Movie Review: Kisaan (2009)

Kisaan: Not Bad

Rating: 2.5 out of 5*

Starring: Jackie Shroff, Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan, Dia Mirza, Nauheed Cyrusi and Dalip Tahil

Director: Puneet Sira

Dayal Singh (Jackie) is a farmer in a Punjab village. The widower stays with his two kids Jigar and Aman. On his friend’s suggestion, Dayal sends Aman to the city for higher studies and Jigar stays with him. While Aman (Arbaaz) goes on to become a lawyer, Jigar (Sohail) like his father becomes a Kisaan, a farmer. Sohan Seth (Dalip Tahil) an ambitious businessman arrives in Dayal’s village with a plan to set up his mega industrial project. He tries to lure the villagers to sell of their lands to him and offers them good compensation. But when he sees Dayal being then main problem in his sinister plan he devises a master plan to break his family to break him and his influence on the villagers.

Puneet Sira’s earlier two efforts I Proud To Be An Indian and Jai Veeru were plain average fares but in here he shows remarkable maturity in handling the subject and the serious theme. His treatment of the emotional scenes is superb especially the ones between Jackie and Arbaaz. Also, the scenes that stand out are the two Panchayat sequences and the scenes shot in the darkness of night when Sohail with Sharat Saxena and Vishwajeet Pradhan hunt for the village ruffians responsible for Arbaaz’s wife Dia’s death. However the problem lies in some predictable sequences and the just touching of the surface of serious issues like farmer suicides.

Technical aspects of the film are good and so is Daboo Malik’s music. The song Neeche Saari Duniya has been wonderfully penned. The best song of the film, Humko Kehna Hai however comes at a wrong time.

Jackie gets a meaty role after a very long time and he laps up the opportunity and becomes the main reason to watch Kisaan. Sohail too shows tremendous growth as an actor and is in excellent form. Arbaaz with his monotonous dialogue delivery doesn’t impress. Dia Mirza is good but Nauheed Cyrusi surprises with her chaste Punjabi and earnest effort. Dalip Tahil is the same he is in every single film. Romeo is menacingly good while Sharat Saxena and Vishwajeet Pradhan lend able support.

Kisaan is not a bad film and in a way a good modern day avatar of Manoj Kumar’s Upkaar. Superb performances by Jackie and Sohail and some great emotional sequences make it nice watch.

-Sampurn Media