Kaminey is not Pulp Fiction. In more ways than one.
Since some SI readers have repeatedly brought up Pulp Fiction as the progenitor for Kaminey, we went over to Blockbuster on Sunday and rented the 1994 Quentin Tarantino film (Dr.UnkHaf D. Aktar, we’ve added $2.54 to your account).
Having watched Pulp Fiction, our verdict is that Kaminey is not a lift of Pulp Fiction.
While that is to Kaminey director Vishal Bharadwaj’s credit, neither is the recent Bollywood film as good as the 15-year Tarantino flick.
BTW, a piece in the Sunday New York Times said Pulp Fiction grossed over $200 million and cost just $9 million to make.
Pulp Fiction bristles with energy, crackles with intense dialogs and dazzles with solid performances.
For instance, Captain Koons telling little Butch with a solemn face:
The way your dad looked at it, this watch was your birthright. He’d be damned if any slopes gonna put their greasy yellow hands on his boy’s birthright, so he hid it, in the one place he knew he could hide something: his ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. Then when he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable piece of metal up my ass for two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you.
Or this exchange between the big balding black Marsellus (Ving Rhames) and Butch (Bruce Willis) after Butch rescues Marsellus as he’s being raped by Zed:
Butch: You okay?
Marsellus: Naw man. I’m pretty fuckin’ far from okay.
Butch: What now?
Marsellus: What now? Let me tell you what now. I’ma call a coupla hard, pipe-hittin’ niggers, who’ll go to work on the homes here with a pair of pliers and a blow torch. You hear me talkin’, hillbilly boy? I ain’t through with you by a damn sight. I’m a get medieval on your ass.
Butch: I meant what now between me and you?
Marsellus: Oh, that what now. I tell you what now between me and you. There is no me and you. Not no more.
Or the back-and-forth between Jules (Samuel Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta). Here’s one example:
[Jules and Vincent take the informant Marvin with them in their car and Vincent’s gun goes off accidentally blowing Marvin’s head off]
Vincent: Whoa!
Jules: What the fuck’s happening, man? Ah, shit man!
Vincent: Oh man, I shot Marvin in the face.
Jules: Why the fuck did you do that!
Vincent: Well, I didn’t mean to do it, it was an accident!
Jules: Oh man I’ve seen some crazy ass shit in my time…
Vincent: Chill out, man. I told you it was an accident. You probably went over a bump or something.
Jules: Hey, the car didn’t hit no motherfucking bump.
Vincent: Hey, look man, I didn’t mean to shoot the son of a bitch. The gun went off. I don’t know why.
Jules: Well look at this fucking mess, man. We’re on a city street in broad daylight here!
Vincent: I don’t believe it.
Jules: Well believe it now, motherfucker! We gotta get this car off the road! You know cops tend to notice shit like you’re driving a car drenched in fucking blood.
Vincent: Just take it to a friendly place, that’s all.
Jules: This in the Valley, Vincent. Marcellus ain’t got no friendly places in the Valley.
Vincent: Well Jules this ain’t my fucking town, man!
Jules: Shit!
[Jules dials a number on his cell phone]
Vincent: What you doin’?
Jules: I’m calling my partner in Toluca Lake.
Vincent: Where’s Toluca Lake?
Jules: It’s just over the hill here over by Burbank Studios. If Jimmie’s ass ain’t home, I don’t know what the fuck we’re going to do, man. ‘Cause I ain’t got no other partners in 8-1-8. Hey Jimmie, yo, how you doin’, man? It’s Jules. Listen up man. Me and my homeboy are in serious fucking shit. We’re in a car and we gotta get off the road, pronto. I need to use your garage for a couple of hours.
(Source for dialogs: IMDB)
Guys, Kaminey (while good by Bollywood standards) comes nowhere in the bristling energy or crackling dialogs or the powerful acting class of Pulp Fiction.
This kid Shahid Kapoor is getting better but he ain’t qualified to lick the boots of Samuel Jackson or John Travolta.
