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Deepika is fab. She enacts her role earnestly making it real and identifiable. The lack of drop-dead gorgeousness is exactly what works; her casual, everyday prettiness is absolutely charming. Verdict: Three stars
Deepika Padukone time and again proves that she's as natural as nature can be. She fits to the role perfectly and delivers impressively. Not to forget, she looks gorgeous and every way desirable.
Key Plot: Karthik Calling Karthik is the story of an introvert called Karthik, played by Farhan Akhtar, whose life changes with the help of another man who also claims to be Karthik. It is a journey of one man's victory against all odds.
Rating: 
Key Plot: Farhan Akhtar plays Karthik, a shy, introvert guy who can't say 'No' to people and ends up being an underdog in his office. He secretly admires Shonali (Deepika) but doesn't have the courage to send her the 1317 emails he wrote for her but saved as draft mails. A strange and inspiring phone call later, he is a revamped man with style and power to face the world and win a respectable position, and ofcourse, his ladylove. But his rosy life doesn't last forever.
Thumbs Up: An unusual plot laced with thrill, suspense, fear and romance; Farhan's super performance, Deepika's vivaciousness, sugar and spice screenplay, edgy sequences and a gripping climax.
Thumbs Down: A major flaw in the film is its dragging pace at times, but the thrilling moments makes up for it. Farhan's transformation looks unconvincing but the answer lies in the second-half. The sad song, aimed to bring about emotions, doesn't excite.
Performances: Farhan Akhtar, the man of many talents, surpasses all his earlier performances as an actor. He is an unconventional hero and a genius. Deepika is lively in her shorter hairstyle and is the GenX factor for the film. Shefali Shah, Ram Kapoor and Vivaan Bhatena add weight to the film in their supporting roles.
Quick Take: 'Karthik Calling Karthing' is a youthful film with suspense, chills and thrills attached. Farhan-Deepika is a sparkling couple on screen. Ad filmmaker turned writer-director Vijay Lalwani scores big with his maiden offing.
Verdict: Go watch this youthful romantic thriller for some edge-of-the-seat moments. Worth a dekho!
T
Karthik Calling Karthik [ Images ], too, stems from this deep-rooted desire.
Only our eponymous hero (Farhan Akhtar [ Images ]) isn't Aladdin, Cinderella or Bruce Nolan (of Almighty fame). A stereotypical weak geek at the receiving end of his scowling landlord (Vipin Sharma doing what he does best -- snap) and growling boss (Ram Kapoor with his snarling skills should sign up for Wolf Man), he's pretty much invisible for everyone else in the world, including, the leggy colleague in a pencil skirt (Deepika Padukone [ Images ]) to whom he's written a thousand plus unsent drafts of affection. Basically, he is Amol Palekar of Chhoti Si Baat, sans the goofy smile and mysterious past.
Dude seems to be in desperate need of Cinkara (Hamdard ka tonic, anyone?). But this is Farhan's production. And he's all about indelible charisma, hip aesthetics and urban wit. While the easygoing charm and wall decor is spot on, absence of crisp humour is conspicuously felt all through its loitering 16 reels.
Having said that, it's imperative to remember this is a Vijay Lalwani film. The first-time director is the strength or weakness behind its story, screenplay, dialogue and direction. If you view this with the expectations of a Farhan caper, you're doing both of them great disservice.
In other words, herbal tonic is out of question. Instead Karthik starts receiving strange calls from another Karthik who promises to help him attain everything that is rightly his -- power, money and love.
Desperate for comfort, Karthik doesn't need too much convincing before he takes up the seemingly unconditional offer. In no time, he's promoted from cabin to cubicle and single to boyfriend status.
No personality makeover in Hindi films is complete without a change of wardrobe. Even Sai Paranjape couldn't resist doing this to Farooq Shaikh in Chashme Buddoor. And so it's bye-bye Surinder Sahni and say-hello-to-Dil-Chahta-Hai.
Quickly enough, Lalwani runs out of ideas and till intermission KCK seems to be heading nowhere. Pace (editing by Aarti Bajaj [ Images ]) is one of the film's recurring problems. It's unnecessarily pensive and long-winded for its genre.
Even the romantic interactions are sluggish and uninspired. Although Farhan and Deepika are a cool couple to look at, you don't feel the vibe, mainly, because the conversations are just so 'meh'.
Their chemistry fares better against the breezy Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy [ Images ] composition, Hey Ya, choreographed effectively around their courtship and dating in office, malls, coffee shops and Khandala.
