i so agree with you Thu, 2009-11-26 09:31
even i dont understand every movies
they made, it always has to be one person or any people
to be muslim, they are making them look bad people instead of indian
but why, i dont understand
Islam is the most beautiful religious and i am really proud of being muslim,
i think we should boycott them to stop making movies of terrorist and making people as a bad muslims

i really agree with anon below. there are tons of terrorism films made like this in hollywood too. just one film won't make a difference in public opinion than the real acts of terrorism itself like 9/11 and 26/11 mumbai attacks. it's better to show peace through action than words. anyway, this film was a big flop in india, so it didn't really matter to the public.

BAKWAS movie, why do they make such senseless movies???? n on top of tht Indian media prmote it like there is no tomorrow

yeaa wortt paying to watch this movie..

I didn't think it was all that good. I preferred New York and I think that Kaminey was the best movie of 2009.

I am a Muslim, and honestly I found this movie offensive. I live in Texas and after the movie was over, I could just not ignore the way people were looking at us. I am a girl who does not look desi at all. So obviously I did not get those stares, but my mom did. She wears a scarf, and it was just sad to see how people were looking at her. Is Karan Johar a Muslim? Has he read the Quran? Obviously not. None of the religions in this world tell you take some one’s life. Islam means peace. People who kill other people are “terrorists” and these terrorists are NOT Muslims. They do not have a religion. These “terrorists” that claim to be Muslims are proud to kill other people in honor of God. Islam is about peace and love NOT killing. I hate these terrorists bc they make us (the Muslims) look bad. I was disgusted by the movie. Example: If a guy kills someone. Is his whole family now murderers?
All I want you all to know is that Muslims are not told to kill anybody. Please believe that. And terrorists do not have a religion, and God is certainly not with them. They will be punished one day for their bad deeds. Amen.

LOL FLOP! sorry fans :P

gosh so true ....hehehhehehahhahahahahhohohohooh

movie is well-intended and new (different from the typical romance movies). everybody did a good job but saif needed a bit brush up on acting skills. the movie could have better and more interesting (i actually think this movie is a good sleeping pill), definitely not one a kind movie. it will do better overseas than in india.

No, but Im sure that they should be around the touristy areas.
Ive met Govinda and Manisha Koirala with Rakesh Bedi and MacMohan Singh (after there concert at the airport)
My mum saw the Akshay Kumar scene being shot for Heyy Baby in the church (when the boys are searching for the mothers of the baby)
But I just hope I dont bump into Kareena or Kajol coz I will so end up in the the Emergency department of a hospital as I will suffer a heart attack!

one of the best and honest review about this film...go ahead and read it!

Out of the formerly (and famously) escapist stables of Dharma Productions comes Kurbaan, a film that merges the worlds of love and international terrorism, and entwines the genres of romance and suspense-thriller. Karan Johar, a mammoth film-maker who built his fame on candy-floss fare, promised earlier this year that his future output would see him try to shed his former filmy inhibitions, and veer increasingly towards realism and gritty stories. With last month’s charming coming-of-age tale “Wake Up Sid”, he took baby steps towards realizing that dream, but with “Kurbaan” said baby steps evolve into confident strides. And what glorious strides they turn out to be. Although saddled with a script littered with occasional-but-gaping plot holes, ‘Kurbaan’ emerges a technically brilliant film that is still masterfully told, powerfully gripping, and wonderously enacted. It doesn’t try to promulgate or preach any message whatsoever, or to make any form of social or political commentary, but still punches you from time to time with gutsy, ballsy dialogues which many other films of the same genre tend to shy away from. And at the end of the day, it is this brutal honestly and seeming fearlessness, presented with sensitivity nonetheless, that sets ‘Kurbaan’ a cut above the terrorist films which preceded it.

To start off with, the writing of the film i.e. its screenplay, is both its most empowering strength as well as its most debilitating weakness. “Kurbaan” may not have the most consistent writing of the year, but is rather a well-arranged series of peaks and valleys, with some sequences striking you as peerlessly riveting, whilst some others leave you with your eyebrows raised (in a not so good way). And if Kurbaan works, then vis-à-vis the writing, there’s 2 reasons why. Quantitatively, the former outnumbers the latter. Qualitatively, the aforementioned riveting sequences brandish a gutsy strength like never seen before in Hindi cinema.

