User reviews

When we have an Industry in India (bollywood) that produces a handful of useless commercial masala films every year(with only a few being entertaining), here comes something different...There are no actors going around dancing without a shirt on. No wet saree dance and no cliché bollywood junk...Yes, there is song and dance but the story actually has some meaning to it and you need brains to understand something like that. Yes, there are loose ends and plot-holes and that is why I wouldn't call this an EXCELLENT and FANTASTIC film. I respect the director for at least attempting to do something different rather than booking a flight to New Zealand and having a bunch of ladies dancing around in bikinis....Just look at the overall grandeur of this film...The cinematography, the music, the dance sequences, the sets and the theme..All these things are quite impressive..If you know anything about film-making then you would understand.Yes it gets a bit too much at the later portions of the film, but still...I wouldn't call this movie bad when compared to the other films that bollywood produces...

Just came back after watching Kisna...and it was a bit disappointment..however the overall movie is good.. Story u have known so far...the love story is refreshing...but the movie drags sometimes.. and i was surprised i din saw Subhash Ghai in movie... Ashok Mehta have done brilliant cinematography..its the best thing of the movie...really awesome... music is good as we all know but a English song is in movie... Ghai had tried to make this movie great but he is unable to match up with the expectations... Coming to performances...Isha Sharwani seems to be in gymnastic earlier..her flexible body is flexed more than we expect...not much to do in acting department..but have done good job what she have been offered..

Antonia had surprised with her acting...her tuti futi Hindi is delightful... she is the winner in this movie...absolutely damn good performance and she is the show stellar...

Now Vivek Oberoi:He looks cool...but below average performance..totally forgettable..the movie being named on him and only established star among three he should have come with electrifying performance...but he gives just passable performance and one major drawback of the movie...

And its being 25 crr movie it ud be very tough for KISNA to get successful...

Sorry GHAI sahab u need SRK,AAMIR OR HRITIK in this movie to make it an epic...

Overall its good... 3/5....peace

Kisna would make the director Subhash Ghai proud. In this movie Ghai has created some remarkable characters. Vivek Oberoi as the lead man and both Isha Shravani and Anotonio Bernart as lead women have performed very well. Kisna is a movie in which morals have been combined with art to convey a message about the essence of the Indian trinity of karma (duty), dharma (religion) and prema (love).

One place Kisna fails is that it gets repetitive in parts. The fight sequences drag and so does the endless number of times Kisna saves Catherine. That apart Kisna portrays art in many forms - in Isha Shravani's dances, in Anotonio Bernart's flawless performance, in A R Rahman's music, in Shiamak Davar's choreography. Each of these by itself is remarkable but Kisna is a movie in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Overall, a good movie.

Kisna was a great film from start to finish although like every other film it had flaws. The second half did drag a bit but was necessary to watch. The songs were amazing and each song is unique. The new comers in the film like Antonia Bernath who have a great performance even though her Hindi was not as good but she did her best, I think she should reconsider bollywood but nevertheless her acting proved she was a star. If she learnt Hindi in depth and came out fluent then there's no problem, the other new comer Isha was a good cast to she can make it big. I think Kisna will not get as much attention as films Like Veer Zaara therefore i doubt it's success the attention was probably down to promotion. Overall I class the film a hot which has a different theme best film I've seen for ages. 10/10

I don't seem to understand how so many people have given 10/10 to Kisna. Rather I think the only people who can give 10/10 are Subhash Ghai, Vivek Oberoi, and the remaining cast of the movie, purely because they were in it. I think it is one of the soppiest movies I have seen in quite some time. The movie hardly had a plot, and whatever the plot was, it was extremely clichéd. Also, it wasn't even a decent period film as it mentioned. All the movie had was songs, gymnastics, songs, songs, crying, gymnastics, songs songs. Honestly, if there was a negative rating, then I would have given this movie a -100 or something. It was a complete waste of 8$ and 3 odd hours.

i understand that movie making is hard work. if the scale is that of kisna, its extra ordinary hard work. i entered the hall with tremendous excitement. somehow i could not like the movie. the protagonist is too uninteresting and pre programmed. but the lead actress is surprise package, she rules. the film started off well, though inspirations are too obvious. the period was meticulously recreated but the movie quickly lost the steam. by the time movie was over, i was totally detached. when i left the hall i gave the maker benefit of the fact that my expectations were too huge. but now sitting alone and thinking back, i see more and more holes. it was a great deal of hard work wasted.

