When Chinese martial arts meets Indian contingent of adventure, the journey is fun, comical and also becomes tiring after a point of time. Jackie Chan’s no stranger to the Indian cinema, but what he has not done yet is acting alongside some known Bollywood stars. Kungfu Yoga is a fun packed combo when Jackie and his friends visit India, but the poor stereotyping of India makes a mess out of the whole screenplay and the end product is just average.
Jackie Chan is an ace archeologist, also a Kung Fu expert who happens to team up with Indian professor Disha and Amrya on a mission to find a missing treasure after the Indian counterpart comes up to him with a potential lead. But the trouble starts when Sonu Sood also a decendant of the original treasure comes in terms to claim his hand on the vast treasure. In the lead up to finding the treasure they set out on a lavishing journey mixed with enough pop corn coated entertainment quotient for a decent commercial flick. The Tamil version of KFY is not bad enough and has the elements of quirky laughable dialogues suited to our nativity.
What trouble KFY most is the stereotyping of our Indian culture where Sonu Sood a multi-millionaire is seen around with Lions and it becomes so annoying after an extent that there is one scene when Jackie is seen escaping away in an SUV which has lions in it, now where on earth have you seen that before? There is no reason for the film to be called Kung Fu yoga, the first part is on the money with enough fight choreography but Yoga comes out of nowhere and is a deliberate attempt to add the Indian taste. The plot is lackluster and the whole journey in finding the treasure has exotic locations and the usual ingredients for a road trip or even a multi continent round trip but the incoherent screenplay and script goes on a freefall till the end.
Sonu is one brilliant actor and we have seen him perform in many regional languages including the latest Devi showcasing his multi-talented ability. However in KFY he is sadly used only to a limited extent and instead seen moving around with a whiff of arrogance and the villainess is rather deliberate. Stanley Tong is a great director, no doubt on that his previous flicks with Jackie – Police Story, even the myth which was good enough with Mallika Sherawat and Rumble in the Bronx were all too good, but in KFY he manages to do well with the Jackie Chan portions but let’s down on the other front. Jackie Chan’s movies are hell-bent on two reasons; high on entertainment quotient and the other is simply awesome kung Fu. While the film has its share of both, it’s not the same Jackie you would imagine, call it simply his age or the lack of interestingly poised sequences the fans of JC are sure to be tad disappointed.
Overall KFY is a feel-good flick with enough commercial elements letdown by a lackluster story line and ordinary screenplay. If you are a Jackie Chan fan, go and watch for the sheer fun.
