An absolute waste of money

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

This movie is sheer brilliance scripted together to make an intriguing amalgam of dark comedy keeping the viewer gripped until the very end only to be awestruck by a series of bizarre twists as the plot slips into death like seriousness.This movie has an excellent 'read between the lines' subtlety to it, making it one of the most interesting Hindi movie made in recent times.Ram Ramesh Sharma touches sensitive topics throughout the film keeping it crisp with dramatic cinematography and the location resonates well making it a visual treat to watch for the viewers.The real reason why one must watch this movie is to understand the sensitivity of the subjects pondered upon, to make the audience realize the underlying hypocrisy which fills most of us to the brim and to materialize the content with an open mind trying enjoy the movie without any veiled prejudices.This movie touches topics very real, yet hidden behind the taboos of an ungrateful Indian society; one must stop on the thought that if the freedom of speech exercised democratically by Ram Ramesh Sharma what compels the government to flex it's muscles and stall the release to such an extent that the makers are forced to release the movie directly on the internet. The troubled history of Kashmir is always used as an excuse to justify the archaic Armed Forces Special Power Act which is one of the most controversial acts passed with great impunity, which further militarizes the valley subjecting it to growing insurgency and mistrust among the civilians.The problem with this movie may lie with the fact that the movie was given too much hype around a few topics which are not really explored entirely. The movie sheds light on a very taboo issue which fails to confront the man made inequities in a society.The movie even though winning numerous awards was swiftly banned by the Indian Government allegedly stating the movie as defamatory and vulgarly exaggerating facts about influential Indian political figures of the Independence era.One must not pay heed to the director's personal opinions being thrust upon the audience, what one must observe is that the dissent expressed in the movie is logical and rational. One cannot simply be holding onto the negatives and the positives, to understand the movie completely one must first critique the pros and then compare them with the cons to ascertain a rational personal preference. I usually review exceptionally well made movies or the most horrible ones, this movie was simply exceptional and it deserved an unbiased review. If i were to compare this movie with other critically acclaimed flicks this movie gives a tremendous amount of intellectual competition to the ones made with the help of big budgets and movie stars. The actors performed with a great sense of ease and did justice to the scripted roles as there were hardly any weak acting moments during the movie. Overall this movie is a good watch and well made with a good deal of musical appeal as well, the movie could have been made better but no serious complaints as the movie keeps one at the edge of the seat till the very end.

To be true to the zest of the film, I decided to watch Kaafiron Ki Namaaz twice. I have almost read all about the film's journey from the festival circuit to censor board trouble and finally the online release. I was very intrigued by the trailer. So hats off to the team who engaged in such a challenge and then released it online with such strong belief against all the odds. Kudos! After the first watch, I was impressed and disappointed at the same time. All these reasons make KKN a difficult watch and a more difficult film to write about. KKN speaks what we should listen and then shouts out loud to the utmost distortion leading us towards a blank notion and empty opinion.KKN is a story of an Army Man (Alok Chaturvedi) who is interviewed by a Writer (Chandrahas Tiwari) after his court-martial. The conversations between both the lead actors are amazing, intense and yet quirky. The dark deep secrets starts unfolding one after another some of the most impressive dialogues in recent times. Both the actors have defined their characters with all from within and it shows on screen. But I seriously hated the writer's Tagore inspired beard which looked very silly and fake. Tiklu (Joydip) as a quite assistant and Junaid (Megh Pant) as the tea seller and part-time musician are okay. I wasn't convinced with Junaid's character as it lacked the conviction to be the important part of the story all of a sudden. Camera is handled beautifully by A. Vasanth and showed Kashmir a beautiful place with an undercurrent of uneasiness. Set of the hotel is okay. Ram Ramesh Sharma showed all his skills with his impressive debut. But there are many things which he needs to be look into. Music by Advait Nemlekar is blended rightly into the film with amazing voices of Usha Uthup, Javed Ali & Sukhwinder Singh. Jhalkiyan track is my favourite. All the other departments have done well, but nothing extra ordinary. KKN raises some very important questions on some very hurting subjects, but leaves them in mid-way, where they needed to be addressed in totality with a rigid stand. The filmmaker wanted to tell so much in every direction but couldn't justify any one of them & this is disappointing. With such a good start, I wanted to invest all in but started losing interest as after few discussions towards third act as I realize that the subject would be changed suddenly to a newer direction. And climax was a disaster for me, an easy way out which could have been the striking highlight of KKN. After the first watch, I recalled so many things, but in fragments without the establishment with the core story. From my perspective, KKN looked like a conversational play with interventions of beautiful Kashmir. And so the second watch became more difficult.Is KKN a good film? Yes, it is & it deserves a watch. Either you may like it in totality or not. A bold narrative which takes off with some amazing dialogues and good performances penetrating deep down inside, but crash lands halfway. Alas! KKN could have been a flight of pinnacle if aims in one single direction. As a filmmaker, I would love to see more work coming from Ram Ramesh Sharma. "Jab ruh hi kaafir ho jaaye, tab jism kab tak khudai par jiyega" and this is what happens with KKN after a certain point.

