Ki and Ka Movie Review

Just watched the new Hindi film Ki & Ka, as in Lad-Ki & Lad-Ka. They say that behind every successful man there’s a woman, but it also means societies’ convention not only relegates woman to the background, but celebrates that sacrifice. It doesn’t mean there are no successful women, or even men behind those successful women, but again, there’s someone in the front and someone at the back. We all yearn for the day when a couple can be equally successful in their pursuits and no one ‘has’ to ‘choose’ to be a homemaker, but to get there from the current male dominated society, we need to reexamine some rules, and toss and turn some conventions, do some role playing, may be try some so called radical ideas. ‘Ki & Ka’ is such an attempt to defy conventions and have fun with some role reversal.

Ki & Ka is the story of Kabir and Kia, sorry, Kia and Kabir, a modern woman with ambitions to achieve professional success, is single (and dates occasionally) and outgoing. She meets Kabir, who’s a rich kid and IIM-B topper (I know!, right?) doesn’t want to anything to do with his father’s business empire, and his life’s ambition is to be like his mom, who was a home maker. Anyway, sparks fly and after a brief courtship, they get married. To emphasize their commitment to their ‘roles’ in the marriage, she ties ‘mangal sutra’ around his neck [thankfully after the ceremony, he wears it on his wrist like a bracelet, otherwise it would be a bit much I thought] On the first morning after, he wakes her up with coffee, eggs and passionate bout of morning coitus, in other words, dream of every man. The rest of the story revolves around how their marriage plays out. There are episodes to establish the relationship parameters and enough dialogues to fill pages on discussions around man/woman, ambitions etc. As you might expect, trouble brews in the paradise and cracks start appearing around edges. Surprisingly, this doesn’t come from a sudden attack of male chauvinism, rather from an unexpected surge of notoriety for Kabir. Ironically, his fame comes from his home making, ideal husband status. So, the story comes full circle, imagine a hard working professional who is climbing the corporate ladder and gaining fame in media, with the spouse’s support at home. Things go well as long as that professional is the one who’s in the limelight, if the spouse comes by their own 15 minutes of fame, jealousy might rear its ugly head and words might be exchanged. Now, imagine the professional to be a woman and the spouse to be a man, the story doesn’t change much, and that’s exactly what happens.

R. Balki, who directed the breezy ‘Cheeni Kum’ and the hard hitting ‘Shamitabh’ and the excellent 'Paa', wrote and directed ‘Ki and Ka’, undertook a hard subject and treated it well. I especially liked the way he etched out Kabir’s character, not once Kabir lashes out at Kia or tries to ascertain his strength or tries to prove that he is the ‘man’[there’s a brief avoidable episode of some maar peet]. Whatever conflict arises is purely due to the circumstances without ever breaking his accepted role in the marriage that’s beautiful writing in my book. My favorite Ilayaraja didn't score this film, as he did other films of Balki, and the music of Shankar-Ehsan-Loy is servicable, none of the songs really stood out for me. PC Sreeram who worked with R. Balki in all his films mesmerizes us with his cinematography, don’t expect scenic locations like Roja, but within the urban confines the camera moves effortlessly and sets the right mood throughout the film. Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor who play Ki and Ka has done a great job supported by Swaroop Sampath (there’s a welcome blast from the past) as Kia’s mother. Amitabh and Jaya Bachan appear in a brief cameo playing themselves, and the dialogue between the two is so heartfelt and feels real. Given R. Balki’s relationship with the Bachan family, I am not surprised that they did this for him. Their presence in the film definitely helps to frame the context and also ends the proceedings depending on the way you look at it.

Ki and Ka not only questions the traditional gender stereotypes and also tries to provide some context by instigating dialogue via conflicts. Although the script and performances are excellent, the pace certainly brings the film down. As I saw it, there were 2 choices: 1. Kabir suddenly realizes this role reversal is not working out, and seeks out to be his own man, or 2. Kia wants more than professional success and a great husband, a child! Actually, for a brief moment, she does panic from a faulty pregnancy test. But the film did surprise me with a different angle and I appreciate that R Balki didn’t cop out and take the easy route.

As Clint Eastwood once said, “Drama usually has some intense conflict”, In Ki and Ka the conflict is not between the genders or even in their love for the protagonists, rather the conflict that exists in the society between bread winner and the homemaker.