Kaalagandi

About the film

Kaalakaandi (translation: Haywire) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language black comedy film written and directed by Akshat Verma. The film stars Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Oberoi, Deepak Dobriyal, Isha Talwar and Sobhita Dhulipala. It was released on 12 January 2018.

Plot

Rileen (Saif Ali Khan) receives news of his progressing stomach cancer, which is in the last stage. He is left heartbroken but remains quiet in front of everyone. He decides to live life to the fullest, by smoking and taking LSD from a friend but remains unhappy.

His engaged brother Angad (Akshay Oberoi) is getting ready when he receives a call from his ex-girlfriend, Selina (Amanda Rosario) from a hotel. Angad sets out to meet her along with Rileen under the excuse of a haircut.

In the next story, we see Tara (Sobhita Dhulipala) packing her bags to pursue higher studies in the US, while her boyfriend Zubin (Kunaal Roy Kapur) is trying to convince her to change her plans. Hours before her flight, both of them attend a birthday party, but soon the police raid the place. Tara is nervous as her flight leaves in two hours, but she can't leave as the police have locked the place down. She manages to escape with her friends and Zubin in a car. In the car, Zubin and Tara have a heated argument over Tara kissing a guy. Tara loses control and hits a motorcycle, killing two people. Tara feels guilty but leaves when Zubin and her friends advise her not to go to the police.

Soundtrack

The music of Kaalakaandi is composed by Sameer Uddin and Shashwat Sachdev while lyrics have been penned by Anvita Dutt and Akshay Verma. The first track of the film titled as "Swagpur Ka Chaudhary" which is sung by Akshay Verma was released on 23 December 2017. The music album was released by Zee Music Company on 27 December 2017.

Critical reception

'Kaalakaandi' received mixed response from critics upon its theatrical release.

Saibal Chatterjee from NDTV gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars stating, "'Kaalakaandi' may not be for all palates, but the film has enough spice for those in the mood for an off-the-beaten-track Bollywood experience".

India TV gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars, stating that the word "Kaalakaandi" is Marathi slang for "when everything goes disastrously wrong" and described the lead character as "outrageously humorous yet utterly sensitive"."

Key details