The Hollywood stars are in a completely different league as far as acting is concerned. You don’t compare Einstein with a Physics professor from Bhagalpur University, do you.
Watching Pulp Fiction is a joy-ride because of the overall brilliant execution. Watching Kaminey is a relief because it ain’t a piece of trash like most Bollywood flicks.
Still, Kaminey is a step forward in Bollywood unlike the 10-steps backward movies like Kambhakkht Ishq, Luck or Drona.
And by God, we’ll take our blessings where we find them.
Sorry Folks, Kaminey Ain’t No Pulp Fiction added by SearchIndia.com on
View all posts by SearchIndia.com →
I thoroughly enjoyed Pulp Fiction.
I lost count of how many times I watched snippets from this movie.. The dialogues were awesome and thanks for pointing them..
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Since we have five days left to return the DVD to Blockbuster, we plan to watch Pulp Fiction one more time.
you consider yourself a connoisseur of cinema & you’re watching Pulp Fiction now, just before your cataract surgery.
nice.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Funny.
BTW, we also consider ourselves connoisseurs in wielding the cat o’ nine tails. Wanna see?
was that when you used to drive bullocks in India?
good! at least you have one life skill to fall back on when this site is shut down.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: was that when you used to drive bullocks in India?
Oh, no. That was when we used to ride rough-shod over your bollocks in America. 😉
Cut the bollockspeak.
2. You write: good! at least you have one life skill to fall back on when this site is shut down.
What is that old saying…goes something like If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
PF gave a real boost to Travolta’s career.. and Jackson’s too.. I think Uma was a bigger star than these two at that time. She is damn hot.
Maria de Medeiros Esteves Vitorino de Almeida was super cute too.
Tarantino probably loved http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_%26_June so much that he got both the hot ladies of that movie into his.
Henry & June was the first film to receive the MPAA’s rating of NC-17, which had been devised as a replacement for the X rating. I am pretty sure that you would have missed this one too!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: I am pretty sure that you would have missed this one too!
Henry & June? Are you sure you are not mistaking Jack & Jill. 😉
Added Henry & June to our Netflix list.
BTW, we’ve read some of the Henry Miller books Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn et al. Wild rides, the books.
Henry Miller is, of course, the Henry in Henry & June.
Now, what did I do to deserve such grace from your esteemed selves? $2.54 is the rental at Blockbuster? I remember saying Kaminey is original…
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Now, what did I do to deserve such grace from your esteemed selves? $2.54 is the rental at Blockbuster?
Yes, $2.54 is the rental fee at Blockbuster and you said in one of your comments: Kaminey seems to have more similarity with Pulp Fiction
BTW, it’s a two-DVD set.
The second one has interviews and other such stuff. We’ll try to watch the second DVD and see what Tarantino and others have to say about the movie.
Ha ha ha, i’m sorry but have to agree with Scout here, amazing you guys didnt catch Pulp Fiction before 😛
I really enjoyed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Guy Ritchie and luved the witty dialogues and one liners
Among the memorable lines,
Eddie: They’re armed.
Soap: What was that? Armed? What do you mean armed? Armed with what?
Eddie: Err, bad breath, colorful language, feather duster… what do you think they’re gonna be armed with? Guns, you tit!
Rory Breaker: If the milk turns out to be sour, I ain’t the kinda pussy to drink it
Rory Breaker: Is this some white cunts joke that black cunts don’t get? ‘Cause I’m not fucking laughing Nicholas
Not sure if can post the foul languages sorry for the offense. I loved the movie. Dont forget District 9, not sure if there’ll be a sequel though
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Oh no, these ain’t no foul words.
Them glittering, crackling, crisp dialogs.
Btw your favourite actress 😀 Priyanka Chopra is featuring in a movie “What’s your Rashee?” where she plays 12 characters :O with none the other Harman Baweja so 12 times the fun 😛 but surprisingly this film is being directed by aushutohsh Gowariker
SearchIndia.com Responds:
If that’s true, then the apocalypse is nigh at hand.
