Reviewer's Summary - Fine
Language: Hindi
Year: 2005
Actors: Kunal Khemu, Amrita Singh, Deepal Shaw, Smilie Suri, Emraan Hashmi
Director: Mohan Suri
Producer: Mukesh Bhatt
Story: Mahesh Bhatt
When Bollywood has become simply another way to spell trash, Kalyug is that rare movie that strays off the beaten path.
Released in 2005, Kalyug casts the spotlight on a topical subject - the multi-billion dollar Internet porn business that has grown hand-in-hand with the inroads always-on broadband Internet access has been making in all nooks of the world.
Kunal (Kunal Khemu) is the son of a displaced Kashmiri pandit, forced to move to Mumbai because of the terrorist attacks in the Kashmir valley. In Mumbai, Kunal's father becomes a social worker, and father and son lead a quiet life in the big city.
After his father's death in a train accident, fate brings together an young orphan Renuka (Smilie Suri) and Kunal in Mumbai.
Kunal and Renuka soon fall in love and get married.
But their happiness is shortlived. For they are arrested after their honeymoon night is surreptitiously taped by hidden cameras and broadcast on the Internet. The young couple is charged with participation and profiting from Internet pornography. Coerced by the corrupt police into signing a confession Renuka soon commits suicide.
Released on bail, Kunal decides to go after the online pornographers who have unleashed a tempest in his life. The trail leads to Zurich, where he heads to meet Annie (Deepal Shaw), the anchor of the porn film starring Kunal and his wife. In Zurich, he meets sex store owner Ali (Emraan Hashmi), who helps him unmask the identities of the people behind the lucrative Internet porn business.
An off-beat story, fine acting by the lead characters, a tight script, good photography and a welcome departure from the Bollywood staple of ridiculous love stories and senseless violence adds to the appeal of this movie.
Kunal Khemu renders a finely restrained portrayal of a wronged man looking to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Amrita Singh, who returns to Bollywood after a long hiatus, has delivered a fine performance as Simi Roy, the ruthless head of a business conglomerate including the porn businesses, for whom being No-1 is the only goal. Deepal Shaw and Smilie Suri also do justice to their roles.
Sung by Alisha Chinai, Dheere Dheere is easily the best song in Kalyug.
Working mostly with a bunch of new faces, director Mohan Suri has delivered a Bollywood rarity - a winner. - Copyright SearchIndia.com.
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