Salman Khan appears, along with more Salman Khan merchandise and loads of Salman Khan action. In Kisi Ka Bhai Salman’s family comedy Kisi Ki Jaan is a no-brainer that is best suited for cringe-inducing hatewatches. Kisi Ka Bhai is for you if you missed watching Bhai on Eid in his most authentic form putting off some gritty, hard-core action and iconic hook steps with intolerable melodrama. The movie, which was directed by Farhad Samji, has no sense, no logic, and no mind-blowing plot, but it does have a lot of drama, drama, action, and action.
First things first, who chose Salman’s strange, hideous long hair wig? Was that hairdo truly necessary for his character? Does it improve the plot in any way? The most crucial question is: Does Salman look well in it? On every count, the response is NO. I couldn’t look past that distracting wig in any of the situations for the first half because I despised it so much. Thankfully, the second half spares us from the agony.
KKBKKJ is loosely based on the 2014 film Veeram. It centres on Bhaijaan (Salman), who has spent his life parenting his three brothers, Ishq (Raghav Juyal), Moh (Jassie Gill), and Love (Siddharth Nigam). In the midst of this effort, he made the decision never to get married. However, when Bhagyalaxmi (Pooja Hedge) shows up, everything changes, and he discovers a new reason for living. Bhaijaan, on the other hand, decides to defend them after knowing that Bhagya’s nonviolent brother Annayya Gundamaneni (Venkatesh Daggubati) and their family are being threatened by competitor Nageshwar (Jagapathi Babu). Meanwhile, Mahavir (Vijender Singh) is on the prowl for Bhaijaan and his brothers in order to kill them for a plot of land where everyone worships Bhaijaan, putting their lives in peril.
The movie is excruciatingly drawn out and prolonged at 144 minutes. The story, what little there is, would still be the same even if all the songs were removed, and it would make for a sharper viewing. Actually, it would have been a better decision to release the songs alone as an album rather than as a part of the movie because they are so abrupt and loud (though upbeat). However, it appears that the filmmakers didn’t mind including as many as seven tracks in the movie because they were more interested in showcasing everyone’s dance routines. Salman’s exceedingly embarrassing dance moves are no longer entertaining to watch. They don’t make him look nice and they don’t look good on film.
Farhad has never been good at direction, and KKBKKJ is no exception. Even if you can get past the problems, the writing is terrible, especially when it comes to the conversations that make Salman seem so childish. The movie, which Farhad co-wrote with Sparsh Khetarpal and Tasha Bhambra, contains numerous one-liners that seem to appear out of nowhere and have no lasting effect in addition to a terrible racism joke and a sleazy Pepsi advertisement. Numerous clichés are present throughout the film, and you don’t even have to wait for them to appear. They can be seen as early as Salman’s entrance sequence, in which he leaps off a building while still wearing his jacket, engages the villains in amusing conversation before beating them to a pulp.
The redeeming grace in this case is the cinematography by V. Manikandan. It is simply amazing how he creates the ideal environment for an action scene with camera angles to capture the flying guys, blood splattering on the screen, and the entire magic with slow-motion views. Those are some paisa vasool and seeti-maar scenes. The film’s high highlights unquestionably include the action sequence at the end and the fight scene in the subway shortly before the interval. There is also plenty of action in between, with up to 5 of these expertly planned fight scenes available for your viewing pleasure. Here, I’d like to draw attention to the thrilling hand-to-hand struggle between Vijender and Salman. Vijender is incredibly assured, believable, and even attractive in his debut performance—and that too as the bad guy.
Salman is in excellent form and gave it his all while delivering his trademark brand of intense drama and action. He exhibits softness, vulnerability, and kindness at times while displaying astounding violence at other times. With the exception of that long hair, he looks good in both! His on-screen brotherhood inspires you, and you can’t help but smile at the lightheartedness he is recognised for bringing to his characters. Venkatesh too delivers a strong performance; he maintains his composure among the commotion and commands attention on screen. Even when he is acting alone, he steals the show in his scenes with Salman.
Raghav, Siddharth, and Jassie receive enough screen time to stand out and display their action prowess among other males. They all have excellent screen presence, and they all manage to hold their own even when Salman is in the picture. Speaking of on-screen presence, Pooja Hedge has never made an impression on me. Even though she has previously been opposite some of the most in-demand male performers, such as Ranveer Singh, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, and Prabhas, her lacklustre screen presence prevents her from being that larger-than-life heroine. She attempts too hard and exaggerates her facial emotions, which becomes tiresome after a while. She and Salman have little chemistry in KKBKKJ, and as a South Indian woman, she finds it difficult to appear even remotely genuine.
The main issue I have with KKBKKJ is how poorly it utilised the three debutants, Chahat (Vinali Bhatnagar), Muskaan (Palak Tiwari), and Sukoon (Shehnaaz Gill). They each engaged in conversation for the first 20 minutes before disappearing for the following hour. It was disappointing because Shehnaaz charmed you with her innocence and Palak seemed very confident; Vinali, in what little screen time she receives, is about average. However, as an ensemble cast, it has a celebratory atmosphere, colourful costumes, loud sets, and everyone is having fun dancing, singing, and telling jokes—as well as dropping a few bones.
Salman’s character repeatedly says the following remark in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan: “Jab dil, dimaag aur body bole ‘Bhai bas bhi karo’, I say, ‘Bring it on.'” Although I would like to say the same, it is not possible. And prepare yourselves for there will undoubtedly be a sequel. Watch for the blink-and-miss clue after the end credits. Watch KKBKKJ until then and decide if it was the ideal Eid Mubarak present for you.