Say your last prayers.
All is futile!
Kaminey is not Pulp fiction ….the style of movie …screenplay etc is like the movies made by Quentin Tarantino …. he has this habit of telling many stories …jumping from one character to another and all this in a very racy manner …
I call it Hollywood Masala Movie ….
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Very true. But it’s a hard act to pull off.
“There’s a passage I got memorized.
Ezekiel 25:17. The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you. I been sayin’ that shit for years. And if you ever heard it, it meant your ass. I never really questioned what it meant. I thought it was just a cold-blooded thing to say to a motherfucker before you popped a cap in his ass. But I saw some shit this mornin’ made me think twice. Now I’m thinkin’: it could mean you’re the evil man. And I’m the righteous man. And Mr. 9mm here, he’s the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could be you’re the righteous man and I’m the shepherd and it’s the world that’s evil and selfish. I’d like that. But that shit ain’t the truth. The truth is you’re the weak. And I’m the tyranny of evil men. But I’m tryin’, Ringo. I’m tryin’ real hard to be a shepherd. ”
One absolute cracker of a dialogue by Jules and of course that Hamburgers funda again. Kaminey has a good set of actors, but Samuel Jackson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel- that is an entirely different league.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Nice one…the above scene.
We thought the nut job standing on the table in the diner and screaming like a banshee would shoot the nigga.
Well, we all know what happened at the end.
Let Vishal Bharadwaj be Vishal Bharadwaj rather than trying to make him out to be Tarantino or Ritchie. And Kaminey is not PF, in fact i doubt any movie can be PF, it was one of those movies, that were destined to be a classic.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Vishal Bharadwaj is among the few Indian directors worthy of respect.
Anyway Bollywood is gonna do its same old 10 steps backward routine, considering some of the movies coming up.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We keep thinking that if the Bollywood movie-makers lose money big time because of the crappy films then things will change.
But that never happens.
Wonder where that cornucopia of funding comes from?
go see tarantino’s inglorious basterds……..glorious
modern cinema…..
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Just came out of Inglourious Basterds. Review coming in a little while.
Some other great gangsta’ movies 😉
Goodfellas
Reservoir Dogs (You said you’re watchin’ it soon.. Remember? It’s as good as pulp fiction)
The Departed
And BTW Tarantino’s Kill Bill is one of the most overrated movies I’ve ever seen. A crap considering Tarantino’s previous movies. Deathproof wasn’t any good either.
Really hope that IB would be a good one. 🙂
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Seen The Departed. Nice one.
We plan to see the other movies too.
couldnt remember how I landed in 2009… BTW KillBill-2 was really good… though I didnt like Kill Bill.. but the ones that liked KB didnt like KB-2…
check it out
SearchIndia.com Responds:
KB 1 & 2, one of these days, if we live long enough. 😉
DhanTeNan (listened to it for the first time today – awesome!) does start like the Pulp Fiction theme.. so that probably made people think that the whole movie was inspired by PF.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fRRnrevc8M
SearchIndia.com Responds:
The beats seem different…sounds faster in Pulp Fiction in the beginning.
the guitar piece is similar.. there is huge wiki about the history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misirlou
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRrL5YpeAxQ is another youtube related to this song. (thanks to itwofs)
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Thanks for the Wiki Misirlou link.
Will most likely buy the Misirlou track. Searching on iTunes now for the best version.
As for the above YouTube link, apparently Vishal Bharadwaj was involved with that too. So, there are no copying issues.
I just read the NY times article ‘Pulp Fiction grossed over $200 million and cost just $9 million to make’. COOL!
I watched Kaminey last week and kind of liked it. It was indeed better than a lot of hindi movies that were released in the last few months.
For those who have not yet watched it, here are few links that might help you
review- http://mudra.tv/articles.php?article_id=1450
Trailer: http://mudra.tv/view_video.php?viewkey=47048d6f0c4ef899593d
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Glad you liked Kaminey.
We’ll most likely buy the DVD when it releases.