Dil Kabaddi (2008) User Reviews

Sparkling comedy with top notch performances

[movie_freak_dubai · 7/10 · 5 December 2008]

First things first ....I really enjoyed this movie!!! This is basically a comedy based on the lives of two married couples and the numerous marital and extra-marital goings on that happen with these two couples. One could call it a mix of Life in a Metro with Pyaar ke Side Effects...... unfortunately the promotions on TV has not given potential audiences with this impression.

The four leads are impressive. Soha Ali Khan has become matured into a little dynamo of an actress, good things come in small packages. Although I must say that i did not really like her with the short hair in the latter half of the movie. Konkona, one of my favourite actresses, is as always wonderful. She has captured the essence of the character and her dialogue delivery and timing is top notch....there are times in the movie that I am sure the audience had no choice but to be reminded of an ex girlfriend or dare i say it their wives!! Rahul Bose is back to form with this one although he has done this style of acting before in Pyar ke side effects. Irrfan Khan has officially become the SRK/AmirKhan/Salman Khan of the parallel cinema world ( if we can call it that now). He gives a wonderfully natural performance that endears him to the audience although we may not condone his actions in the movie. His dialogue delivery and timing in certain scenes make you really laugh out loud. His performance is probably the one that stays with you after you leave the cinema.

There are a number of small but wonderful supporting performances in this movie as well but I have to mention two in particular : Saba Azad and Payal Rohatgi. The former is an unconventional beauty but she sparkles with her screen presence and wonderfully natural dialogue delivery. The latter 'item girl' is slightly grating on the nerves with her screeching but then we are not supposed to like her anyway as per the demands of the role. I still feel that she had the funniest sequence in the file. PLease take note of the 'dumb blonde' like scene at the party.

Kudos to the director, script writer and also to the dialogues writer since they managed to deliver a tight, taut film that does not flag at all after the interval. Nor does it veer off into melodramatic saga a la Karan Johar's KANK. ALso a special mention to the song from Rahet Fateh Ali Khan, the man has magic in his throat.

There may be only one downer to the whole experience as some of the topics like sex and extra marital affairs would not be condoned by the family audience (hence a rating of only 7) but no one can deny that things like this are happening daily in todays metropolitan cities

Plagiarism well done, thanks to Woody Allen!

[manoj-aryan · 7/10 · 16 August 2009]

Last year when I saw and liked Anurag Basu's Metro, the part appreciated most was Sarmaan's hilarious call-centre segment where everyone was screwing everyone. Later a month or so I rented Billy Wilder's classic The Apartment and shocked to discover particular segment in Metro was lifted from this entire movie. Yes, I was disappointed. I couldn't enjoy a virgin Wilder classic experience but there was a grin on my face definitely how director didn't ruined the borrowed material and did the justice to piece of plagiarism, if there is any such thing exists. Similar experience to greater extent I had last weekend with DilKabaddi which I thoroughly enjoyed, is a straight rip-off of Woody Allen's outstanding Husbands and Wives (1992). But this time there was a strange sense of familiarity with the characters instantly. Their idiosyncrasies somehow carried a floating signature.

In Woody Allen's favorite territory- man-woman relationship, which he explored over three to four decades. This one is a comedy of marriages, divorces, break-ups, reconciliations and re-marriages in the wake of characters' mid life crisis and their inherent urge for infidelity. Film introduces its two principal couples setting the mad-com tone of the film. Sameet (Irrfan) and Meeta (Soha) announces they are separating in the house of their best friends Rishi (Rahul Bose) and Simmi (Konkana Sen Sharma). Second couple is rattled; especially Simmi (soon starts questioning her own relationship). They start to reason why their friends are separating. Simmi asks if Meeta is cold in bed. Rishi reasons yeah as she is too "intellectual" types. Later in one scene Sameet confesses Meeta is too arty and he's tired of watching art movies. With his newly found partner he can watch Welcome without guilt. (Hilarious).

