Kai Po Che!

Ishaan Ish Bhatt (Sushant Singh Rajput) is an ex district level cricketer who is a victim of politics in the cricketing selection fraternity, Omkar Omi Shastri (Amit Sadh) is the nephew of a Hindu politician (Bittu) who funds their business and Govind Govi Patel (Rajkumar Rao) is a geek who is the mastermind behind starting a sports shop which also doubles as a sports academy. Together they open a sports shop and an academy to train and promote talented budding cricketers. After toiling hard, they succeed in establishing it as a center for cricket among the local youth and start to incur profits.Ishaan requests Govind to teach his sister Vidya (Amrita Puri) mathematics as her exams are coming up. Govind is reluctant at first but agrees eventually.

Vidya and Govind gradually fall in love with each other and secretly enter a relationship unknowingly. Omi discovers the same and warns Govind of the consequences, as Ishaan is very protective of his sister.The three friends spot a budding cricketing talent in a local boy, Ali (Digvijay Deshmukh), who has a rare talent, and Ishaan starts training him vigorously. Govind is ambitious and wants to expand the budding business by opening a shop in a mall being constructed in Navrangpura, an upcoming part of the city. With financial help coming from Omis maternal uncle, Bittu (Manav Kaul), the trio secure the deal and set up shop in the mall.

But the trouble comes when a destructive earthquake hits Gujarat and Govinds shop in the mall is destroyed. Govind is shattered as the amount of money he invested was very large and he is now loaded with a huge debt. Omi is reluctantly forced to work for his maternal Uncles right-wing party due to the money they owe him.When relief camps of Omi uncles party declines to give Muslims shelter in troubled times, Ishaan and Omi quarrel over their politico-religious outlook and temporarily break off their friendship. They again reunite after Indias surprise win in the test match against Australia.

Omi gets busy with religious politics and joins Bittus party. Ishaan and Govind, meanwhile, are busy with Ali and Vidya respectively. Tension arises in the political sphere when Bittu loses the elections in his constituency to his opponent (Asif Basra). As a part of their campaigning, Bittu sends pilgrims (kar sevaks) to Ayodhya to the Ram Temple. Omis parents were also among them.

On the returning day, the shocking news of the Godhra train massacre reaches the people. Omi is shattered but Bittu convinces him to take revenge on the murderers of his parents.Ishaan and Govind hide Ali in Alis house, afraid of the communal riots which were about to start. As expected, the violence starts by sunset, and the mob led by Bittu storms into the Muslim locality, killing each and every Muslim in sight. A fight ensues between Alis father and Bittu.

Alis father stabs Bittu in defense and rushes to save Ali and take shelter in their attic. Omi, enraged at the death of his uncle Bittu, follows him with a gun. Meanwhile, Ishaan comes to know about Vidya and Govinds relationship, when he reads Vidyas text message in Govinds mobile phone about her periods. Enraged, he starts thrashing Govind while Omi enters the premises with a gun in hand, desperate to find and kill Ali and his father. Ishaan and Govind break their own fighting and try to stop Omi as he desperately searches for Ali and his father.

Omi finally aims and shoots at Ali. Ishaan in a bid to save Ali takes the bullet himself and consequently dies.The film then goes back to where it started, with Omi being released from prison ten years later. Govind and Vidya are married and have a son, whom they have named Ishaan (Ishaan Bhagat, Chetan Bhagats son) after the late Ishaan. The film ends with a now grown up Ali debuting for the Indian cricket team against Australia.

He plays his first shot by hitting the ball to the boundary with a Cover drive just like his Ishaan bhaiya had taught him.The film was critically acclaimed by Indian critics but was met with a rather mixed reception from critics overseas. Sukanya Verma for Rediff.com gave 4/5 stars and says Abhishek Kapoors clarity of vision makes Kai Po Che!, the adaptation of a mediocre novel, so irresistible. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it 4 out of 5 and stated that the film is brimming with solid content.

Meena Iyer of The Times of India gave it 4 out of 5 stars saying, Kai Po Che! is very likeable. Between tears, you find yourself smiling, because its the story of friendship and human triumph above all else. Resham Sengar of Zee News gave 4/5 stars stating, The magic of the film lies in its details! Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 3.5 stars saying, Kai Po Che! is a competently crafted, well acted and consistently engaging drama that makes its point without sinking into preachy paroxysms. Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express gave 3.

5/5 stars adding, Abhishek Kapoor uses Kai Po Che! as an apt metaphor and crafts a lovely, emotive film on abiding friendship and the values that make life worth living. India Today gave 3.5 stars. Khalid Mohamed of Deccan Chronicle gave 3 out of 5 stars and stated that it is a good film. Deccan Herald stated that it is a warm film while Live Mint said that Kai Po Che! is a well-crafted entertainer.

Anupama Chopra of The Hindustan Times gave the movie 4 out of 5 stars saying that Kai Po Che! is Gujarati for Ive cut. It is used as a cry of victory in kite-flying contests. Here victory is hard-earned and tinged with tears and regret. But its also deeply satisfying. Rajeev Masand of IBN Live gave the movie 4/5 stars saying that Its only February, but one of the years best films has arrived.

The Hindu stated that the film is breathless. The film is rated 60% fresh on the review site Rotten Tomatoes. Critic Aaron Hillis of The Village Voice gave a negative review, stating that The dramatic stakes are so puny that every obstacle can be overcome with a simple work-it-out montage, a cheap device prevalent enough in this movie to start a drinking game. Rachel Saltz of the New York Times wrote that the film Mixes, not quite successfully, traditional Bollywood storytelling with something less conventional. Kate Taylor of the Globe and Mail wrote that the film might be the next Bend It Like Beckham if it did not have the sensibilities of the next Dr.

Zhivago. On the other hand, Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times gave it a slightly positive review, criticizing the film for its grimness and lack of subtlety, but complimenting the performances as enjoyably boisterous.