Many pre-release speculators were quick to compare “Kurbaan” to two other high-profile movies of the same genre – namely this year’s “New York” and 2006’s “Fanaa”. Let’s dispel this myth and say that “Kurbaan” is largely dissimilar to either of those 2 films. “New York” was high on entertainment, and provided ample introspection as well, but compared to Kurbaan, it barely shimmied the tip of the iceberg, whereas the latter delves deep, probing into hitherto uncharted and unexpressed sentiment on the issue of international terrorism. And “Fanaa” had a much more dominant romantic angle to it than “Kurbaan” – in the former, the love element and the terrorist element ran as almost parallel story-arcs, but in the latter, the love story is very much a significant part of the terrorist story-arc.

But let me just categorically clarify that while ‘’Kurbaan’’ does heavily feature a prominent Islamic terrorism storyline, in no way does it slander the religion or religious ideals at any part of the film. In fact it actually shows the religion in a complementary light in one scene, wherein it is stated that the words “love”, “compassion” and “peace” feature many more times in the Holy Quran than the word “jihad”, just one of the potently enlightening scenes in the film. Making a terrorist movie, that too one with substantial Islamic trappings, is like willingly hanging a sword over your head for any writer/director, much less one making his debut. But Rensil D’Silva makes the very wise decision of defining the intentions of said terrorism as being non-religious, making the screenplay both refreshingly endearing, as well as potentially immunizing it against any controversies.

In “Kurbaan”, the root of the terrorist intent lies in a struggle not for religious ideology or supremacy, but rather that of sovereignty, both political and economic (exemplified multiple times by the issue of Middle East oil). Let me illustrate a scene to elaborate my point. In a classroom discussion, a group of Caucasian students gang up with each other against their Muslim classmate, who is vehemently defends the alleged violent nature of his religion by saying that Muslim casualties in the Afghan and Iraq wars have actually been way higher than Western ones, and spouts a particularly memorable line that “just because you’re educated, wear a crisp suit, and call yourself President, it doesn’t make you any less of a terrorist”. In retaliation, his female white classmate asks. “If you don’t like our country so much, why don’t you just get out of our country?”, to which he retorts, “We will, don’t worry, as soon as you get out of ours.” It is powerful exchanges of dialogue like these, that give the film lots of added depth and resonance in a volatile world like the one we inhabit today.

“Kurbaan” also exposes to a certain extent the manipulative nature of humanity. Many analysts have long claimed that terrorists are blinded primarily by their faith, but “Kurbaan” shows them as being blinded by their selfishly-independent goals, with the whole concept of ‘’religion’’ (or Allah-ki-marzi, as it’s referred to in the film) being merely a façade behind which they execute their intentions. More alarmingly, it shows how people are willing to twist, turn, and even contradict their own ideals in pursuit of their goals. Once again here’s a parallel from the movie to illustrate this point. In a pre-intermission scene, Kirron Kher’s character Jaanu tries to appeal to Kareena Kapoor’s Avantika to realize the underlying purpose of their ‘’mission’’ by understanding the extreme injustice wrought upon their culture by Western invasions. Herself an Afghan, she reveals how her 6 year old nephew suffered in pain till his death, as a result of a piece of shrapnel lodging itself in his spine during US-conducted air strikes. She emotionally questions how such horrible fate can be brought upon an innocent 6 year old, and honestly you believe her.

Much later however, in the climax, she holds Avantika at gunpoint, and the latter pleads to be released saying she has an unborn child within her. Jaanu simply ignores it saying that children die everyday in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that Avantika’s foetus’ demise would be inconsequential (point to note: nowhere is God mentioned at all) . The sheer irony of the situation was evident in the multiple scoffs reverberating throughout the cinema hall, but behind those scoffs, at least for me, lay a genuine tinge of surprise and aghast as the depths to which some humans would sink just to achieve their goals.

The pacing of the screenplay is impeccable as well, with a healthy combination of dialogue-heavy parts as well as thrilling action sequences. Yet the thematic binding of the film remains consistent throughout, and as such the constant shift-in-gear between scenes, alternating between high and low octane, does not leave viewers confused, but instead all segue into a convincing, gripping storyline. The etching out of the characters is praise-worthy as well, with different tenets and facets of the characters being revealed at different times of the film. The growth of the characters’ individual graphs has been done extremely realistically as well, and you realize that some of the situations they face might have been right out of the textbook of your life, and this lends weight to the movie’s credibility. Rensil chooses to let you know about the characters just as much as is relevant, striking a perfect balance between overfeeding traits and withholding them. Once again, although religion appears to be the sole factor that binds the terrorists together, it is slowly revealed that each have their own distinctive underlying motives as well.