Separation follows Meeta start dating Simmi's colleague Rahul Khanna while Sameet packs his bags and moves in with his gym instructor (Payal) for a bawdy romance full of kinky thrills. Story then probes lives of second couple which turns out more interesting that it seems. Rishi is a literary college professor who regards most of his colleagues as womanizers but for him it's too hard to cross the line now but soon is pulled with infatuating force in the direction of one of his young pupils Raga (well cast). On other hand Simmi is more dangerous types as described by her ex-boyfriend "passive-aggressive types". Tagging her husband as "too critical" she shares her poems silently nourishing hidden feelings to her sensitive and perfect-husband-material colleague Rahul Khanna. No one is innocent in this world.

Characters learn a lot in the course of their infidelity and desires. Sameet who feels his wife gives him stress all the time realizes, only after basking in bed one too many days and nights of course, and realizing there is no way they can appear socially together (one laugh out loud sequence in a party continued in his house), wants to reconcile. He believes now, "Sex for the sake of sex is a disease. Saathi sathi hota hai". In another one oddly touching scene one character shares a passionate kiss with his long time crush in a perfect romantic setting but confesses he can't go on doing it. Walking in rain, he confides in us he just wants to go back home and hug his wife.

Almost filming scene to scene faithfully director makes material more comic and less cynical but keeps the playfulness same in the treatment. Characters talk directly into the camera. Interviews acts on behalf of audiences asking right questions. Actors are doing well here especially Irrfan who plays parody of cheating husbands with such flamboyance and such ridiculous colors; it is sheer brilliance of the actor.

I was the sole soul in my flock to enjoy this desi version of Woody Allen. This is one is about marriages. Even if you are not married you can enjoy it. Like one of the characters says who wrote an article once on Paris and she's never been Paris, you don't have to, she says, "it's a trick".

A very average comedy

[bisprad · 7/10 · 27 March 2009]

Imagine Irfan Khan wearing a g-string and a sports bra !!

Grossed out :D ? Don't worry, they don't show him in it :) Just an indicator of the level of openness we have come to accept in Hindi movies. Even 5 years ago, talk like this would have gotten movie posters burnt etc. But now its quite cool to talk about spicing up your sex life with such ideas. Of course the g-string idea itself is quite stupid :)

Dil Kabaddi is a take on modern-day urban relationships - with Rahul Bose & Konkona Sensharma and Irfan Khan & Soha Ali Khan playing couples – who are outwardly happily married, but troubled inside. The movie claims to be a fun take on marital (and extramarital) affairs – and especially the trailers of the movie promise a lot of debauchery and goofing around.

So does Dil Kabaddi deliver ?

Yes – but not quite.

The story begins with Samit (Irfan Khan) and Mita (Soha Ali Khan) fighting on their way to meeting Rishi (Rahul Bose) and Simi (Konkona Sensharma). We come to know of Samit's … err … overenthusiasm for all matters sexual and Soha Ali Khan's preference for romance and 'huggy-huggy' at night – among other things. And they proceed to calmly inform Rishi and Simi that they are separating and Samit is moving out of the house.

And so begins the fun for Samit as he moves in with his 'aerobics instructor' Kaya (Payal Rohtagi) the very next day. Mita takes things hard at first but then Simi introduces her to Veer (Rahul Khanna), and they hit it off as well.

These events have their effect on Rishi and Simi who question their own status quo and start considering other people surreptitiously. Of course, what happens next is for you to watch and find out. All the four major characters are deeply flawed – Rishi a little less than the others – but flawed nevertheless. However, because of Samit's over-the-top actions, his and Mita's story doesn't seem quite realistic while Rishi & Simi's story seems more plausible. Among the other characters, special mention has to be made of Payal Rohtagi. She is depicted as a caricature, but even then she is so loud and screechy, it becomes a pain to watch her in the latter half in the movie. Her only highlight in the movie is her scene with Rahul Khanna. The other cool character not mentioned so far is Simi's ex-boyfriend (cant remember his name). Bucking the trend of showing exes as losers (like in Jab We Met), this guy is shown as quite cool and forms a very important link in the narrative.