Things get dark and creepy in the second half when the Karthik-Karthik pact takes a beating. This is when Lalwani comes in his element and shows a flair for gritty thrillers without resorting to cheesy exaggeration or relying on excessive technique (camerawork: Sanu John Varughese, background score: Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale).
At this point, the on-going events on screen lead me to construct a sort of Dr Faustus meets The Dark Half brand of murkiness. If only Lalwani was as ambitious as the sinister alternatives in my head.
He, to my disappointment, opts for a rather squishy third act as opposed to the threatening climax I had anticipated. While Lalwani deserves a pat for working around an unusual, intriguing plot, he fails to sustain the same with substantial meat or layers.
Also, why does he hint out the suspense so early in the film? It's a crazy move and ruins any hope of the obligatory 'Whoa, I didn't see that coming.'
What is remarkable, however, is to witness is Farhan's evolution as an actor. Despite being a fairly visible face in the media, there's something unpredictable about his aura. And so far he's worked it to his advantage -- never letting the audience know what else he is capable of till he actually does.
Unlike Luck By Chance [ Images ] or Rock On!!, which saw him play self-assured characters, he is surprisingly believable as a fraught loser as well. He conveys the anxiety, simplicity and frailty of Karthik even when the script isn't doing it for him. Perhaps it's his innate filmmaker instinct.
Clearly, Deepika Padukone doesn't have it. And while she looks every bit of the unattainable dream Karthik envisions her to be, she doesn't hold a single scene on her own. Whether she's cautiously lighting a cigarette, robotically slapping the office jerk in Del Italia or scoffing at Karthik's confessions, all you really see is, well, nothing.
Films like Karthik Calling Karthik are all about winding up right. This one fails to make a connect. Pity, it could have been that all important call you've always been waiting for.
Rediff Rating: 
Karthik is gullible, nave, and cannot strike deals at work. He likes a girl in office, the hot architect Shonali Mukherjee (Deepika Padukone), but is never able to tell her. He's working there for the last four years, but she never notices him. Karthik is always under-confident, as a childhood incident has affected him.
So, what brings about a sudden change in Karthik's life, and for the better? You guessed it right, a phone call from a man who is his namesake and knows everything about him. Karthik calls Karthik everyday, and guides him through the day to get whatever he wants – that hot position, that hot chick, whatever. Now, if only everyone had a mentor like that!
Until this point, KCK seems like a lesson in self-confidence. But the twist comes when this caller Karthik becomes our loser Karthik's enemy and begins destroying the same life he helped build. That's when the film takes a dramatic turn. From then on, poor loser Karthik builds his life back bit by bit. How he does it, is what touches your heart.
Writer-director Vijay Lalwani has made KCK with a lot of love. Its Hollywood style treatment is good and so is the editing. It's an old story in a new format, but the humour in the dialogues makes it watchable. The cinematography also does the trick.
The film makes you sympathise with Karthik. And yes, you get the jitters every time the phone rings. Even the shrink (played by Shefali Chhaya) runs away from it!
The director has effectively been able to make a thriller out of a story about the games our mind plays. The treatment is edge of the seat and smooth.
Even though it's pretty clear by the interval what the film is about, the suspense remains till the end. You don't know till the end if it's about something supernatural or not. Watch the film to know the truth.
Farhan Akhtar excels in his third outing as an actor. He has good screen presence, and truly possesses the ability to get into the skin of any character. Here we have a great actor in the making, if he keeps going the way he is right now.
Deepika Padukone is as fresh as she was in Love Aaj Kal, and plays her bindaas girl part well. There's not much scope for her in this film to show her acting, but she makes a hot pair with Farhan Akhtar. We wish there was a li'l more screen time for them in terms of songs and stuff.
Ram Kapoor, Vivan Bhatena, Tarana, Shefali Chhaya and Vipin Sharma fit into their parts well.
The chartbusting songs provide a li'l bit of relief from the slow pace, but the undercurrent of the tension onscreen remains – which is both good and bad.
But Karthik Calling Karthik never gives you that high you expect from a thriller. It will also remind you of some Hindi or English films on the same subject, which I'm not revealing on purpose. Nevertheless, it's a touching tale.
Verdict: Vijay Lalwani shows that Taare Zameen Par and My Name is Khan are not the only two ways to treat sensitive subjects on celluloid. But the film does not have repeat value once you know the suspense.
Rating: 3.5/5
| Readers' rating |
| Karthik Calling Karthik Movie Review |
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| Karthik Calling Karthik - Calls for some enigmatic moments | |
| IndiaGlitz [Thursday, February 25, 2010] | |
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