Director Subhash Ghai is caught in a time warp. 'Dharam, karam,parampara, riti rivaaz' all sound out dated and boring. This would have been relevant perhaps 10-15 years back, but it's time to move on. The most redeeming factor is Ashok Mehta's photography - like wine, his DOP skills keep getting better with age. There are good individual performances but no chemistry at all between Viveck Oberoi and Antonia Bernath. Isha Sharvani performs well but has very little to do - with an ill-defined character. And she is made to dance at the drop of a hat - the dancing skills are great, but tend to look out of place with the repeated exposure. Perhaps Subhash Ghai should look at getting younger directors to make his films - like Abbas Mastan in Aitraaz

To everyone reading the comments here,

As your well wisher, I recommend not to see this movie, I don't want to write anything about it, some sensible people who have posted comments here and given a deserved bad review about it have already pointed out all the flaws of this movie.

I just want to save a long good period of frustration and anger which I went through after watching it, what a waste of a talented budding actor like Vivek Oberoi, I pity him really. I am so embarrassed I have to give a rating of 1 to this movie, I thought 0 would be there but it is not there so I am forced to give a rating of 1.

As far as the good reviews for this movie here are concerned, I am surprised and shocked, these good reviews here lead me to the imagination of S.Ghai or someone handsomely paid by him sitting spending some valuable hours cooking up false stories about this movie being great etc

Thants all.

Terrible, Terrible Movie!!! This pathetic attempt at a storyline, ruins the fledgling reputations of Sachin Bhowmick & Farrukh Dhondy, and causes further damage to Ghai's already in tatters reputation as one of Bollywood's erstwhile Moguls! Elements of Titanic and Lagaan were blended together in the hope of finding favour with the audience, but the story bored the hell out of viewers who went in expecting a different storyline! The ills of Kisna don't stop at unimaginative screenplay, but extend to direction as well. The movie drags adding to the viewers frustration. I've never been one of those who walk out from a movie halfway, but in this one I barely held on. I walked out cursing before the credits started to roll, something I make a point to see in other movies. Others didn't wait. They had long gone...

Even the acting was below par. Vivek Oberoi disappoints, but I guess even he saw no point in the movie & just went along with the director. The two lead actresses weren't much either. Isha & Antonia each bare half a breast in the movie, but even that will not salvage this movie. One can only pity Subhash Ghai...

This was my last Subhash Ghai movie. In spite of Trimurti & Yaaden, I had thought a filmmaker of his ability would come up with something interesting, but that was not to be. Once again, we had to be reminded that all filmmakers one day lose their touch. It's happened to greats like Hrishikesh Mukherji & Mahesh Bhatt. To lesser ones like Prakash Mehra & Indra Kumar. For it to happen to Subhash Ghai should come as no surprise. The signs have been there for some time.

What irks me most about the state of Indian Cinema are people like Ghai who make movies for commercial success. They are scared of taking a risk. As a result we have a slew of mediocre films. This mindset also prompts new entrants to the industry to ape former greats by playing safe, resulting in more bad films. There are actors in this category too who prefer playing safe, rather than acting... Actors like Shahrukh Khan.

