Kismath (2016) Poster

(2016)

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7/10
Price Of Love. ♦ Grade B-
nairtejas25 September 2016
The inspiration behind the conception of this romantic thriller is very interesting, as one can find out from its brief Wikipedia article.

28-year-old Anitha (Sruthi Menon) and 23-year-old Irfan (Shane Nigam) are in unconditional love for some time. They have acknowledged their difference in religious and caste interests, but fear that their orthodox families may not take it easily. Hence, they seek help from the police, who may not be as helpful and scrupulous as they hope them to be. What follows is an intimidating chronicle of two lovers who are forced to dance due to ancient beliefs and acute police degeneration.

Kismath is NOT a love story, but kind of its aftermath. How the couple's decision to stay together no matter what works against them, catalyzed by their own family, their notions, their practices and traditions, and the police. In addition to chronicling their harrowing time at the police station as they seek help from the station in-charge, Ajay (Vinay Forrt), the story also throws light into police apathy and cruelty against those without power or influence. The sequences showing romance are fewer than those showing the characters in distress, which is what the film primarily tries to convey. One can blame a series of things for the couple's ill-fated destiny, but one thing that's loud and clear from this is the backward mentality of the society as we close the year 2016. And the real-life incident took place sometime in 2011, just five years ago. Members of the society still think that inter-caste marriages are a curse to the whole society and everyone incorporated in it, but what they fail to consider here is that caste and religion are all man- made inventions which have no rationality attached to them, but just sick fallacies.

Nigam comes out as a surprise package, having showcased his support in films like NPCB (2013). His air as the hapless lover who has evidently taken a wrong decision is decent. Menon can act, but her expressions gave her away in some sequences that demanded seriousness and authenticity. Forrt shines as the corrupt policeman who is disturbed the second he learns about the girl's caste, a scheduled one. Alencier Lopez, Sunil Sukhada, and all other supporting cast are very good. However, I had qualms with the seeming side arcs that were happening throughout the film, as if the writer lost focus on what his primary subject was: the fate of the star-crossed lovers or police immorality.

All in all, the story about a real-life couple will provoke you, and may possibly give you power to fight against the wrongness in your own personal life. Highly recommended!

BOTTOM LINE: Debutante Shanavas Bavakutty's "Kismath" is an enticing tale of two lovers who find themselves in the wrong place among wrong people for a blame which is not even their own. Rent a DVD now!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES
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8/10
Beautiful love story
cinish22 March 2020
The movie speaks to your heart and had me emotional by the end of the movie.

Music had the same purity and honesty that the movie had. Sushin Shyam's "Kisa pathiyil" song was what led me to watch the movie. Was listening to a playlist of his songs and "Kisa pathiyil" just struck me, which led first to listening to the song in a loop and then to watching the movie. Other songs were pretty good as well. All of them had the "noiselessness" quality to them.

Based on real incidents, the movie felt realistic all through.

Vinay Fort has done his role very well as the gruff sub inspector. Shane Nigam and Sruthy Menon have done their parts well too. Character actors in small roles have also blended very well into the movie.

There is a subtleness to the way the movie unfolds. It is an unfortunate story of intersecting lives, and how forces that should have had absolutely no say have abraised the lives of the protagonists.
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9/10
a well crafted movie with realism added to its making and wonderful songs
ridinbal18 January 2017
my rating- 4.3/5

positives-

1.)Shane nigam , Shruty menon , Vinay fort - they acted brilliantly with realistic no lag dialogue delivery. i thought Shane nigam would not be able to handle this role but he handled it maturely as a 23 year old boy in this film. (we got a good actor). Vinay fort as usual he does his role nicely and this time as police officer was marvelous. sometimes his strict dialogues and mannerisms also frightened me in theater. Shruty menon was apt for this movie and her acting was also good.

2.)direction,script- Shanavas is one of the new good director who entered film industry this year with this brilliant movie. i was amazed by his making style and he never showed any lags as debut directors does. well done!!. realistic direction as well as script was totally good for this movie. this is not first time in our industry and many films have done this genre (tragedy love story) and most resemblance is from annayum rasoolam. maybe this film will not be able to stand with annayum rasoolam as that film is always in top position in term of everything. i think Shanavas has seen that movie many times to make this one as this movie shows lots of similarities. if this movie dint come with "based on true incident" tag then every one would have blamed it for copying it. well i am not saying as a complaint and i was just expressing my views. Kismat is a good film and its only because of director's effort this movie became a delightful watch.