The chemistry between both the couples is very good and I personally found Soha Ali Khan quite attractive for the first time (and kinda hot, though there is no skin show). And though Irfan Khan gets a lot of wacky humour scenes, I found the scenes between Rahul Bose and Konkona more enjoyable – and Rahul Bose is right in his element.

The movie ends with a unexpected twist and is liberally strewn with gags and sexual jokes. Yet somewhere along, the director loses the balance between realistic and ridiculous fun - and somewhat disconnects with the audience. Like Pyaar Ke Side Effects, you will enjoy this movie just a little bit more if you are married or have had a significant other for sometime. Overall Dil Kabaddi is a lot of fun, but just not quite satisfying.

I regularly review movies at http://bisprad.blogspot.com

Husband Wife ke Kabaddi

[Chrysanthepop · 17 February 2009]

Senior rips off Woody Allen's 'Husbands and Wives'. The narrative structure, story and some of the dialogues are straight lifts. The pacing is slow and this at times bores the viewer. The songs are loaded with adrenaline (which provides the much needed boost to the film). Sagar Desai's background score is soothing. Those who haven't watched Allen's movie, 'Dil Kabaddi' basically, with a touch of comedy, deals with souring marital relationships between two married couples. What works for the film is the acting. Soha Ali Khan is a surprise. After seeing her in movies like 'Khoya Khoya Chand' and 'Ahista Ahista', where she had terrific roles to which she didn't do justice, I had pretty much given up on her acting ability and was certainly not expecting anything above average but the actress totally nailed this part. It is good to see Irfan Khan back in comedy mode after a long time. He provides some of the laugh-out-loud moments. Rahul Bose and Rahul Khanna are alright. Bose has played similar roles and here he is no different. Saba Azad is quite okay for a newcomer. Payal Rohatgi is hilarious. She plays bimbo Kaya to the T. Konkona Sen Sharma is excellent. She too displays comic flair, this time it's a more subtle comedy. One wishes if only she had more screen time. Other than the performances, 'Dil Kabaddi' does not have too much to offer since a better suggestion would be to turn to Allen's 'Husbands and Wives' where it all seems more natural and authentic.

Strictly for adult viewing !!!

[shariquehashmi · 4/10 · 5 December 2008]

Till sometime back, the three-letter word, sex, was considered taboo on the Hindi screen. But it's out of the closet now. Dil Kabaddi goes a step further it takes you inside the bedroom of two couples and makes you listen to the bedroom chat that they indulge in, bringing the sex lives out in the open.It tries to explore fields like sexual needs and fantasies in marriage but the movie ends up showing nothing but confused relationships .

Dil Kabaddi is a humorous and exaggerated take on the dynamics of the relationships between married couples, without being judgemental. It reveals the internal dilemma of the characters as they struggle to maintain or easily let go of their marriages, to fulfill their deeper desires.

Rahul Bose and Irrfan Khan have done challenging roles and same for the actresses Soha Ali Khan and Konkona. The film has been made keeping multiplex viewers in mind but it is not for kids and families. Even all multiplex viewers won't go for the kind of confusion concept.

The question is not whether Indian audiences are ready for a theme like this. The question is, does the script hold your attention for the next 2 hours? Sadly, it doesn't!

Verbally, one of the boldest Hindi Movie ever.

[bobbysing · 3/10 · 21 February 2009]

Movies on marital issues and post marriage relationships have been made earlier too but this is an altogether different movie which is not interested in entertaining you with some good humor or some realistic sequences. But instead the director is more interested in being extensively vulgar verbally than visually. The movie moves around some confused characters who are not happy with their spouses and find other ways to satisfy themselves emotionally and physically. Loosely based on Woody Allen's "Husbands & Wives", it shows an inside view of different bedrooms and their not so amusing stories with everything about the "3 letter word" wide open as never before.

