Kal - Yesterday And Tomorrow Review

Line for the main page: One expected a tout murder mystery/racy thriller to be served by debutant director Ruchi Narain but the overall result is not as per the expectations.

There are certain movies that manage to excite a particular section of audience into venturing a theatre. Though it is quite known that the movie has been made for a niche audience, a few people do expect a fruitful outcome. Kal - Yesterday And Tomorrow is one such movie that could have got its target audience [inspite of limited publicity], but alas doesn't manage to do so. One expected a tout murder mystery/racy thriller to be served by debutant director Ruchi Narain but the overall result is not as per the expectations. Though it needs to be mentioned that the movie is not a complete failure, but then it is not as exciting either to entice one to spend time in theatre as well.

When the opening credits roll, you expect 'Kal' to be a notch above ordinary. The movie begins in a good fashion as well since within no time there is news about an alleged murder. Three players who are an intrinsic part of the proceedings? Maya [Smriti Mishra], the one who has been murdered and who was a super rich daughter of an industrialist. Tarun Haksar [Shiney Ahuja], Maya's husband, who is the prime suspect in the murder because he is notoriously famous for his hunger of wealth, power and fame! Bhavna [Chitrangada], a sorrowful lady who has not been able to come out the happenings in her life even after an year since her lover Tarun left her to instead marry Maya.

Now the trouble is that Tarun was with Bhavna when Maya died. So who is the actual killer?

A pretext like this would make anyone jump with joy to have a look at the movie. After all whodunits are always welcome and they work tremendously if presented in an edge of a set fashion. This does happen in Kal, but only intermittently. Because so much time is spent in establishing the characters and the situations that the fun associated with watching a tout thriller doesn't remain with you throughout. Thankfully the ending of the film is still reasonably fine that helps the cause of 'Kal' in not turning out to be an utter disappointment. But as said earlier, only if the proceedings would have been crisper and articulate for an average audience, the final prospects of the movie would have been higher.

There are number of other characters in the movie that add on to the narration at multiple levels. The most interesting of them is Sarika, who plays the socialite sister of Tarun and basks in the glory of her brother. Her dreams and ambitions too are lived through the success of her brother. She looks glamorous and makes a good comeback. Boman Irani as Yashwant Dayal is always efficient and has grace all around his character. Just like Shiney Ahuja was a surprise package in Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi, Ram Kapoor, playing the role of Rohan Sehgal, a TV news reporter shines in 'Kal'. He would definitely be noticed in this film. Saurabh Shukla comes up with a good performance yet again. Murad Ali and Malaika Shenoy as two other friends in the group are adequate.

In the lead starcast, Shiney and Chitrangada go neck to neck in the acting department. Both of them come up with convincing portrayals of their characters that go through various emotions in the situations they have been put in - togetherness, enjoyment, love, separation, cornered - they do it all with near perfection. Smriti Mishra is fine too.

Technically the movie belongs to a superior quality and there is no denying the fact that this is one of the factors that keeps audience's interest alive for most part of the movie. Dialogues are real and one just shudders to think what would have happened if they would have been penned by someone not as competent. Prakash Kutty's cinematography is fine while