KILL DIL MOVIE REVIEW

CAST AND CREW
Production: Yash Raj Films
Cast: Govinda, Parineeti Chopra, Ranveer Singh
Direction: Shaad Ali
Screenplay: Shaad Ali
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Background score: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Cinematography: Aveek Mukhopadhyay
Distribution: Yash Raj Films
Kill Dil, nothing different

Hot-shot Ranveer Singh, scintillating Parineeti Chopra, rugged yet handsome Ali Zafar and evergreen Govinda are all the reasons one would want to watch Kill Dil. Despite such a mixed bag of resplendent performers, the film fails to strike the chord with the viewers. After a long sabbatical post 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom', Shaad Ali makes a re-entry with Kill Dil, but sadly, along comes his lack of touch in film making too.

Tutu (Ali Zafar) and Dev (Ranveer Singh) are two best friends who are nurtured from a very young age by Bhaiyyaji (Govinda). As we have seen in the trailers, these two set out to kill people as their profession. Like any other commercial Bollywood flick, the first hero (Dev) falls prey for ‘love’ and that changes his life.

Kill or Dil?

As the title goes the film is about a choice between kill or dil. This is a typical commercial film packaged in 2 hours with decent action, romance, music and drama. The first ten minutes of the film may take us back to watching Gunday, only here; it is Dev and Tutu who are friends-for-ever narrating the story. The director is known for wonders like Saathiya and Bunty Aur Babli, but Kill Dil is disappointing due to the high expectation set.

The colorful lighting, Ranveer’s touch to a very normal Dev, decorous shooting sequences, apt run-time, the long monologue and Govinda’s signature dance moves are few of the elements that retain the film’s engaging factor. On the other hand the film has a dearth of good screenplay, limited space for showcasing performance and just about satisfactory dialogues, that pull away the little attention that we give to the star cast. The characters in the film lacked background information and there is very little about the motives of Bhaiyyaji, surrounding which the plot revolves. The story takes place in the capital city, Delhi, where we see Dev and Tutu killing people back to back in public. It is hard to believe that the two 'gundas' don't get caught by the police even once.

Lights, camera and action

As an audience we are still hung-over with the performance of Parineeti Chopra and Ranveer Singh in 'Hasee Toh Phasee' and 'Ramleela' respectively. After staging such wonderful acting, Disha (Parineeti) strives best to emote but fails to connect to the audience due to the paucity in the script. She plays someone who rehabilitates criminals but is showcased doing everything else like partying, shopping, exercising and drinking, but for counseling a criminal.

We see Dev (Ranveer) crying on screen, almost every ten minutes in the second half. He showcases all kinds of emotions such as romance, moments of emotional lapse, depression etc. through tears. Though Ranveer Singh portrays exemplary acting, the character fails to create an impact. Ali Zafar has done a fab job as the second hero. He has definitely worked on his looks and given one of his best performances, in this film. Best known for comedy, acting and dance, Govinda was not utilized fully by Shaad Ali. The negative role lacked the punch, leaving the audience less serious about his character.

A musical?

The film has a confusing genre as we tend to get lost juggling between crime, thriller, romance or musical themes. The film has a song for every small thing. Be it someone's birthday, Diwali, party or during the credits, the director has left no breathing time for watching the film for its story. Though Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have done full justice to the songs, so much music took away the concentration towards the story.

Quentin Tarantino’s influences?

The title sure sounds very familiar to the illustrious ‘Kill Bill’. One may feel slight influences of the remarkable director Quentin Tarantino in the screenplay too. For instance the bloodshed, cowboy look, background score, style of using a gun and the uber cool manner of killing someone, are few traces where we see Shaad Ali using Tarantino’s style. Not even remotely close to Quentin Tarantino’s legendary films, Shaad Ali missed his points by losing out on novelty.
Verdict: A cliched story with poor execution.

( 2.0 / 5.0 )