And there are the gutsy filmmakers and actors. Govind Nihalani, John Matthew Mathan, Aamir Khan. Their movies are the ones that one should look out for. At least they're worth the wait. And your money. Because for now, I very strongly feel that Subhash Ghai owes me Rs. 160!

this movie is fantastic, the story, the songs, the acting its something never seen before and really well portrayed i don't want to give away the story but it is a good portrayal of the obstacles and difficult decisions faced by a traditional villager hoping to uphold justice for a foreign woman - its a magnificent portrayal of morals' victory over backward thinking i really recommend the movie because of the excellent acting by the male lead and the great support from the English lady leader.

one thing which i think the movie does well to avoid, is showing the British rulers as totally heartless and evil! its not like Ur old style Indian movie where the British were shown equal to a devil like ruler, but the understanding was there why the villagers didn't like their presence their yet some liked them because of their work - the frictions between members from both sides who are able to accept the other side is also well shown

While I am a Bollywood aficionado, I do feel Hindu commercial cinema could stand to improve the quality of their output while still maintaining those fundamental elements that make Bollywood so much fun. Such an effort would help to widen the commercial appeal of these films to western audiences while still allowing them to be what they should be first and foremost, that is a national product for Indian audiences. KISNA is prime example of a film that could have followed the example of the brilliant LAGAAN and broken borders, but instead falls into the same "might have been" category as so many other Indian musicals.

There is a lot to like about KISNA. The story is interesting and one that would appeal to audiences not particularly familiar with the Bollywood genre, the characters are intriguing, the songs are above average, and best of all, the movie is shot with an eye for the spectacular. But despite all of this, the director fails at pulling it all together despite having all the elements for a real classic. Apparently the film was written, produced and directed by a single person, but I'm sure a little oversight and collaboration would have helped. I suspect this director was a bit full of himself as evidenced by the final image of the film being of himself sweeping his arm out over a vast valley where the movie was shot as if to say, "this film is all mine!"

KISNA is bound to be compared to LAGAAN and with good reason. Both films are concerned with the British Raj and both depict a love triangle between an Indian man and woman and the British woman who comes between them. Yet whereas LAGAAN had a light fairy-tale feel to it, KISNA is all drama and action. This is not necessarily a problem, except it's executed with a heavy hand from the start. The worst parts, however, are the repetitive action sequences which are basically the same situations played out over and over again. By the third time the young British woman is carried away by a bad guy you sort of hope she doesn't come back. As well, some of the stunts are merely implied by camera work rather than actually shown which feels a bit like a cheat and takes some of the excitement away.

Still, if you want an excuse to see KISNA, the musical numbers certainly fit the bill. The cinematographer and dance choreographer do an exquisite job fueling the numbers with vibrance and excitement and some of the sequences are simply stunningly beautiful. There is, however, one very unfortunate exception. During one number which really should have been a touching song of unexpressed feelings by one character for another quickly devolves into the most absurd display of tasteless pop pandering I've seen in a Bollywood film in quite sometime. Rather than a deserted church in 1947 India, we are transported into something akin to a Mariah Carey music video replete with glowing motion trails and video generated rainbows. I half expected to see a unicorn fly across the screen followed by a VH1 logo.

As for the actors, most do exceedingly well in their roles. Although I was less impressed with the young British woman due to her overly-dramatic takes, I suspect it was the director who pushed for this style. I'm sure the actress had a better performance that remained untapped.

Though nowhere near the pinnacle of LAGAAN, KISNA is worth a trip to the cinema if only to admire the wonderful musical numbers and also to ponder what this film "might have been" if it had been in the hands of a more capable director.

My god!!! What a horrible film. One expects a lot better stuff from Mr. Subhash Ghai. Claiming to be a showman is only good if you can back it up with good films. But lately, Mr. Ghai has disappointed to say the least.

I fail to understand what the point of Isha Shravani's character is in the film. Okay so the girl can do a rope dance, that doesn't mean you put that in the story. Her character doesn't belong in the story. It seems like Mr. Ghai used the First Draft of his film. Doesn't he think he should read his script over to make sure it makes sense? It seems like he wrote it, then forgot about it and then saw this girl who could do a rope dance and figured…Oh I should put her in the film, no one has ever seen a girl doing a rope dance. Mr. Ghai needs to re-read his scripts to make sure there are no loose ends, he seems like an amateur with this film. When I write a script I read it at least 50-60 times and keep changing things until it makes sense. That's what a good writer does. You can't be happy with the first thing you write that's just wrong.