Watching the screening at IIT Bombay Filmfest 2015 was an experience worth sharing, the interaction with the film makers taking it up by several notches. A beautiful narrative throughout, this movie has a soundtrack that is too good not to be mentioned. Mostly set inside a single hall, the concept of space is very beautifully expressed. The lighting as well as the cinematography was amazing. The movie shows a retired army man and a journalist in the lead roles; and the audience is kept engrossed in their discussions that subtly grow intense as the night progresses. They discuss beyond the regular topics; spanning religious standpoints, their past careers and arguing most of the time. As the movie progresses, the discussions turn into confessions so deep that it seemed they had never thought about those issues, let alone talk about them for a long time. Also with them is a local shopkeeper who mostly serves tea to the two lead characters while witnessing their arguments. The characters are beautifully thought of; the army man being a person from the exteriors of a society, the journalist being from innermost circles of a society and the shopkeeper as an ordinary person witnessing the arguments. A must watch!

Just finished the 1st watch. I must say I loved it. Have to watch it again. That I do only when I really loved the movie. I wish the makers of the film and all people associated with it a very good luck and all the best for its release.My take: Review A. There are a lot of positives:-1. Beautiful movie: One of the very beautiful movies I have seen in recent past. 2. Beautiful narrative and chilling concept. 3. While the character of convicted fouji is not as chilling as I used to feel in reality wherever I had to show my ID card at various checkpoints while visiting home (Kashmir) in 1990s. But then being a Kashmiri, I could relate more with the movie, as I have lived the time depicted in the movie (the initial 1990s). The first shots of the movie shot in Haztarbal are just two km away from my home. 4. Wonderful acting, particularly by the lead character (writer). The loved the way character of the writer has been played, really of international standard. I could relate it to that of played by Sean Cornnery in "Finding Forrester". 5. Beautiful and witty dialogues. 6. Amazing cinematography. The Kashmir shown in as in winter is chilling, like most crimes are done during the night, In Kashmir winters of 90s were dark nights. B. On the negative side:- 1. Title: May be inhibiting a lot of current Indian public away from the movie. Then I think the target viewership is not the Dabang-o-philic public. 2. Length of Movie; the movie is somewhat long by international standards. 90 minutes or maximum 120 minutes would have been optimum. Avoiding the repetition of dialogues could have shortened many shots.\ 3. English subtitling not accurate at many places, then I think that has been deliberate.At the end of the movie, I was starting looking at my own kufur and my own namaaz. Every one of us is filled with our devilish and angelic features. Our past is also full of our evils and good deeds. The movie definitely touches the raw nerves. The movie focuses on these characteristics such as; opportunism, moral corruption, and probably the struggle with own inner devil, But all at individualistic level. The problem in Kashmir was (and in todays greater world still is) that such crimes are not perpetuated merely at individualistic level, but at larger scale either as state policy (where state is involved), or by large groups (where non-state actors are involved).