Kaamyaab
Ratings: 3.5/5
Duration: 2 Hrs 0 Mins
Director: Hardik Mehta
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 6th March 2020 (India)
Star Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Deepak Dobriyal, Manoj Bakshi, Sarika Singh, Akashdeep Arora, Birbal, Shubhankar Das, Devas Dixit, Avtar Gill, Ramesh Goyal, Arvind Jangid, Nasirr Khan, Viju Khote, Lilliput, Manmauji, Guddi Maruti, Mukesh Nagar, Anil Nagrath, Bachchan Pacheria, Neeraj Pandey, Mukesh Prajapati, Amitabh Srivastava, Isha Talwar, Kaurwakee Vasistha, Devika Vatsa, Rashi Verma
Plot: Kaamyaab is the story of Sudheer (Sanjay Mishra), a side actor in the 70s and 80s Bollywood industry, who has been featured in 499 Hindi films and has been moderately famous. Against the wish of his daughter, now at the age of 63, after a video interview with the media, he realizes he is just one film away from completing 500 films in Bollywood. Old memories stir up and he decides to come out of retirement to complete the round figure of 500 to get that one substantial role for which he will be remembered forever.
But, with the industry undergoing drastic changes over the years – both in terms of acting and its treatment towards character actors – will Sudheer be able to make a comeback in this alien world is what the film Kaamyaab is all about.
Review: Director Hardik Mehta’s Kaamyaab set in the present-day with big wigs, flashy clothes, caricature-ish characters, a lot of ‘buddy time’ on sets and some serious loud theatrics has picked the fascinating and lesser-known world of supporting actors of the 70s and 80s era of cinema seamlessly. Hence, strikes as a refreshingly different film.
The narrative is subtle, light, funny yet emotional but never lets the story pretending to be what it is not! Therefore, the writers too deserve brownie points.
When it comes to performances, Sudheer’s character played by Sanjay Mishra has been beautifully weaved. Sanjay Mishra would totally draw the audience in though he wears a poker-faced expression throughout. He pitches his dialogues in a way that would tickle the viewers funny bones. There have been many films in which we would feel “Sanjay Mishra was wasted, or he deserved more screen-space,” but then comes Kaamyaab which is all about him. His depiction of Sudheer says a lot about how this is personal for him.
While, supporting star casts Sarika Singh, who plays his daughter Bhavna, stands out in one scene, where she has an emotional meltdown in front of her father. Avatar Gill shares some comical sequences and plays himself in the film. Even Deepak Dobriyal pulls off an excellent portrayal of a former friend-turned-casting director. Also, veteran actors like Viju Khote, Lilliput, Birbal, Ramesh Goyal, Guddi Maruti and others in one frame bring back a glut of emotions.
The music, by Rachita Arora, balances the blaring depiction of the industry. Specifically, Bappi Lahiri’s Tim Tim is brilliantly used to introduce Sudheer’s character, while the rest of the two songs doesn’t help in building a conversation with the story.
Overall, ‘Kaamyaab’ is a tribute to those invisible stars of Bollywood, the ‘larger-than-life’ movie that would manage to make the viewers smile while showing one of the meanest realities of cinema. Watch it if the subject excites you, and you won’t be disappointed!