As for the acting, I must admit that rarely (at least in 2009) have I seen an ensemble cast deliver such cohesively rich performances as in “Kurbaan”. Every member of the varied cast is in fine form, and the beautiful portrayal of each and every character only makes the entire framework of “Kurbaan” sizzle more. Saif Ali Khan, with this movie, shows his extraordinary range this year, from a young, modern, urban-minded lover boy in “Love Aaj Kal” to a grim, serious, brooding terrorist threatening to be derailed from his goal by love. In both his movies this year, his characters have expressed disbelief in the concept of love, albeit in wildly disparate contexts. The goatee he has grown to change his look for the film, as well as his immensely emotive eyes, exemplify the blinded intensity of his character in the first half, and the confusion and change of heart in the second half, with equal aplomb. In a film full of determined individuals committed unwaveringly to their respective causes, Ehsaan (or Khalid, as it is later revealed) is the only one who wavers, making his character unique, and his performance, highly praiseworthy.

I have long believed that, barring only Kajol, Kareena Kapoor is by far the most talented active actress on the current Bollywood scene. She has got both the substance as well as the style, and her glares can be as seductive as they can be spine-chilling. The problem with her is that she often gets stuck in these ‘’glamour-quotient’ roles where all that is expected of her is that she looks good, swings her head, wears good dresses, and visually engenders the male section of the audience with her drop-dead gorgeous presence. Thankfully, like 2007’s “Jab We Met”, Karan Johar gives her a fully fleshed-out, author-backed role as the wife who suffers shocking betrayal yet is conflicted by the equal measures of love and hate for her husband, and Kareena emerges a champion. She has, in my opinion, given arguably the best performance of her career (quite a tall order, indeed), often using only her eyes and facial features to convey the multitude of emotions. And her dialogue delivery, be it the shyness she expresses at the start, or the desperate quivering she resorts to in the second half, is all pitch-perfect. She has hardly any make-up on for most of the film, but still manages to light up the screen every time she’s on it. In particular, for example, watch the last five minutes of the film, and behold the titanic power of acting, courtesy of Kareena Kapoor.

Vivek Oberoi, an actor who has delivered so many flops he was on the verge of fading into oblivion from the Bollywood firmament, comes up with a remarkably convincing performance this time round. As the journalist who joins the terror cell to avenge their merciless killing of his girlfriend, he puts his smoldering personality to good use, as well as an organic American accent, making his Muslim-born-in-America act seems genuine. However, he is still handicapped by his inability to emote effectively through his eyes, and once again, tries to be Shah Rukh Khan and fails, overacting the sense of fear in the climax scene. Still though, on the whole, it’s a more-than-proficient performance, and leagues ahead of all the other cinematic garbage he’s treated us to in recent times.

The supporting cast should not go unacknowledged either. In particular, the two elders in the film shine bright, matching the passionate rawness of the two main protagonists step-for-step with effortless experience. Om Puri is flawless as the elder statesman of the terror cell, constantly trying to rein in his younger, more reckless colleagues, and keeping an eagle-eye’s purview on Vivek Oberoi’s character, never fully trusting him from the start. His performance is equal parts boisterous and grounded, and the sum equates to magic. Kirron Kher, completing shutting out the over-the-top histrionics that she tends to veer towards (see Devdas, Om Shanti Om, Dostana), delivers a beautifully restrained performance as the oldest wife in the group, relentlessly attempting to persuade Avantika to support their ‘’noble’’ cause, yet all the while harbouring her own illicit intentions.

Technically speaking the film is brilliant as well. Cinematography has been done painstakingly in line with the thriller-genre of the film, featuring many close-ups and dark lightings, accentuating the facials contortions and emotions of the characters brilliantly. Special praise must be heaped for aesthetically and artfully shooting the lovemaking scene between the two leads, which could have otherwise sunk the movie neck-deep into controversy. The sound design is of remarkable standard, and the multiple eerie silences that permeate the script from time to time add to the thrilling, gripping nature of the plot. Action choreography has been done tastefully as well, ensuring high-octane sequences which are nonetheless rooted in reality and ultimately feasible on the neighborhood streets of New York.