Chek out at : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104466/

Debutante director Anil, sadly is not able to hold the audiences neither with his bold subject nor with its cheap dialogues at various places. In fact I should mention here that the viewer would be shocked to hear some strong & bold words coming from a 20 something girl and that too in quite disgraceful details. Just imagine a young girl talking with her professor about her recently broken relationship. And the reason she gives for the break up is that "she couldn't do it with his boyfriend due to his size". Was the director trying to make a huge breakthrough in Indian Cinema with such liberty taken or it was only for adding a shock value to the movie. The comment was quite innovatively written by the writer for a young college going girl. And that clearly showed the real intentions.

Regarding the star cast, everyone has done a good job, but once again the talented star cast is not provided with enough good scenes. There are entertaining moments but they come after long gaps. Out of all the actors the most impressive is Saba, a new comer who plays a film student to Rahul Bose and shares her private experiences with him openly. The scene where she is talking about her sexual experiences and her birthday sequence where she boldly asks Rahul for a birthday kiss are not only shocking but they are also capable of generating an awful influence over the youngsters.

Rahul Bose as a confused professor and Konkona Sen Sharma as his wife are fine. Rahul Khanna returns after a long time with an entertaining performance. Payal Rohtagi as a mindless beauty looks sexy and inviting. But out of the ladies, the best act comes from Soha Ali Khan. She is again impressive after "Mumbai Meri Jaan". And the main person, Irrfan Khan, as always is top rate. Though he is being given similar kind of roles by our film-makers but he is surely an actor to be proud of. He is the only person providing the comedy and comic element to the movie. As a sex crazy person he is too good and his bedroom sequence with his office colleague is the best sequence of the movie.

In spite of having Irrfan Khan and other well known names, the film is not able to hold you or impress the viewer with its content. It is neither a thoughtful social movie nor a good sex comedy. In fact in order to provide some fresh scenes the writer goes overboard and becomes vulgar. Especially the dialogues given to Saba, the young girl are quite debatable. If the Censors don't find these as vulgar then they must be having a very enlightening guidelines of censorship in their hands or maybe they are more strict with only visual and abusive words.

After seeing "Dil Kabaddi", I was forced to think that there is a very thin line between a good sex or adult comedy and a vulgar film. Often our directors start off with the first and end up being the second. Same is the case with "Dil Kabaddi".

A refreshing no-holds barred take on DINK marriages

[SinglePlex · 8/10 · 11 December 2008]

Dil Kabaddi is another "event" that fills the heart with joy. Just to see story-tellers (and not just star kids and diamond merchants) get a chance to create real cinema in Bollywood is so heartening. We loved this movie and so did the half-empty PVR audience, median age 35, if the constant eruptions of gleeful laughter are any indication.

Unlike many good attempts, Dil Kabaddi does not falter in the second half simply because the director had a POINT to make. Maybe he has Woody Allen to thank for it, but this did not become a montage of slick shots against Mumbai's backdrop. All the humor and all the "slice of life" shots told a story. This is where the movie truly scores.

The other reason for its success, of course, is the excellent casting and performance. Each character was well-etched, including the "almost correct" English grammar and "avant garde" dress sense of Samit. His pairing with an intellectual, stylish, smart Mita is not that surprising in today's aspirational India-- a lot of successful women are truly happy with a less successful husband. I also liked the minor characters of ex-boyfriend, office hunk and Chirag the lech neighbor. Their body language and motivations reveal a well-written character as part of the screenplay. Something so rare even in mainstream Bollywood cinema. Ditto for the sex-jokes; they were much more tasteful than what is dished out in family-comedy "U" rated movies every week. That said, the "Kaaya" character could have been better etched.

