Kapoor & Sons Since 1921

For me, Kapoor & Sons was quite a surprise. Shakun Batra who earlier made a not so appealing Ek Mein Aur Ek Tu joining hands again with Dharma productions never really made me that much excited about the film and from the look of the trailer I sort of sensed the scope of new gen love triangle. But surprise surprise! Kapoor & Sons is actually a movie about the family. The emotions are so raw and real in this film, you would sense pleasing warmth by the time you finish watching this movie.

Arjun and Rahul are brothers and both of them are writers. While Rahul succeeded in that path, Arjun is still struggling to get things moving. Their father and mother are living with their grandfather at Coonoor. The dysfunctional family is forced to have a reunion as the grandfather suffered a heart attack. What happens in this arrival of the brothers and how they deal with the existing issues are what the film talking about.

It is not the typical happy ending movie which we see in almost every movie associated with Karan Johar’s name. I really loved the way Batra created his characters. Every character has their own share of hurt, their own reasons and the screenplay comprises all that in a very sensible way. The film has zero cheesy melodrama. The last half an hour or so which has the movie taking that sharp emotional turn is quite fascinating. It has certain boldness and the conversations are so genuine that you feel like a part of the proceedings. It’s a movie that showcases the faults every one of us has in relationships in a very tangible way.

The actors were all really terrific on screen. Siddharth as the struggling, runner up son was really impressive. Alia has this great charm in being that cool girl with baggage of teary memories. The girl has this great ability to make the audience feel for her character when she breaks down. Fawad Khan was brilliant in my opinion and hats off to him for having the guts to choose such a character and play it with complete conviction.  Ratna Pathak as the sensitive mother and Rajat Kapoor as the father of these brothers deliver a really remarkable performance. But the star of the show was none other than Mr. Rishi Kapoor who in that terrific prosthetic makeup made the audience laugh out loud hell a lot of times with his witty graceful performance.

Shakun Batra has decided to just follow the characters. The director has tried to capture moments inside the family and that makes the movie look so special. I just loved the way that family reunion night singing and following proceedings were shot and edited giving us a clear image about the happiness they could achieve. The romance is not a side track and it goes well with the main story and does have an impact on existing equations. The screenplay skillfully combines all the conflicts and that gives the movie the quintessential emotional peak. The dialogues have very less drama and thus the atmosphere looks real and the imperfections sounds understandable. Frames are beautiful. The music is perfect for the mood of the film.

To sum it up, I would say Kapoor & Sons has this emotional warmth throughout its narrative. It is almost like observing a family that is hoping for a solution but doesn’t know what to do. At many areas the struggle the characters are undergoing is relatable. Don’t miss it!