Give it up for India – already took that bold step into the 1980s, have you? Congrats! I had no idea how shocking it was to reverse traditional gender roles in this part of the world; Ki and Ka must be like your Brokeback Mountain, huh? Sure, this material doesn’t quite meet the awesome gauntlet laid down by Mr. Mom, but give it up for India all the same.
Kia (Karenna Kapoor) is a born power broker. If she isn’t on a plane going to or coming from a business meeting, her life has no meaning; she has neither time, nor patience for romance. Kabir (Arjun Kapoor – you’re both named “Kapoor,” huh? And Kabir father is played by Rajit Kapoor. Ummm, you sure this isn’t Kapoor and Sons? ‘Cuz that would make sense.) Anyhoo, Kabir, betrayed by a very masculine build, wants to be a “wife,” just like mom. Kia catches him crying on the airplane (apparently, he saw the screenplay); she clearly doesn’t have a whole lot of respect for this fact or his ambition. It isn’t long before they’re fighting about stuff. Ahhh, it’s like they’re married already.
And a few squabbles and a major row later, they are indeed married, she’s bringing home the bacon (do you “bring home bacon” in India?) – well, she’s bringing home the lentils and he’s making a house a home. Luckily, she’s quite good at making money because his interior design of a households with split level toy trains for bedroom and kitchen/living room is the highlight of the film. Let me put this another way: I love the set design; it is fabulous – the art director must have had a blast with this film. However, if art direction is the best feature of your film … your film ain’t good. See: Toys.
I see Ki and Ka not so much as a film but more of a “how to” manual in case you’re interested in taking up domestic squabbles. After watching these two, I realize you can fight about, literally, anything; it’s all a matter of putting your mind to the task at hand. For instance, you can fight about both being pregnant and not
being pregnant in the same scene. BTW, since when are pregnancy tests a “best 3 of 5?” I kid you not; this was a thing. And you can fight about gender roles and you can be both jealous of a partner’s success and scornful of a partner’s lack of success. You realize after a bit, well, you can pick a fight over trains and food and socks and driving and The Hamburglar … literally anything.
The standard Bollywood song-and-dance numbers could have had a lot of fun with gender role reversal – or could at least have had fun with a maid who treats Kia’s flat as her personal nookie den (reminding us that while this young woman is crappy at her job, she does in fact change the sheets afterwards). Ki and Ka made sure, instead, that the first song and dance here pointed out exactly how little respect Kia has for traditional marriage. I suppose you have to have films like this to pave the way for better films with similar themes, but this is decidedly a “let’s get this out of the way” offering. Hopefully, the next time Bollywood explores gender roles, it will delve deeper than, “what’s so bad about ignoring them?”
Pretty Kia is not business shy
Hunky Kabir not afraid to cry
The two fight so much
Over anything such
It will make any viewer ask “why?”
Not Rated, 126 Minutes
D: R. Balki
W: R. Balki, Rishi Virmani
Genre: How to fight with your spouse
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Train enthusiasts
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Bickering couples