Rensil D’Silva’s direction is consistent, focused, and taut, giving the movie an edge-of-the-seat feel, flowing smoothly whilst giving jolts to the viewers every 20 minutes or so. It’s actually a very Western approach to film-making, as opposed to the character-centric stance that many Asian directors like to take, and that actually works really well for the film. All in all, a confident debut for a man who until now was content with merely having credits for writing. That’s why I like writer-directors so much, they have complete creative control and liberty to ensure that what ends up on screen in exactly what they pictured when they penned the script.

In Bollywood, the music of a film is a key performance indicator, and in many ways can heavily influence the public’s decsions about whether to go see the film or not. Although it’s not made to be a chartbuster (there’s definitely no pre-requisite party track, of course), the soundtrack is full of soulful, melodious tunes kept in accordance with the theme of the movie. Moreover, there are used brilliantly in the background of the film, with no dances or lip-syncing that might have disastrously derailed the somber tonality of the film. “Shukran Allah”, actually a track more about faith and allegiance that straight-out-romance, is used cleverly to span the romance between Khan and Kapoor’s characters, but is slightly reminiscent of the still-iconic “Chand Sifarish” from “Fanaa” (not that this comparison to the Aamir-Kajol film is a bad thing). My favourite track in the album, and in my opinion, the best trance-y song this year, is undoubtedly “Ali Maula”, and the way it was dramatically picturised in the climax enhanced its potency manifold in the film. It could very well have been the theme song for the film, for it essentially conveyed the gist of what the movie was about.

As I said earlier, that’s not too say “Kurbaan” is void of any defects. In particular, I was slightly disappointed by the rocky nature of the script. There were many powerful and moving scenes, but at the same time, the lesser, weaker ones stood out more prominently, and this has deterred “Kurbaan” from being the undisputed masterpiece it could have been. Some of the events and sequences strain credulity, and had there been many of these, the film could have majorly slipped up with regards to its promise to stay true to reality. There are some sequences which don’t seem to add up logically, and long after the end credits you find yourself still wondering how they could have possibly played out. For example, a particular scene where an entire building collapses after an explosion, and yet the FBI agent in it survives, is especially quizzical, and was the only anomaly in an otherwise spectacular and stunning climax. Also, I really loved the rock-tinged “Kurbaan Hua in the soundtrack and wished it were played out during the film rather than in the end credits, but perhaps that would have detracted from the flow of the film.

All said and done though, Karan Johar has come up with another victorious celluloid piece to add to his more-than-enviable catalogue. This creates a hattrick of critically acclaimed films for him, from “Dostana” last year, to “Wake Up Sid” last month, and now this. While I’m pretty sure this film won’t be as big a smash commercially as the previous two (owing mainly to its extremely sensitive topic and the no-holds-barred approach its taken), it is nonetheless an important film that is of immense educational value. Clearly a movie made more for the intellectual crowd, it gives us a fresh new perspective on which to view Islamic terrorism from. A minor character in the movie complains early on in the proceedings that the Western media “never seems to say the story from the other side”, and in a way, I feel that this movie does satiate his burning hunger for justice and fairness. More than just being a different film for Karan and his Dharma Productions, I think the real reason why this film works so spectacularly for me is that it’s got guts that all its predecessors in the genre lacked, daring to spout the bold dialogues that all the other movies tend to conveniently side-step. “Kurbaan”, I believe, means sacrifice in Arabic, and honestly, this fantastic film is more than worth sacrificing about 3 hours of your time.

Hi i went to see kurbaan at fox yesterday..didnt see Arjun..wat time did you go??

