Kidnap

Film: Kidnap
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Imraan Khan, Minnisha Lamba, Reema Lagoo, Vidya Malvade and Rahul Dev
Director: Sanjay Gadhvi
Genre: Thriller/Action
Storyline: An ex convict in a bid to settle score with the man who sent him to jail, hence kidnaps the daughter of the industrial giant, leaving behind a series of clues that is supposed to lead him into finding her.


One would expect more out of the man who gave us the blockbuster Dhoom, but sadly he disappoints. At the end of the movie, the only word that strikes your mind would be “What??”

The plot is seemingly original and pretty straightforward. Minus the typical Bollywood masala that is. The movie begins with sketchy representations of a young boy sent to juvenile prison and how hard life is for him there. As the credits begin to come to a close, the cartoon boy begins to have stark resemblance to Imraan Khan. So far so good.

The entire fiasco begins after the kidnapping happens. Although the actual act of the kidnap was well thought of, the gravity of the scene is lost when Kabir (Imraan) gravely declares that “This is a kidnapping” and Sonia (Minnisha) breaks into a fit of exaggerated girly giggles. From there on, the entire movie seems to be more of a comedy of errors than anything else. You have Sanjay Dutt and his stunt double taking turns in running for the action sequences (perhaps one of the only highlights of the movie). Would you call someone who cooks, cleans, buys you designer clothes and takes you to sandy beaches to bathe and spares your life after you have tried to kill him twice (unsuccessfully) your kidnapper? Not in a million years you wouldn’t. The various “clues” that Kabir sends across to Sanjay Dutt (to help him figure out the location as to where his daughter is hidden) remind one of those nursery rhymes that one learnt in school. How the clues are solved is left to your imagination as there is no clear (read humanly understandable) explanation available. The only good thing about the movie was perhaps that there was a big cliché avoided - a possible romance between the kidnapper and the kidnapped. Frankly after seeing so much of Bollywood in a supposed thriller styled along the lines of Hollywood, you almost expect it and the director keeps you guessing until the very end, when they meet again.

The movie boasts of an impressive cast or rather a cast that fails to impress. Minnisha and Vidya are literally dressed to kill, in fact so overdressed that one is initially confused between the mother and the daughter. Sanjay Dutt comes up with an overall decent performance, he switches between the hard core businessman to the gentle and loving father with ease. Reema Lagoo as the mother and grandmother essays her (very) limited role to near perfection. Rahul Dev’s presence in the movie as Dutt’s highly qualified bodyguard leaves you wondering if he was in the movie to simplify or complicate things further. Finally coming to the protagonist, Imraan Khan. Yes he does play a refreshingly different role compared to his chocolate boy image in his debut. Yes he manages to look like someone who is angry and revengeful. But the last thing that he can carry off is the menacing look of a villain who is supposed to give you the chills.

Music is definitely not one of the movies highlights. Maybe Minnisha Lamba in a bikini is. Confused? Well that’s what the movie can do to you at the end of 150 odd minutes. Perhaps you could watch this movie once. Not for the thrills or the chills (which is perhaps what it was intended to be) but for that wonderful and completely pointless experience called wasting time.