Movie Review: Karthik Calling Karthik – Take The Call Dude
Karthik Calling Karthik is a movie built on an interesting premise that has been explored many times in television series in the United States. Though the movie is not a direct lift, it is inspired from the likes of ‘Shatterday’(Twilight Zone) and the ‘Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room’. However, on its own merit, we can safely say that Vijay Lalwani has made a commendable piece of entertainment.
Story of Karthik Calling Karthik: Karthik(Farhan Akhtar) is a man who is very low on self-esteem. He is suffering from a self-imposed blame about how he had resulted in the death of his brother when they were young. Years later, Karthik carries the same fear within him which translates in the form of submissive behavior towards everyone around him. His boss(Ram Kapoor) scolds him every now and then, his landlord is always on his head to pay the society money and the girl in his office whom he loves, Shonali(Deepika Padukone) barely knows that he exists.
One day Karthik buys a new landline phone for himself and on the same night when he decided to take his own life for good, the phone rings. When he picks up, he is shocked to note ‘another Karthik’ with his voice on the other end of the line. This person says that he will be able to change his life and get him everything he wants to, if he listened to him. From the very next day, Karthik’s undergoes a sea-change. His boss begins to respect him, his colleagues begin to recognize his worth, and he even manages to woo his crush Shonali to his side. The caller does tell him actually to not tell this thing to anyone. But Karthik does; he tells it to Shonali who recommends him to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist is shocked to know that there is indeed another Karthik. Shonali finds it tough to deal with the matter. There are more thrills in store in the second half which should make the movie a good watch.
What’s hot in Karthik Calling Karthik: Karthik Calling Karthik does have an interesting script; though the screenplay could have been better, director Vijay Lalwani does not look like a debutant at all. He puts in some very interesting and tense scenes in the second half and is quite good with romantic scenes in the first half. Watch the scene where Farhan Akhtar tells Deepika Padukone to join him for tea and the scene where Deepika Padukone is scared out of her wits in the second half. Cinematography by Sanu Varghese (the Khandala locale), Aarti Bajaj’s editing and Baylon Fonseca’s sound are good. Javed Akhtar comes up with some cute lines and the music by Shankar Mahadevan is very neat
What’s not so hot in Karthik Calling Karthik: The songs in the second half were not needed; they slow down the plot. The climax comes tame compared to the buildup of the thrill.
Performances in Karthik Calling Karthik:
Deepika Padukone has evolved as an actress in this movie. Her previous performances have always been lackluster and thankfully, she seems to have found her bearings in this film. The fact that Deepika’s character is dressed normally, and behaves and breathes like a contemporary Indian girl makes her very endearing. Farhan Akhtar, the master of all trades in Bollywood comes up with a well-etched performance. He gets into the skin of the role and does the role of a loser in life very well. It is believed that Farhan had gone into isolation for a month to get his act right for the role; fortunately it seems to have paid off.
In conclusion: Watch Karthik Calling Karthik, a taut thriller that is surely worth your money.
admin 
Loading...
