-
Kalank
Critic reviews and ratings
-
Three words to sum it up would be – it’s beautifully chaotic. Anyway, some movies are best seen and less analysed.
-
...is a true labour of love that tells you a story laced with beautiful moments that will tug at your heartstrings.
-
...has unmistakable contemporary resonance because it celebrates the transformative power of love in the time of rampant hatred. The film is worth a viewing not only for what it says, but also for how it packages its pacifist statement.
-
A reasonably complex plot for a love triangle spoiled by shifting focus from the details in the story to reasonably well-done grandeur and opulence. Results in a play-like set-up without due regard for nuance.
-
...is likely to be the most visually stunning film you will see this year.
-
...watch it for the performances and the opulence...
-
The movie retains its hauteur and attention to period haute couture even as it goes off the rails, finally chugging into its destination after leaving broken hearts and unmet ambitions in its wake.
-
From verbose lines to obscene opulence, Kalank is too theatrical and stage-y to feel current, which is where the old-world setup works… until it doesn’t. More attention is paid to the chikan embroidery on the husband’s kurtas than to the climactic revolution, and the third act exposes the story’s hollowness while the film flits inconsequentially between timelines.
-
...is stuck in a bizarre time warp of real world and surreal treatment. What ensues is not particularly poignant, but breathtaking to behold.
-
...doesn't aim for that depth. It's content in being pretty even when it has the potential of so much more.
-
...has everything – beauty, heart and a stellar cast but lacks the emotional heartbeat and is found searching for a soul. A beautifully stunning world, a lavish theatre created by sitting comfortably on an armchair that goes everywhere and reaches nowhere.
-
...it's such a mish mash of everything from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge to Casablanca to Lawaris to Bahubali to Camelot and everything in between and presented to you in a language that is so pretentious that it exhausts your patience.
-
It’s hard to not be awed by the grandeur of the film, the lavish couture on display and the easy-on-the-eyes star cast. However, it’s also equally hard to ignore the fact that the filmmakers could have easily done so much more with the resources and premise they had at their disposal.
-
...is a sincerely-crafted, visually-robust film pulled apart by mediocre performances.
-
...the overall feeling is that of disappointment. Kalank is certainly not a lazy failure, but it ends up being an odd bird: watchable, but neither generic enough to overlook its flaws nor specific enough to embrace with all your heart.
-
The Bollywood that we have grown up with, has sold to us these 'unnamed' relationships packaged in goodlooking sets since Silsila. Nothing has changed in these four decades. We still cannot deal with transgression in societal norms and relationships unless looked at from a safe distance. In 2019, our lives are a lot more complex than the simple 'solutions' Bollywood dishes out to us.
-
...is a visual spectacle that lacks soul and falters big time on account of its writing, length as well as music.
-
You could say that I am being overly righteous and needlessly cautious here but the climax left me discomfited and disturbed.
-
In a Bollywood that’s trying to look more self-aware, emotion can be a lead weight. I'd be curious to see what audiences make of the film over the next week or two; the one I saw it with seemed to tire by the end of all the eloquence.
-
...is ultimately tiring and heartbreaking even. You can see the talent on screen. If only there was a sharper script to harness it.
-
So this is a film with expensive, but ultimately poor, production values. It is a multi-star movie, with actors trapped into delivering theatrical lines that make their personas unrecognisable. This is hugely disappointing.
-
...it is fronted by such a likeable cast and comes in such pretty packaging. There is nothing pretty though about the lack of nuance in its portrayal of Hindu-Muslim equations...
-
...style is not a substitute for story. Some good things do not make up for the complete derailment of this bland endeavour and an exhausted viewer leaves the theatre wondering exactly what the hell had happened, both in front of the camera and behind it.
-
The whole feels like a giant set, stately and ponderous and minus impact; the characters all costumed and perfumed and largely life-less, sparking only in bits and pieces. As a character says, two-thirds into the film, ‘yeh kissa yahin nipat jaata’.
Best and worst reviewed movies (Min. 5 reviews)
Best
-
Worst
-
Best
-
Worst
-
Best
-
Worst
-
Best
-
Worst
-
Best
-
Worst
-
Best