3.) songs,bgscore cinematography,edits - music director using "kisa paathiyil" as a background score was a totally a good idea. and songs were top and matching this film. cinematography which we usually see in many realistic films was good. edits was also good.

4.) length of this film- this is less than 2 hrs movie and it will not bore you. you may even feel that this movie ended fast. and because of this there is no lags in this film.

negatives-

1.)if they could have added a little varieties to this flick maybe it could have got international recognition. its not a big negative point but just a suggestion. 2.) its a romantic story but i felt romance was pretty less in this flick. 3.) even though its a tragedy it may not wet your eyes like usual tragedy movies does.

is it a must watch? if you are a fan of realistic romantic tragedy movies then yes or if you are masala movies fan then it will be a little confusing decision i guess. since this movie is based on true incident it has to be watched by everyone to know about this incident.

overall- a real life tragedy romantic flick which i would like to recommend to everyone. may not be everyone's cup of tea but try to watch this flick and that's all i can say. (but don't go with high expectations)

note- special thanks to LJ films for distributing this small budget films even in overseas as well.

My rating 4.3/5
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5/10
Kismat is a decent watch, but not very intense and deep.
binducherungath8 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Kismat (means Destiny, Fate, Wish of Allah), a film by Shanavas K Bavakutty, is inspired from the real life incidents which happened in Ponnani, in Kerala. It reiterates the challenges thrown in front of people falling in love from different caste / community. Our society is still not very much open about accepting intercaste marriages.

The story of Irfan and Anitha is also that of a 23 year old Muslim upper class boy falling in love with 28 year old Hindu Dalit girl. The opening shot of the film has Anitha travelling in police custody. She is unconsolable and crying. She appears to be threatened with the situation. Flash back tells us the story of Irfan and Anitha.

Irfan (Shane Nigam), a student, falls in love with Anitha, a Research Scholar (Shruty Menon). When Irfan's family learns about his affair, they oppose him and lock him in the room. But Irfan, with the help of his mother, is able to run away from home, and he meets Anitha and convinces her to get married to him. Both of them reach Police Station expecting help and protection from the police authorities.

At police station, they happen to wait for hours to meet SI Ajay C Menon (Vinay Forrt). What happens after they meet him? Does Ajay help them by giving them protection or helping them to get married ? What all events happen at the police station. How do their lives change ? Do the events take a different turn than the expected? What happens when the respective families learn about Irfan and Anitha';s elopement? What fate was awaiting both of them? Is the film another classic example of honour killing or some other destiny was awaiting them?

Shane and Shruthy as Irfan and Anitha respectively do project the vulnerability, sensitivity, fear, frustrations etc. with ease. Rest of the cast have also justified their roles.

It becomes difficult to review films based on real life events since somebody has lived that ordeal. How to rate such films remain my dilemma. But, if I try to review it as a piece of art, I felt that the pace of the film was very slow. No melodrama or exaggeration is there in the film, but the slow pace distracts. The focus of the film was more on to explore the events which happened after Irfan and Anitha reached the police station, but their bond, their love, progression of the relationship from an acquaintance to the soulmate is covered in 15 minutes through a song and glimpses of a few incidents. It is indeed shown that their non-conformist attitude costed them a lot. The film never tries to take sides, it is left to the audience to have the power of discretion. The film does justify the title Kismat i.e. the fate of such a relationship.

Kismat lacks depth and intensity. It is neither a Sairat (Marathi Fim which created history), nor a Ishaqjaade.

Kismat is a decent watch, but not very intense and deep. A simple story of two people from different religion, age, class falling in love against the societal norms and the destiny of their relationship.
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9/10
Shane again
jayakrishnanc9 October 2019
Don't believe the critics. I think the movie is brilliant and discusses a relevant social issue
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5/10
Not a Thattathin Marayathu or Moideen
ashifansar16 October 2016
Another Tragic Film after Annayum Rasoolum and Ennu Ninte Moideen. Set in the background of the caste cauldron of Ponnani in Malappuram, Kismath is a tale that can cloud our thoughts, wanting to serve a bitch-slap to our society. The 'literate' and 'educated' lot of the State still sadly suck up to the outrageously horrifying community discriminations and the film reflects the situation as it is. Yes, it's also one of those young-love-against-the-system films, but the focus is not solely on the couple's attempts to brave the institutions, but a lot more... On the flip side, the movie is quite sloth-paced, especially the first half. While the songs are extremely melodious, their insertion into the dragging narrative only stretches it further. On the flip side, the movie is quite sloth-paced, especially the first half. While the songs are extremely melodious, their insertion into the dragging narrative only stretches it further.
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