Firstly I would like to tell you all that I watched Kurbaan with - Arjun Rampal!
I'm from Sydney and Karan Johar's 'Stepmom' is being currently shot here - Kareena and Arjun are here so far.
Went to watch Kurbaan yesterday, as the lights darkened, my partner and I were sitting in the back row - I saw some guys walk past and Im thinking - gosh, sit down the film is about to start, when the 3rd guy walked past in the darkness, when I noticed his side profile, I said to myself 'this guy looks like Arjun Rampal'..
When the Intermission started, I ran to the ladies, when I walked back into the cinema, my partner was like 'guess who's here' and im like 'who' and he's like 'Arjun Rampal' and im like 'Oh my God, I thought i saw him in the dark, so it was him' LOL!
Anyways, when the second half started, he walked back in and I heard him say to some guy 'can i sit here please' and i thought to myself 'yep, that's Arjun's voice'
(I always say that in our indian film industry, 3 people currently acting have the best deepest distinctive voices - Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Rampal and Akshay Kumar) and I admire Arjun as he's a husband, father and never heard of any controversies and apart from being so handsome and a good actor)
Anyway, when the film ended, everyone was walking out together, people were talking to him and he was tallking to everyone.
Then Im looking for a pen and finally found a piece of paper, he was infront of me talking to a family, so i said 'excuse me Arjun' but he didnt hear as I said it softly and mind you I was shaking and felt as though Im about to faint coz I just couldnt believe it, didnt expect it..then I turned around looking for my partner as said out 'Jaanu' (lol) then Arjun turned around!
I said to Arjun 'Hi, could you sign this for me please' we stood as we were face to face so damn close! I asked him 'arent Maahika and Myra here with you' he smiled, looked up at me and said 'no no there not here with me' then I said 'I cant wait to see you in Stepmom' he smiled then Arjun looked up at me and said 'how did you like the movie' (he's still signing) then i said 'wow' (he looked at me) I continued by saying 'it was so powerful' then i asked him 'what about you, how did you like it' he replied 'yeah, it was okay' then he handed my the paper and it reads 'Lots Of Love Arjun Rampal'
Then my partner was hugging me coz he knew how overwhelmed i was and Arjun was looking, and im like - wheres my phone, should i take a photo, but it was so hot and i didnt want to annoy him, my partner kept saying - i'll take a photo of you two, so i took out my phone and Arjun looked again and im like - Oh my God, why is he looking, so i took a photo of him standing there with his team of other people.
Then as we were about to leave, Arjun pulls something out of his pocket and opens the lid and Im like 'oh my God, Arjun smokes (LOL) there were a group of girls there and they laughed.
Then my partner and I started to walk off, Arjun was behind us and looking at us then they headed towards a restaurant.
Arjun is such a down to earth, genuine guy! Thank God he didnt disappoint us!
Enjoyed Kurbaan, sitting at the edge of my seat. Couldnt beleive as to how open, how intense the film was.
I just pray that Vivek Oberoi wins Best Supporting Actor! His acting was out of this world!
Saif deserves Best Actor, Kareena deserves Best Actress. Love the song 'Shukur Allah'
7/10.

Hey Hey!!

I just saw the Movie and it was BRILL!! for me Vivek stole the show, this performance will definitely bring him lots of praise, his accent was not even cringe worthy like that of abhishek in D6!!

Saif was reallly good, I didn’t expect a sober performance like this, but hats off to him, he played his part with ease and suited the role!!

Kareena, she looked amazing as always, the no makeup scenes highlights her natural beauty and you’re in awe of that for a while!! (Thick eyeliner also looked good!!). As for her performance it was a mature and hard hitting performance. She emoted and acted so naturally and one feels for her character. She has grown so much, and dare I say this performance was better than Jab we met and omkara! She will definitely win best actress awards in comparison to some of the movies that have released this year. (unless some1 else outdoes in upcoming movies next month!)

Kirron Kher played her Afghani/Pakistani role to the T, such an underrated actress, she was perfect, as was OM!! Diya looked blissful and flawless and did well as did Nauheed. The rest of the crew were good, even the FBI dude played his role well!

The cinamagraphy, sound effects played a vital role in keeping the audience gripped and interested , yes the performance played a part but these factors helped immensely in gripping us!

The music was fab, I liked Raisya personally but Shukar Allah and Ali Maula are soothing to the ears!

I think this is turning point for Karan, the film has met all expectations and ranks amongst one the most powerful movies of this year. Rensil is a director to look out for, I think he will be considered on par with some of the big directors we have in the county!

I cannot make fair judgements in regards to the flaws of movie because I am not a professional, I just watched the movie as a member of the audience and truly enjoyed it. I hope my (long) personal review helps

In a nutshell I feel it portrayed Islam in positive light and tried its best to get rid of them typical Misconceptions people (not just the west) may have of Islam and its link to terrorism!!

Enjoy

Laara

Xxx

forget about Taran watch this video how people hated http://www.india-forums.com/video/video.asp?vc=F068C006-2203-4A45-9B55-2EB6842DB9F5 another flop for katrina =(