Always Kabhi Kabhi Review: Fails to strike

Story

Always Kabhi Kabhi is based on Roshan Abbas' 1999 play 'Graffiti'. As Shahrukh Khan (producer of the film) said, Always Kabhi Kabhi speaks the language of the youth. Debutant director Abbas makes a great attempt to capture the life, thinking and style of the Gen-X in the film. The intentions behind the film was to convey the thinking of today's youth, so that it reduces the generation gap between the elders and the youngsters.

Always Kabhi Kabhi reveals the story of four students of St. Marks School. Each of them is going through a difficult phase due to enormous expectations from their parents. Tariq (Satyajeet Dubey) is expected to be a topper. Sameer (Ali Fazal) has to arrange money as he's cornered by two corrupt cops. Ash (Giselle Monteiro) has an over-ambitious mother who wants her to join the ad and movie world. Nandini (Zoa Morani) has a major attitude and it stems because of her relationship with her parents. Now, how these youngsters overcome all odds and realise their mistakes is the basic line behind the story.

Plus Points

Roshan Abbas has managed to execute a number of sequences well. He also succeeds in getting the cast right as each one of them have delivered natural and likeable performances. The songs of Always Kabhi Kabhi are a mixed bag. The song 'School Ke Din' just kicks-off. Cinematography is eye-catching.

Loop Holes

Though Roshan's intention behind making Always Kabhi Kabhi was noble, the film fails to deliver the main subject material. Audiences do not drive home a message. The screenplay is over packed and after sometime one wonders what the director and the writer were trying to say. The writing is amateurish and ridiculous at the same time. It looked like the director did not know when to conclude the film, as the movie just went on and on. Too many songs in the film makes the narrative haphazard. In short it fails to strike a chord. Always Kabhi Kabhi just doesn't work!

Performances

Giselle Monteiro (debutant Love Aaj Kal) gets ample screen space here. She is awkward at places but has handled the character quite successfully. Satyajeet Dubey, the geek, is awesome with his natural acting abilities and effortless performance. Zoa Morani, plays a rebel and reminds you of Kareena Kapoor's 'Poo' act from K3G. She makes a confident debut! However, Ali Fazal is the real showstopper, with super performance. Lillette Dubey, Navneet Nishan, Manoj Joshi, Mukesh Tiwari and Satish Shah are passable. Vijay Raaz gets no scope.

Over All

Over all, Always Kabhi Kabhi disappoints!

Cast & Crew

Starring: Ali Fazal, Giselli Monteiro, Satyajeet Dubey, Zoa Morani, Satish Shah, Lilette Dubey
Director: Roshan Abbas
Producer: Gauri Khan
Screenplay: Roshan Abbas, Ranjit Raina, Ishita Moitra
Story: Roshan Abbas, Ranjit Raina
Music: Aashish Rego, Shree D, Pritam Chakraborty
Cinematography: Fuwad Khan, Anshuman Mahaley
Editor: Sanjay Sharma