Kapoor and Sons Movie Review

Rating: 8.5/10

Note: Since I believe that unfolding is the essence of stories, I will not reveal more than what the trailer has but I will just give you the reasons, if you need any, to watch this movie.

The trailer of the movie, Kapoor and Sons, had two factors that got me interested in watching the movie. It seemed like it was not just another love story. And it was not about a happy family that just gets over a crisis in midst of songs, dance and dress parades. And it is great that Bollywood is getting over its fixation of candy floss romances and happy families that seem suspended in some parallel universe.

So…

Kapoor and Sons is a movie directed by Shakun Batra, who co-wrote the movie with Ayesha Devitre Dhillon.

Kapoor and Sons is set in Coonoor in the serene tea plantations of South India. The pristine beauty of this place seems to be set against the wave of disturbance and restlessness of the Kapoor family. There is a 90-year old man whose preparation of his own death is largely ignored by the household that is falling apart in more than one ways.

Rishi Kapoor brings great nuance to his well written character as Dadu, meaning grandpa. Dadu seems to draw great pride from his family and his military career. He is not the patriarch of this scattered family but neither is he just a comic relief. And Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak! While that is a unique choice of actors as a couple, they just transformed into Harsh and Sunita Kapoor. One can literally feel a lineage as they refer to relatives and friends, and these three actors make the majestic but broken house, their own.

Despite the physical distance, when the family gets together over a crisis there is not even a moment’s hesitation for the differences to erupt. The polite moments have hardly transpired and we already know who is mamma’s favourite and who is not.

Sidharth Malhotra as Arjun is the son who thinks he is the lesser loved amongst the two sons, with reasons (and who needs major hugs ;! No seriously, I would rank him as one of the great finds of this generation along with Ranveer Singh.)! And this is the first movie I have seen of Fawad Khan, he plays the quiet, sulking Rahul very well, and seems very convincing as a child who hates the “perfect” tag. Although Alia Bhatt has very less of screen time, she still manages to stand out on her own as the endearing Tiya who is brave in her own way.



Go ahead and watch this movie about changing lives, changing lifestyles of a new world and people maneuvering the complications of living in a family and finding happiness in their own ways.