyes Supriya and even harasses the couple. He is the unruly, spoilt younger brother of politician Madhavrao Shellar (played by his real brother Ronit Roy). So, of course, when Amit and his friend end up raping Supriya, he can easily get away with it. Looking for justice, the Bhatnagars approach the cops, only to be ridiculed and sent away. Supriya dies, and Rohan vows to seek revenge.

The most absorbing parts of the film are when Rohan's brilliant plans to finish off the brothers are slowly revealed. In a way, this is also his revenge against the law and order system that failed him and his wife. He gets away with revenge, while the cops find it difficult to pin it on him due to the lack of any evidence. The word play and dialogues add to the excitement of realising how he hoodwinks them.

Some of the methods that he employs are predictable gimmicks that we're all too familiar with now. But some cliches, like escaping under the garb of a burqaa, are subverted.

But the revenge drama is unlike Badlapur, where Yami Gautam (again) played the murdered wife and Varun Dhawan's character realises he gains nothing from murdering the culprits. In Kaabil, Rohan finds peace in killing the two brothers and getting away from the cops—and therein lies the moral ambiguity of the film.

If there's something to be appreciated wholeheartedly, it is the performances of the actors. Roshan does a great job, without the usual overacting. His expressions are apt, his movements as a blind man are convincing, and his mastery with imitating voices—if it really was his work—is commendable. He completely overshadows Gautam, although they work well with each other.

Ronit Roy as the sinister politician makes for the perfect bad guy. Besides glaring a lot, he speaks in half-Marathi, slightly reminiscent of Nana Patekar. Rohit Roy, on the other hand, is as plastic and superficial as he can get. Special mention must be given to Girish Kulkarni (Dangal) and Narendra Jha (Haider) for their strong performances as the two somewhat-shady policemen.

The film could do without its songs, which are neither enjoyable nor relevant to the story.

Director Sanjay Gupta, who peaked with Kaante (2002) and then has been on a slow fall with a string of flops, may be able to redeem himself from this one, which is comparably better than the last few films he brought out. The second half, in particular, is gripping and stylishly shot, with a well-played out climax.

Yet, in spite of strong performances and slick action, Kaabil can be forgotten almost as soon as you get out of the theatre. It gets its marks for being a thriller where it has to be and hitting the right emotional buttons.

Film: Kaabil
Director: Sanjay Gupta
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Yami Gautam, Ronit Roy, Rohit Roy, Narendra Jha, Girish Kulkarni
Rating: 3/5