Yes… take the call!
Ratings: – * * * ½
The psychological thriller genre is hardly touched by Indian filmmakers. Vijay Lalwani touches it in his directorial debut Karthik Calling Karthik and after the final culmination it can be said that the touch produces a remarkable sensation.
Despite being brilliantly intelligent, Karthik Narayan (Farhan Akhtar) has a loser’s attitude and lacks confident. His cowardly nature makes it extremely easy for his boss (Ram Kapoor), his landlord and others to bully and harass him. He is also unable to express his fondness for his colleague Shonali (Deepika Padukone). The one day, he receives a phone call which changes his life. Things start falling into place unbelievably. However, the problem lies in the fact that the person who is calling him is nobody else but himself. How can Karthik call Karthik?
Lalwani is responsible for the story, screenplay, dialogues and direction and the debutant excels in every department. The never-told-before story is intriguing and has some edge of the seat moments. The suspense is just not predictable and makes the viewer guessing till the end. The intelligent screenplay adds boost to the story.
Most importantly, Lalwani also succeeds in the main headache, the direction, with ease. He has shot the story in an interesting and extraordinary manner, which gives it an international look. Surely, this man is the lookout for the future. The witty and intelligent dialogues are another feather in his cap.
The few items on the flip side include some portions where the pace drops especially during the pre-interval romantic moments. Also the logic behind the suspense might not go down well with all. Lastly, those who expect so-called entertaining values might get disappointed because of the nature of the subject.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music has nothing special to offer. The title track, however, suits the mood at the opening credits. But the background score is superb.
A film which depends solely on the title role requires a special talent and Farhan Akhtar proves that he has it. Flawless and brilliant are the words for his act here. He portrays roles of a loser, a transformed confident chap and a disturbed individual with utmost perfection. Deepika Padukone does well as Farhan’s lady love but she could have done with less skin show. Ram Kapoor’s egoistic and ruthless act comes as a surprise. Surely we want to see more of him.
Karthik Calling Karthik surely deserves a watch since it succeeds in treading on an unconquered path. Sadly, however, the film has gained disappointed collections. Wonder when our audience will stop clinging only on those so-called family and masala entertainers and will start giving important and encouragement to such genres.