Opening Doorz

By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | January 25, 2017

Rating: 4 / 5

The essence: Hrithik Roshan is brilliant as he enacts the role of a blind man. His warming up to Yami Gautam and falling in love with her is what subtle romance is all about. Yami, on her part, too, matches Hrithik in every aspect, becoming the perfect partner. This is one made-for-each-other couple on screen.

The first half is gut-wrenching: without warning, even before Rohan (Hrithik Roshan) breaks an egg into a heated frying pan, Sanjay Gupta has you hooked. This scene is soon followed by Rohan (who cannot see) walking into a restaurant where a common friend is trying to hook him up with Supriya (Yami Gautam) who suffers from the same disability as him.

After some awkward moments, the pair soon hit the high notes as they begin to fall in love. And when they get onto the dance floor for Mon Amour, the chemistry is just perfect. Unsure steps followed by fluid body movements plus the searching and probing of hands to get his partner’s attention, this is the pièce de résistance. Song, rhythm, performance, body language all merge into an oasis of harmony. As two blind people who can see through the mind, both Yami and Hrithik are superb, pulling off a stunning dance sequence which is a visual delight!

Gupta spends a few scenes capturing the blossoming love before he introduces Amit Shellar (Rohit Roy), the younger brother of a local corporator Madhavrao Shellar (Ronit Roy). Amit, riding on the support of his brother, enters into their married life and wreaks havoc. His partner in crime is Rohan’s neighbour Wasim (Shahidur Rehman).

With their love nest broken and privacy trespassed upon and with no help coming from the police authorities, Rohan decides to take matters into his own hand. He is seething with rage and seeking revenge. How, despite being blind, he eliminates his nemesis, one after another takes up the second half.

Hrithik Roshan is brilliant as he enacts the role of a blind man. He has factored in all aspects into his performance right from the way he speaks to the way he walks to the way his sightless eyes move around. His warming up to Yami and falling in love with her is what subtle romance is all about. Your heart reaches out to the lovebirds when they get separated in the rush hour in a crowded mall. Yami, on her part, too, matches Hrithik in every aspect, becoming the perfect partner. This is one made-for-each-other couple on screen.

As their love blossoms and a hint of what is to come gets to you, there is a sense of fear as to what might follow. Gupta handles the entire first session flawlessly, keeping that nagging fear on the periphery of your thoughts.

In the second half, as Rohan gets into the act to seek his revenge, things do go a little overboard. There are scenes which are a bit far-fetched for a blind man to pull off and there are times when an iron rod on the head does not spell doom for the victim. Having said that, Kaabil has the desired impact on the viewer.

Hrithik Roshan is as never seen before. Scent of a Woman? Somewhere close!

CREDITS
Producer: Rakesh Roshan
Director: Sanjay Gupta
Star Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Yami Gautam, Ronit Roy, Rohit Roy, Narendra Jha