Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

If not for Minissha Lamba's ample bosom, there'd really be nothing worth watching in director Sanjay Gadhvi's Kidnap, a tired ole' thriller about bad boy Imran Khan who kidnaps Minissha, and puts her richie-rich dad Sanjay Dutt through a series of twisted challenges as revenge for an old grouse. As far as thrillers go, Kidnap is a pretty lame one, considering not once during the film's two-hours-plus running time do you feel your pulse racing. The challenges Imran puts Sanjay Dutt through are silly and juvenile, and they lack that edge-of-the-seat tension that is so essential in a film like this to keep the pace brisk. Ashamed as I am to admit it, here's one time I wished they had whacked a few good ideas from a smart Hollywood film. Instead, Gadhvi and his writer seem to have chosen to whack the plot of an obscure Pierce Brosnan-starrer "Shattered" from which they've derived the premise of Kidnap. The least you expect from a thriller are a few fantastic sequences that will make your jaw drop for their sheer inventiveness. In Kidnap, there's precisely one good scene -- it's that breathless chase sequence between Imran and Sanjay which is the film's finest stroke. Much of the film's problem lies in its sloppy narrative which is repeatedly punctured by unnecessary songs and unintentionally hilarious dialogue that digresses from the film's thriller theme. Too much time is spent establishing and then repairing Sanjay Dutt's estranged relationship with his ex-wife, played by Vidya Malavade. Vidya's character, in fact, is the weakest link in Kidnap, serving no real purpose in the plot, instead slowing down the narrative every time she shows up on screen. It doesn't help that the poor lady can't act to save her life, she can't even deliver a simple line of dialogue comfortably. The worst disease a thriller can suffer from is predictability, and Kidnap falls bang into that trap. You know exactly what's going to happen when Imran takes Minissha out to the beach when she begs to be allowed to bathe -- although you probably can't predict the erotic dance she breaks into once there. You know exactly what's going to happen when Minissha has an opportunity to escape when Imran's injured himself. And you know exactly how the climatic challenge Imran puts Sanjay up to will turn out. You see what I mean, there's virtually nothing good about this film. Which brings me back to Minissha's cleavage. If clothes were invented to cover one's body then Minissha's costumes in Kidnap reveal more than they hide. Her entire wardrobe in this film looks like it was stitched out of the bits and pieces of cloth you find lying around in a tailor's room, the bits that didn't get used when he was stitching a real dress. Not that there's anything wrong in showing a little skin, but the problem here is that you're convinced Gadhvi went the whole hog because he knew the film had nothing but Minissha's curves to keep the audience glued to their seats. Of the two male protagonists, Sanjay Dutt looks completely disinterested in what he's doing; and Imran Khan appears earnest acting out his scenes but seems to be taking his character and the film a little too seriously. The final, most deadly flaw in Kidnap is the bizarre back-story about why Imran wants revenge from Sanjay. It's not only an unconvincing motivation but it's also a fundamentally wrong plot point especially when you consider Sanjay's 'crime' against Imran seems perfectly justified given the circumstances. The film doesn't succeed in seizing your attention.Here's a film that could have been so much more but settles for such little.

OK first of all, I actually liked this movie.. yes liked! It had a unique story and elements of suspense and such that made it so exciting. The only thing that was the downside was the leading lady, Minissha, who didn't really suit her character.. I felt like all she did was scream and her acting wasn't that great. But that didn't keep me from liking the movie, overall.. the movie kept me hooked on the entire 2 1/2 hours. To be honest, the heroine was the only thing that bothered me and she was only in the movie like barely half the time so that wasn't a big deal. The other aspects were pretty good! So if you're not too critical about every part of a movie and just want to see an entertaining thriller.. go see kidnap! p.s. im not a producer or any part of the movie... lol... just thought i'd mention that... im just a regular teenager!

