'Kapoor and Sons' review

Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Fawad Khan, Alia Bhatt, Rajat Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah, Rishi Kapoor

Director: Shakun Batra

Rating : **

Kapoor & Sons movie review: Sidharth Malhotra brings to the table a loose-limbed pleasing vulnerability which he reveals slowly. Fawad plays his straight, and he doesn’t lift off the screen. Rishi gets some laughs in.

‘Kapoor & Sons’ seems to have taken to heart that famous Tolstoy line: “all happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”, in the way it chooses a specific kind of unhappiness for each member of the Kapoor family.

The fact that Bollywood is now confident enough to give us a family which is not bursting with joy is a thing to be lauded. Meet the Kapoors : grandpa (Rishi Kapoor), middle-aged son (Rajat Sharma) and his wife (Ratna Pathak Shah), and two grandsons Rahul (Fawad Khan) and Arjun (Sidharth Malhotra), all gathered together after many years for a reunion at their Conoor homestead.

At first it is a huge relief that the Kapoors don’t go about slobbering over each other. They are not gratingly saccharine. They squabble, shout and yell. Simmering resentments between the two young men, kept at bay all this time, come out. There’s tension between the older couple as well, which keeps spilling out all the time. You see these people stepping around each other, ducking and weaving, lying to each other, and you are thinking, hey now, great, here are finally, actually people you can recognize.

And then you stop. Because much too soon you recognize them too well. Because they are all playing to a type, and we’ve seen so many of them so often in Hollywood flicks. Rishi Kapoor, almost unrecognizable underneath all that make-up, is meant to be the jolly ol’ roguish gramps. Fawad’s Rahul is the London-based `perfect’ older son, so often called ‘hot’ by pretty women that you know exactly what that portends. Sidharth’s Arjun is the ‘loser’ who is constantly having to prove himself. And Tia (Alia Bhatt) is yet another version of the manic pixie girl dealing with past tragedy.

This turns the characters into stock, and the film into a constructed thing, and you know what’s coming much before it actually does. Which is a pity because a film like this one, with a nice sense of place ( the house has a lived-in feel ; the hill town used as home, not a series of picturesque spots) and more-than-competent performers, could have been that rare Bollywood thing : a grown-up drama featuring grown-ups.

The other problem is that in many places things get much too overwrought for far too long. The slanging matches between the Kapoors escalate naturally, but then they are allowed to go on and on. And you want to tell them to give it a break, because we got it already.

Sidharth Malhotra brings to the table a loose-limbed pleasing vulnerability which he reveals slowly. He makes something of his part. Fawad plays his straight, and he doesn’t lift off the screen, the way he did in ‘Khubsoorat’. Rishi gets some laughs in, but has to struggle against the heavy prosthetics. The two people who kept me watching all the way were Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah : they play long-time partners in a marriage gone sour, and create a relationship which has enough strength and weaknesses that you want to know more about.

These two deserve a separate film.

Alia Bhatt, Fawad Khan and Rishi Kapoor own this feel-good film Tweet Review

Shakun Batra's 'Kapoor and Sons' seems to promise everything a romantic-comedy does, with the patent 'we love out family' mark of Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. Starring the much loved duo of 'Student of the Year' Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra with equally mesmerizing Fawad Khan, 'Kapoor and Sons' is a story of and about family ties and sibling-love.

The film also stars veteran actors Rishi Kpaoor, Ratna Pathak Shah and Rajat Kpaoor in prominent roles. Batra's last directorial venture, 'Ekk Main Aur Ekk Tu' fetched him accolades for a fresh take on relationships. Karan Johar expects him to do the same in reviving the age old formula of dysfunctional family ties with unconditional love. So should we expect 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham' with a twist?

Starring the much loved duo of 'Student of the Year' Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra with equally mesmerizing Fawad Khan, 'Kapoor and Sons' is a story of and about family ties and sibling-love.

Will Fawad Khan be able to awe us again with his performance? Will Alia-Sidharth reel life chemistry be as good as their real life chemistry? Or will 'Kapoor and Sons' turn out to be like any other rom-com drama? Sameeksha from IBNLive is inside the theater to answer all the questions.

10:06 AM- #KapoorAndSons : First frame will remind you of your family dining time!10:08 AM- #KapoorAndSons: @_fawadakhan_ on screen and audience sighs collectively!
10:17 AM- #KapoorAndSons : @S1dharthM and @_fawadakhan_ as siblings are so real! The perfection and insecurities.
10:19 AM- #KapoorAndSons : @chintskap as 90 year old funny man is adorable! 🐼
10:29 AM- #KapoorAndSons : @aliaa08 has a natural charm, right from the 1st frame. 👌
10:38 AM- #KapoorAndSons : @_fawadakhan_ owns every screen with his intense voice and playful eyes. Such a delight! 👍
10:41 AM- #KapoorAndSons : @chintskap brings giggles every time he's on screen! We all want a grandfather like him! 😂
10:45 AM- #KapoorAndSons : Coonoor is going to be on every traveller's bucket list after this film. Beautiful! 😍
10:53 AM- #KapoorAndSons : @aliaa08 in the film is goals! From clothes to attitude, everything is on point! ❤
11:15 AM- #KapoorAndSons : So far, so good. Balanced humour and emotions with actors justifying their bit completely!
11:31 AM- #KapoorAndSons : Every family has it's flaw, every problem will remind you of your own family issues.
11:36 AM- #KapoorAndSons : The casual chemistry between @aliaa08 and @S1dharthM will stuck in your mind!
11:41 AM- #KapoorAndSons : @_fawadakhan_ @aliaa08 and @chintskap are the shinning stars of the film.
11:53 AM- #KapoorAndSons: The climax is almost here and you know what's ahead, but still it breaks your heart somewhere.
12:05 PM- #KapoorAndSons : The haunting background score of the film just elevates the emotion of the film.
12:12 PM- #KapoorAndSons: The storyline picks up after the interval, one starts missing the sunshine. Bring happiness back, please!
12:25 PM- #KapoorAndSons : It's commendable how @shakunbatra has managed to keep the storyline intact from first till last. Brilliant!
12:27 PM- #KapoorAndSons: The film has soul and deserves a watch for it's emotional quotient. You'll laugh, cry and get angry with the characters.
12:30 PM- #KapoorAndSons: We always expect a family entertainer from @karanjohar, but this one is a lesson disguised as entertainment.
12:32 PM- Add #KapoorAndSons to your feel good binge watch list. It has all the elements. Thank you for staying with us throughout. 💐