Kapoor & Sons is an entertaining family-orientated film with a bitter-sweet story that endures multifaceted emotions with skilful effortlessness. This story orbits around the Kapoor family who hail from Coonoor, since 1921, a hill station in Tamil Nadu. Brothers, Arjun (Siddharth Malhotra) and Rahul (Fawad Khan) are respectively based in New Jersey and London respectively and arrive at Coonoor to visit their grandfather (Rishi Kapoor) who lives with their parents Harsh (Rajat Kapoor) and Sunita (Ratna Pathak Shah). The Kapoors are vibrant people but as a family component they have skeletons in the closet. The drama, the battles, the moments of emotion and the love of this family make Kapoor & Sons as a captivating experience.
The casting of this film is simply perfect. The acting in this film is incredible, Siddharth Malhotra as the second best of the two brothers, depicts his anguish and bitterness, in an unassuming style in his portrayal of a son who constantly has to prove his worth. Fawad Khan as an accomplished novelist and older brother is superb, during scenes of emotion and anger he stands tall with a well versed and controlled performance, It is faultless with no over the top moments. Alia Bhatt as Tia Malik has a shorter but pivotal role in this film, she portrays a Mumbai-based girl who is an orphan and misses having a family. As always, she delivers a invigorating act with loads of impulse and flamboyance.
Ratna Pathak Shah plays the complex mother and wife with composure. Whether it is inadvertently hurting her son or condemning her husband of an affair, her demonstration of feelings, though, is special. Rajat Kapoor is well casted in this role; he is subtle yet highly effective as a husband and father who is always under scrutiny by his wife, being mocked for his unsuccessful business attempts and relationship with his former bank colleague Anu. But the best for last! Rishi Kapoor will steal your heart! He is an absolute delight onscreen. He delivers and emotional, thought provoking and sincere performance with childlike innocence, playful nature or being a fun grandfather to his grandsons. He is a great actor with boundless talent.
Writer-director Shakun Batra has done a marvellous job with this film. Each character was flawlessly written into the story with enough space in the film to grow and develop. The story is instantly connecting with audiences and the screenplay is rigid with unexpected twists which wholly entertain its viewers. The cinematography is natural, and Coonnor is attractively showcased. Amaal Mallik’s work is melodic, apt, and makes its way effortlessly into the film. “Kar gayi chull” is enjoyable and lively and “Saathi re” is poignant. Another spectacular track is “Bolna” which is exquisitely written and the vocals are soul-stirring.
Kapoor & Sons is a heart-warming family film that seamlessly weaves together an assortment of emotions. Director, Shakun Batra effectively deals with human emotion. Performances by Alia, Sidharth and Fawad and the rest of the cast are admirable and brilliant. Experience a simple story that is soul stirring and emotionally motivated. This is one movie that you should not miss.
Rating: 9/10 | 4.5 Stars
