Karzzzz (2008)

I am normally quite tolerant when it comes to movies but this movie tried my patience to no end.Given my affection for the original Karz, I was a tad apprehensive about giving it a chance, which was why I put it off for a good number of years. After hearing Himesh Reshammiya's version of Ek Hasina Thi I was swayed and decided to give it a shot. The song had such a haunting quality and was frankly surprised by how good it was. Sadly the song is the only decent thing about this movie. Honestly I am surprised how Satish Kaushik could make such an amateur movie, I wouldn't expect this kind of movie from a film student let alone a veteran director. This movie is a failure in almost every department. Honestly it's worse than a B Grade movie.The performances from the leads, Himesh and Shweta Kumar (daughter of director Indra Kumar) are two of the worst performances I have seen in any movie. Himesh somehow managed to bag a few more movies but Shweta only managed to star in her dad's Super Nani after this. Even seasoned pros like Urmila and Raj Babbar ham it up really badly. I was surprised at Urmila particularly because I thought she did well in the Ek Hasina Thi number, her expressions during the song were spot on. Although I never expected to measure upto Simi Garewal, I expected better from her. It was embarrassing to see Gulshan Grover slumming it in a thankless role. Some very poor choices have been said throughout this movie, like for instance in the scene where Himesh goes to see Asrani to know the whereabouts of Ravi Verma's family and for some inexplicable reason mid conversation it shifts to a comedy track and then goes serious again. What should have been a good dramatic moment is ruined completely. Another disappointment was that apart of Ek Hasina thi, there are no other good songs in this movie. Given the classic status of the original, the people involved should at least have done a half decent job so that it does justice to the former. When Karzzz should have been thrilling and suspenseful, it evokes no other reaction for me other than sheer disdain for all the people involved in the making of this movie. Seeing the end result must have been a real slap in the face for Subhash Ghai and everyone else involved with the original. I would love to hear their reactions to the atrocity that is Karzzz. In my opinion it is up there with such Hollywood atrocities like Batman and Robin and Superman 4: A Quest for Peace.OK rant over, thank you for listening.

Why was this film made? Was it really necessary to make a lifeless and plodding remake of Subhash Ghai's film when 'Om Shanti Om' had already done so, and that too in a completely refreshing manner. Anyway, doubters can rejoice. The film is as bad as feared. It's basically a wannabe star vehicle for singer Himesh Reshammiya. Unfortunately he is a very bad actor and stands and pouts while delivering his lines. Urmila is wasted in a role made famous by Simi Garewal. Even the soundtrack is surprisingly dull with Himesh's voice not up to the task. Avoid! Overall 1/10

Bad cinema can almost always be expected from Satish Kaushik and if you are to watch any of them, might as well gather your friends so that you can enjoy poking fun at the trashiness. 'Karzzzzzz' is trashy cinema alright but it's not among the worst to come out this year. Most of it is unintentionally funny and it is just plain silly. Himesh Reshmi is quite bad (but he's not the worst actor around). His wig is quite amusing. His voice is not. He plays the reincarnation of Ravi (played by B-grade actor Dino Morea). Urmila Matondkar makes the best of her one-dimensional Kamini. It's good to see her in a full-fledged villainess role again. If only it were in a better movie. The makeup department does a good job in making the old Kamini look like a plastic beauty with hints of aging compared to the young babe of 1976. I still don't understand why an actress of her calbire would pick such projects. If you're only going to do a film or two per year, might as well pick something worthwhile. Though I can see why she would choose the role as it is an interesting part it's just that the film is too bad for one to take notice of acting. That Shweta Kumar has nice eyes (certainly better looking than Khansika Potwani). The other cast members are forgettable. The abysmal songs deserve to be skipped and that's what I did. Overall, this is a terrible film but it's awfulness does induce some laughter.

A Comedy By: Sir Satish Kaushik Mis-Cast: Himesh Besharmiya, Urmila Matondkar, Danny Denzongpa, Shweta Kumar, Rohini Hattangadi, Dino Morea (with really needs to shampoo his hair), Gulshan Grover, Asrani, Raj Babbar and Himani Shivpuri.Wo wo wee wo! I knew it'd be bad, but this bad?? It really needs talent to take a script which has so much potential in it and then make a movie this bad. Satish Kaushik is truly an amazing comedian, but its not as an actor but as a director where he truly shines as one.Everything with this movie was wrong, the first of course being remaking Karz when "Om Shanti Om" (which was rather a light-hearted take on the same film) still being fresh in our minds, for good or for bad is a different issue altogether. Then roping in Satish Kaushik as a director, who took charge from thereon to make sure this Karzzzzzzzzzz (pardon my no of z's, I'm bad with spellings) was truly a freakshow. A cleavage-showing Himesh Reshammiya, a pink-turban wearing Raj Babbar and a testicle-grabbing Danny Denzongpa are just some of the things to begin with. Ironically, the only thing that makes sense in this freakshow is the tagline--- Vengeance is back (Reshammiya's last flick was Aap Ka Suroor which inflicted similar torture on people that chose to watch it). Just buying Taran Adarsh is not enough my boy! People take him as seriously as Dino Morea takes his career.Before I probe further into the details of this sexual, mental and physical assault by Kaushik-ji, let me also mention that the best thing about this movie is also Himesh Reshammiya, who seems to be the only one acting on-screen. Maybe because the others never took this film seriously (blame the director, he started it). Karzzzzzzzzzzzz witnesses the most cheesy performances that one could ever expect from a B-Grade cast (Denzongpa, Babbar, Grover).Kaushik avoids logic just as much as Gayshammiya avoids good looks (yeah, he's really ugly). The movie has so many memorable moments that its difficult to single out one. I mean, what do say to a person (loser Morea) who's just found out that he's about to die and is still smiling shamelessly? Hattangadi (another overweight Bollywood mom besides the gigantic Kiron Kher) is least bothered by her son's death (completely ignoring his dead body that lies in front of her) and chooses to talk to Maa Kali instead, telling her that she must "reincarnate" her son else she will get the temple broken :). Gayshammiya is introduced as a rockstar that makes girls go weak in the knees (another flaw in the script) who wants "Maa Ka Pyaar". Kaushik, of course takes it upon himself to add a lot of humour--- his kind of humour (cheap humour). How he does it is painful to describe.The movie Karzzzzzzzzzzz is a thought-provoking film. Once you're done watching it, it really makes you wonder if Kaushik-ji ever went beyond third standard (i.e., if he attended school on the first place). Bottomline: Karzzzzzzzzzzz is an instant classic, but for all the wrong reasons.