Kaafila (2007)

Director:

Ammtoje Mann

Writer:

Ammtoje Mann (story)

Release Date:

10 August 2007 (India)

Genre:

Action

Plot:

India in the new millennium is faced with corruption, unemployment, crime, and all-round insecurity...

Cast

Sunny Deol	...	Colonel Sameer Ahmed Khan
Ammtoje Mann	...	Aman Kumar Sahadev
Sudesh Berry	...	Santokh Singh
Sana	...	Palvisha (as Sana Nawaz)
Sumeep Kang	...	Desi
Sachin Parekh	...	Gujarati
Chandan Anand	...	Rajasthani
Girish Jain	...	Alec
Ashish Duggal	...	Pakistani
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rana Jung Bahadur	...	Pakistani Police Officer
Jayant Das	...	Professor Proveer Chatterjee
Anand Mishra	...	Multani Baba
Monalisa	...	Niharika
Gireesh Kr. Sahdev	...	Professor Gireesh
Sambhavna Sheth	...	Special Appearance - Song on ship
Parminder Singh	...	Gurtej Singh
Sardar Sohi	...	Rashid Khan
Anil Yadav

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:15A

Company:

Mannerism Films

Awful action film that is an insult to the audience

Though Kaafila parades itself as being a tribute to immigrants who have to go through human trafficking in order to reach destinations such as the United States and the United Kingdom, it is anything but. In fact, the film is a down right insult to those that are found dead in containers and those that have managed to find peace and asylum in the aforementioned countries. Mann is neither a great technical director nor is he a good writer nor does he have the maturity to handle such a sensitive subject with the sensitivity that is required to handle such a topic.

The story has potential but it has no dignity, the characters that are introduced through out the film while having reasons to want to immigrate do not go beyond the surface of clichéd understanding of what it makes people want to immigrate to other countries. Obviously the director feels that there is no need for people to immigrate overseas in order to find fortune and whatever else they need in order to make their family's life in India easier, from the get go it is understood that without your family there can never be true happiness. With an attitude like this, there is little room for the story to flourish so Mann then introduces an action adventure that makes little to no sense what so ever.

Aman, one of the traveling immigrants stops his friend from getting attacked in a club (since when do poor people have enough money to go and drink in a club? Let alone the fact that even if they did, they would probably be sensible enough to conserve and hide what they have in case they come across thieves or people who wish to use them). There he encounters an old love. After that the group are placed on a boat where they proceed to party it up in a song sequence on top of the boat in the middle of a gigantic storm, there are few survivors (mind you, I had already lost sympathy for the characters after seeing them partying in a club). After washing up on shore, they magically encounter Aman's love once again. In a scene that makes no sense, she is attacked and killed after discovering that her husband is selling 'liquid plutonium' to the Russian mafia. From then on, the Russian mafia and a gangster are chasing after the group in order to get back the plutonium. They then bump into Sunny Deol's character, an ex Pakistani military officer (now a human trafficker) who will guide them through their journey.

The writing is sparse and not thought out well, just as the story it has no dignity and is very loosely tied together. Obviously Mann feels that Indian audiences are stupid and will lap up anything because of the concept of family and good old action sequences that are not full of action or suspense.

The music, while alright, is also used horribly. It is just a means to sell the film because as we all know...Indian audiences and whoever else watches Indian films just love to get their intellect assaulted and denied, but as long as there is song and dance - everything is fine. If somebody really wanted to take such a journey for a better life, there's just no way I can believe that they would be buying alcohol or partying in a club.

This film is nothing more than an insult to people who have done what they can to find a better life overseas, it is nothing more than an insult to the people who have lost their family members who have sacrificed themselves either by leaving them or by undergoing such a journey without the proper means of immigration.

1/10: I would spit on Mann if I ever got the chance.