Never Ending Movie Carnival
Never Ending Movie Carnival
Kaalidhar Laapata review: 'KD' aka Abhishek Bachchan wins heart in this sweet, refreshing song of life
‘Kaalidhar Laapata’ – cravings should never end, be it the lip-smacking biryani and/or happiness, joy from life, this deliciously delightful, heartwarming message of life in writer director Madhumita’s Hindi version of her 2019 Tamil gem ‘K.D’, finds the same soul massaging core. Abhishek Bachchan wins heart in this sweet, refreshing song of life as Kaalidhar while Daivik Baghela as the orphan child Ballu is a rare bundle of talent.
Kaalidhar Laapata movie synopsis
Kaalidhar (Abhishek Bachchan) a middle-aged man from Madhya Pradesh is grappling with memory loss, abandonment and a lifetime of quiet betrayals. The uneducated Kaalidhar who has toiled to give the best in his capacity to his siblings is now a burden to them. Finding it difficult to afford their elder brother’s cost of medicines, Kaalidhar’s younger brothers Manohar (Vishwanath Chatterjee) and Sundar (Priyank Tiwari) decide to abandon him at the at the crowded Maha Kumbh Mela, Kaalidhar overhears his siblings’ cruel plan and decides to disappear. He meets Ballu (Daivik Bhagela), an outspoken, street-smart 8-year-old orphan who is raised by the local priest and he survives by doing cleaning and other works in the temple in Bhojpur. Kaalidhar and Ballu become buddies and what follows is the making of a divine chord between the biryani loving Kaalidhar aka KD and samosa loving Ballu, the rare camaraderie between an 8- and 40-year-old is experienced which redefines childlike innocence, brotherhood, friendship, love, life and longing.
Madhumita in her Hindi version/adaptation of ‘K.D.’ plays safer and initially the idea of a forty (40) year old man Kaalidhar (Abhishek Bachchan) suffering from dementia is hard to digest, cause though this disease can happen at any age, normally dementia is found in people aged eight five or more. plus, the original Tamil ‘K.D.’ showed a sweet bonding between an eighty-year-old man and an eight-year-old boy.
In ‘Kaalidgar Laapata’ though the kids age is almost the same 8-9 years, the age of the protagonist drastically changes from eighty to forty, Abhishek Bachchan plays the role of a man nine years younger than his actual age and suffering from dementia. But, Abhishek Bachchan looks older than a forty year old man, however if you show little patience and wait till the beat of this bleeding heart Ballu (Daivik Bhagela) enters, slowly and surely you will be overwhelmed by the rich, touchy and inspiring impact the movie leaves on its audience. ‘Kaalidhar Laapata’ is designed for those who look for sense and sensibility in cinema and director Madhumita’s sweet refreshing song of life written by the director herself (story, screenplay) and co written by Amitosh Nagpal (screenplay and dialogue) wins your heart and brings smile on your face.
Yes, as said earlier in the Hindi version/adaptation, Madhumita has played much safer, the original Tamil had a great bonding between a vegetarian 8-year-old boy and the mutton biryani loving 80-year-old K.D. (Karuppu Durai), here in ‘Kaalidhar Lapaata’ it’s just Biryani and Samosa. Why Madhumita missed this layer is a mystery.
On the positive side, it’s certainly not entirely a frame-to-frame adaptation as the reason for running away from the family by K.D. in original is completely different.
But cinema in spite of its flaws if has the power to emote and leave a lasting impression than we do mention but don’t mind much.
The passing flashes of ‘Kabuliwala’ (1961) and ‘UP’ (2009) is a testimony that the bonding between the child and the grown up in ‘Kaalidhar Lapaata’ successfully pulls your heart strings the way it has done in the above mentioned classics.
Performances
Abhishek Bachchan is brilliant, another clap worthy performance after ‘I Want To Talk’ as Kaalidhar, the actor brings the physical frailty and vitality of a man with remarkable subtlety who has suddenly lost the purpose to live.
Daivik Baghela as Ballu is the rare bundle of talent and he explodes like a thinking adult in the film. Daivik gets into the street smart kid persona with tremendous ease and gives a performance beaming with great confidence that becomes hard to forget.
Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Subodh the officer from the lost and found department who comes with age during his hunt for Kaalidhar is naturally pious.
Vishwanath Chatterjeee as Manohar leaves an impression. Priyank Tiwari as Sundar has his moments.
Good support comes from Madhulika and Priya.
And last but not the least, Nimrat Kaur as Meera makes her presence felt.
Technicalities
Production values are good. Gairik Sarkar’s camera travels through the phases of Kaalidhar sad, happy etc in perfect dark, light and colours. And as an editor too Gairik does the job nicely. The background score by Tajdar Junaid is good while the songs by Amit Trivedi having lyrics by Geet Sagar are as per the film’s mood. Ashwini Shrivastav’s production designing and Rajesh Subash Dagar’s art direction is apt.
Kaalidhar Laapata movie review – final words
If you are looking for a heartwarming, bitter sweet song of life on screen, look no further – ‘Kaalidhar Laapata’ on Z5 is the paata (location, address, platform) believers of sense and sensibility in cinema are looking for.
Going with a deserving 3.5 stars out of 5. 3.5/5
Produced by Zee Studios and Emmay Entertainment, ‘Kaalidhar Lapataa’ is the Hindi adaptation of ‘KD’ a film by Yoodlee Films, A division of Saregama India Limited. ‘Kaalidhar Lapataa’ is streaming on Z5 from July 04, 2024.
A child born from life & fed by cinema. A filmi keeda from child & a film journalist for the last fifteen years. a father, seeker, foodie who loves crooning bollywood melodies twitter.com/cineblues More By vishal verma