Sometimes u go for a movie and wonder why the hell didn't i go for an evening walk instead or why i didn't go to bed early today... Kidnap will make you wonder why do i bother to go to movies. Its one of those movies which makes you laugh..... on yourself. The movie has a basic storyline of revenge with unlimited flaws which we can ignore. But can we ignore the below average acting or the poor direction and editing of the movie? Apart from the background music i don't think the film makers have paid a lot of attention to what exactly they want to make. The movie was neither a thriller nor an emotional outburst. In the end it made me wonder was it a spoof of some Hollywood movie. Minisha Lambha looked hot throughout the movie and apart from her cleavage show there was nothing more to the scenes filmed on her. Her mother looked like her elder sister. Sanjay Dutt was average and looked a bit out of shape. Imraan Khan disappointed big time. He is no Aamir Khan and he proved it. His acting was not at all convincing and he looked quite uncomfortable doing a serious villain role. Overall I guess the fine actors are as good as director makes them work and here we know who is at fault. I hope all the review readers to skip this movie and think as if this movie just wasn't released. I made the mistake but I have just came back from the show and I have taken the best possible way to save the world from this movie. God help people who see this movie.

After Jaane Tu.. and Bachna... the expectations from an Imran-Minnisha film were sky high. Sanju baba, of course, is all-time dependable. Gadhvi has done some good work in the past-- stylish if not sensible. So we decided to fork over the weekend premium (250 bucks a ticket, including popcorn!) without waiting for reviews.Bad idea. Gadhvi decided to follow, again, the all-style no-soul route.**** May contain spoilers **** The film starts with the dialogue "Maine tumhe kidnap kiya hai" which made the audience erupt in laughter. Not an auspicious beginning for an alleged edge-of-seat-thriller. We decided to give Imran time to find his bearings. Unfortunately, the dialogues kept getting more mundane from then on. It competes with Sarkar 2 for the year's dullest dialogues. (We so hope Sanjoy watches this movie, he can do another killer review!!) Vidya Malavade, the hot babe from Chak De, plays Minissha Lamba's mom in this one!! The casting director must be on drugs. Sadly, this may end Vidya's career, though Lamba looks way older than her. Lamba, on the other hand, is on a mission to establish a sexy image. She appears extremely uncomfortable in near-nothings-- not just in songs but even when she is supposedly in captivity. The costume designer was definitely high. She fails to realise that sexuality is not just in boob-shows but comes as a package-- the facial expression, the body language and the come-hither eyes. There was none. She looks as arousing as the mannequin being changed in a shop window. She tries too hard and wastes the goodwill created by the Bachna... role. Plus the fact that even though her role is pivotal, she hardly has anything to do except mouth dialogues fit for a 7 year old and remain undressed.The acting by Imran Khan is first rate again and I do hope to see him bag the Oscars one day, in footsteps of his uncle. He is a sincere and fiery actor lost in an oddball script. Sadly, the screenplay is so awkward that his intense dialogues appear comical. Whoever in the audience was not sleeping was busy hooting in amusement...He did have a fun chase scene. Outrageous but well executed stunts. The only highlight of the movie, IMHO. Reminded one of Jackie Chan, wish they kept that tone for the entire film. Sigh! Now for my main problems with "Kidnap". Firstly, the revenge motive is thrust down your throat. The plot is as dark as "Zinda", yet the movie maintains a candy-floss feel throughout. You can easily foresee that every character is inherently good and every one had their "majboori". Ergo, everyone forgives everyone and lives happily ever after. For the hate that Imran's character carries for Sanjay Dutt's character, the latter should have been shown more as the "Dilip Tahil" variety. A typical rich, arrogant and ruthless person. The audience must also feel some of the hate. Yet, we always see him in a sympathetic light, we root for him. That makes the revenge hard to digest. Similarly, Imran's character should have been a twisted freak but he appears sad, almost as if he'd stop the revenge if someone said Sorry to him just once. He's a frustratingly good boy, performing evil actions. While that syncs with his character, it jars with the plot.Secondly, it has some gruesome songs. Picturised badly, appear illogically and sound terrible. They completely halt the narrative and everyone looks so uncomfortable even doing them. Lyrics like "Mausam kya Awesome hai". Yikes! Sound engineering is quite good, on the other hand. The scene where Imran brings back Minissha after her escape attempt has fabulous background sounds.Lastly, the climax, like most Bollywood films of late whimpers down after a cool build-up. Somehow our directors start to copy their latest DVD purchase, perhaps Richard Shepard's 1995 flop Mercy in this case, but don't have the patience to watch till the end. Or in some cases, like in Zinda, they are unable to stay faithful to the climax for cultural reasons.Kidnap belongs to the "Anjaam" genre. It is so bad, it finds a cult following. It is a great movie to watch with a large group of friend, hooting and whistling. Just make sure you don't pay attention to the screen, else you will end up with a power-nap.