Perhaps the movie targets a very specific audience, the mid-30s Indian, that grew up on Karan Johar's bubble-gum romance in the 90s and are "happily" married for 4-7 years now, like the characters in the movie. It is possible that this crowd will laugh the loudest, while those older and younger may find less to identify with in this story. They may yet discover it on DVD a few years later and laugh hearty. At its core, it is a story about our quest for love and our failure to recognize it when it happens. A tale of finding love versus our 'fantasy' of love.

While some have panned the movie for it's shameless copy of Husbands and Wives by Woody Allen, others have cringed at the barrage of sexual jokes and innuendo. In my opinion, it works where Mixed Doubles (the previous multiplex outing about infidelity) failed simply because it does not hold back or have any intellectual pretense. The movie keeps you laughing almost the entire time and yet makes an honest observation about modern Indian marriages.

The fact that it holds true for India 16 years after Woody Allen's 1992 original is a telling comment on Indian society playing catch-up with the west. For better or for worse...

Terrible Woody Allen rip-off

[engineers_sil · 2/10 · 27 December 2008]

Rahul Bose was very smug on "Coffee with Karan" about trashing his movies. When it comes to bad cinema, he is an integral part. Konkana is just a prodigal daughter of an influential mother with more aspirations than talent. What disappointed me was the performance of Irfan. He deserves better than this crap serves him. Soha Ali, although another prodigal daughter, displays much more promise. This sad attempt at parallel cinema with brazen display of plagiarism, only goes on the prove that a bad director can undo any classic script. Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives" not only provides script for the movie, narration is a verbatim copy too. Look for Irfan making a fool of himself towards end by trying to pull a Govinda.

Laughethon............

[bhavdeep · 8/10 · 5 December 2008]

I saw the first day first show at 9.45am. And let me tell you all that I never have laughed so much in any film screening as I did while watching this.

Its bustling with humour in every scene, almost. And the humour never goes cheap or slapstick.

I have never seen Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives, but I know he is a great director. However, Director Anil Senior's Dil Kabaddi has all the charm and laughs in the right place.

Every character in the film is enjoyable and the actors put up fantastic performances, be it those who come in for minuscule roles.

After reading few reviews here and there now, I guess only those people who accept that Infidelity is very much part of a metropolitan city's life will be able to enjoy the humour.

For all who are conservative or traditional or does not want to accept the reality, are in for a rude shock! Go on enjoy this film. It surely deserved way better promotion and youth will hit on it for very sure.

A very easy 4 out of 5 for a film which not just has performances and script, but fantastic camera movements (I guess it is hand handling motion frame), perfectly in-sync background score, appealing cinematography and some good production values.

A Scene to Scene copy of Woody Allen's "Husband and Wives"

[sawhney_g · 3/10 · 3 December 2011]

I watched this movie in 2010 and had decent opinion about the movie. Recently I saw "Husband and Wives" and was completely shocked to see the amount of plagiarism. The movie is literally copied scene to scene, even the professions of protagonists are not changed.

I won't the say the movie is bad, but some of the performances really stink. Rahul Bose maintains his usual crap standards, Payal Rohtagi brings no freshness or life to the character and even other characters have not done justice to the original characters.

Watchable movie if you haven't seen "Husbands and Wives". If you have seen Woody Allen's original then don't bother yourself.

Bollywood version of "Men are from mars...

[AvinashPatalay · 10 February 2009]

Watched the movie with very low expectations and the plot is about ultra-modern dinky urban marital crisis and its not too bad for an one- time DVD watch.

With names like Irfan Khan, Konkana Sen, Rahul Bose - the tag "powerhouse of performance" becomes synonymous and hence there is hardly any flaw in their performances (Ifran pays homage to Govinda though!). Soha could have been better as "perpetual dissatisfied" lady. And yes, Rahul Khanna needs to do his homework. Payal Rohatgi was convincing as a "bimbo". Only time will tell the standing of Saba Azad.

The abstract narrative is innovative and interesting. Songs are passable.