The story could have been so good without the Isha Shravani character. Her character totally screwed up the plot and the story. Mr. Ghai needs to stop making formula films, not every film needs to have a love triangle. Stories can be told without triangles. Mr. Ghai needs to take some pointers from the like of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Mani Ratnam. Stop making the same story over and over and over again. What an idiot! If you're out of ideas, don't make films anymore; we don't need to be tortured like this.

Mr. Ghai needs to go back to film school and learn the latest techniques of film-making and story telling. I feel sorry for anyone who's attending his film school. Doesn't he realize that the audience is getting smarter...People will no longer accept the crap they dished out 10-20 years ago. This film is actually worst than the worst films they made 10-20 years ago.

Mr. Ghai did everything in the film from Direction to Writing to Producing to Editing. He seems to be very proud of that fact because its there in BIG letters in the film...perhaps he should concentrate on just one thing and leave the others to professionals. Okay...I don't want to talk about Mr. Ghai anymore…He's leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

All the performances are average and I'm being generous here. The only one that stands out is a cameo by Sushmita Sen. Isha Shravani need to climb back up the rope she came down from. She can't act and the only reason it seems she's in this movie is because she can dance on a rope. That's the dumbest thing ever!!

On the whole, I have never said this about a film, but...I WANT MY MONEY BACK...Don't waste your time or money on this one. Unless you want to see a girl spinning on a rope at 20 different parts of the film, for no reason what so ever, there is no reason to watch it. This is the by far the worst Subhash Ghai film ever. One expects more from him. DON"T WATCH IT AT ANY COST. Even if it's the last film left on earth, it's better not to see it. I'm so disappointed. I used to be a fan of Subhash Ghai films...Can you believe that!!!

The movie is badly directed though a good story and Vivek Oberoi cannot act. Please buy the movie if you want an example of how not to direct a movie.So see it at you own risk. The use of actresses has been poor. The feel of an old lady coming back to India in search of her love did not sell too well. But I haven't seen any brilliant work from the director in the recent times except for Iqbal which he produced. The movie had everything that makes a commercial success, it is a period movie it was quiet well done, songs were out of the world the two best music directors Rehman and Ismail Darbar and a commercial cast,the dances were choreographed by S.Dawar group the best dancing school available if you add all this with a good story a very good film!!!!! To make a flop with all this is and art by itself. Please buy this copy to see how not to do it.

Kisna is one of the most awful movies that I have seen...No thank you to some of the people who wrote good comments about this movie.It's a sheer waste of time and energy to sit through this load of crap, even if someone offers you a free screening or DVD of this movie...please,please AVOID IT. There is Nothing Good to write about this movie.I wish I had a Time Machine to get back my few hours that I wasted watching this JUNK. Anyone who watches this movie will consider Indian Cinema to be a Big Joke and movie making at it's unprofessional and non-artistic best. How I wish IMDb had negative marking and I would have rated this movie at -10 out of 10

This is awful, awful , awful. A really bad film. I bought the soundtrack as I litsened to it on the radio it I thought the soundtrack was good and thus went out to see the movie, but i deeply regret that move. The acting in this was worse than Asoka, no screenplay, songs were OK but almost no context in the film!There was only one thing i liked about this movie. The shots of the Kashmir Landscape the got. It was truly Breathtaking, but that has nothing to do with the movie, i would give it zero if i could. They just put in some random Gymnast as a dancer and than bad acting by Vivek, topped with a stupid plot topped with no sense and than at the end Subash Ghai standing in the foreground staring out at the beautiful valley like he has made an Oscar Winning movie. I expected way more out of this. This was a letdown .A grotesque, lousy, motion picture.

This movie is one of my favourite movies. Songs are beautiful, beautiful story and awesome acting. M still in love with this movie and it's songs.

This has to be one of the worst Hindi movies I've ever seen and nobody in their sane mind would like this flick. It is very sad to see a crass movie like this marketed with the " this is what India really is" tag.

The camera work is strictly okay and the dialog is oh so predictable. Sub standard acting, unnecessary dance scenes, and a very bad plot line makes Kisna a serious waste of time and money.Amrish Puri ( R.I.P.),sad to say is below par as one of the negative characters. On the flip-side Om Puri and Sushmita Sen are the only good things to happen to the movie albeit for a short time span. bottom line : listen to the audio CD( its a few notches higher )and skip the flick.

Some producers like Gowariker (Swades), Bhansali (Black) mature with each film and "Kisna" is a fine example of how a producer the caliber of Subhash Ghai sink with each film to the point of decadence. The Story is a figment of fiction in Ghai's mind. Only in his mind do we see "Lady Catherine" (when did she get knighted? did I miss this Ceremony?) donating enormous amount of money (like zillions of crores) to charity, still she has some loose change left for the child dancers. Only in his mind do we see Kisna, killing his kith and Kin because he promised his mother that he would get Catherine to Delhi-but I missed the part where his mother told him to sing romantic duets on the way. At one point he says he is saving Catherine from the evil Prince-which one is it? or do we care at this point? Ghai, who is credited for the story and direction, makes a mess of both. The direction is disjointed. The Debutante,. Isha Sherwani, is incredibly co-ordinated (if Ghai, has his way, her Career will be on hold meditating at the end of the rope.) She and Hrithik Roshan would make a great dancing couple in a Musical, if only a good producer could take a hint. Antonia Bernath must have graduated from the "Aishwarya Rai School of dramatic acting". She speaks Hindi with a Cockney accent-and this get to be painful and ridiculous after a while. Vivek Oberoi, this guy has no Screen presence for a leading part, he should confine to playing hoodlums in movies like "Company". The music is good-specially the last duet is an absolute melody. The Production values are good as in a Ghai Film, but everything else is atrocious.

Subhash Ghai makes a beautiful film after the disastrous Yaadein. The highlight of this film is most definitely Rehman's soul-stirring music! It is absolutely excellent! My favorites are Hum Hain Is Pal Yahan, the flute-piano theme, and My Wish Comes True. What I appreciate is that the revolution, fight for Indian independence, and Hindu-Muslim riots were kept as a backdrop and that the movie didn't sidetrack into a historical film. It is a love story from the beginning to the end. It is an interesting illustration of how love can cross cultures and is not skin-deep. The movie also shows good examples of where the British and Indian cultures/societies blend to create harmony and clash to create havoc. I thought everyone gave a good performance. The visuals are simply stunning. This movie has a very good script with excellent scenes that truly touches your emotions. The only thing I didn't like is the picturization of the songs during the church scene. It was unnecessarily melodramatic and just plain out weird. Also, two beautiful songs are just jammed into each other in an ear-screeching fashion. Other than that, though, this movie is an awesome romantic adventure.

A wonderful tag line, a beautiful crew and a re-owned director - well the combination should have worked but it fails to do so. The story is very new to Hindi cinema although you tend to feel seeing glimpses from Titanic in the beginning. All mistakes that a director can make is been made in this movie. Even Vivekoberoi fails to shine in what i call a mess of a screenplay. Isha Sharvani - should have been in circus, apart from her dangling from ropes shes "made" to do nothing in the movie. A sweet surprise is Antonia Bernath, shes a natural actor-too bad KISNA turned out to be her debut in Indian Cinema.

A word on the stunts and action,I feel Indian cinema lacks a good stunt co-coordinator, the film makes a mockery of tense action scenes. in what is supposed to be a edge of seat experience it makes us to laugh at its silliness. perhaps we need to import stunt so-coordinators from holly hood instead of just heroins.

well to sum it up, The film is average