TheReviewMonk
Ki and Ka backdrop

Ki and Ka

1 April 2016Hindi2h 6m
out of 10
Mixedlukewarm or divided
Monk Score · 25 scored reviews · 8 not rated

Kareena shines, but Balki's gender-swap story trips over its own stereotypes.

Verdict tier Mixed, lukewarm or divided, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.

  • Praised: lead performances, especially Kareena's
  • Criticised: weak, stereotype-reinforcing writing

Audience

User score 5.5 out of 10 from 10 ratings, Mixed
Read 7 audience reviews ↓

Not streaming in India

Critic consensus

What 31 critics are saying

Critical reception for Ki and Ka was largely negative to mixed, with most reviewers finding the film's execution unable to live up to its promising premise. Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor's performances drew measured praise from several critics, with Kareena in particular singled out as a highlight. The most consistent criticism was directed at R. Balki's writing, variously described as lazy, inconsistent, contrived, and reliant on stock situations and clichés. A significant number of critics also noted an irony at the film's core — that in attempting to subvert gender stereotypes, it ended up reinforcing them.

How the 25 scores spread

8 not-rated reviews aren't plotted

Positive / mixed / negative reviews

Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10

AI-generated summary of 31 critic reviews · may contain errors

Report inaccuracy

From the papers

Critic reviews (33)

Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated

  1. Top critic

    IBNLive

    Film review ·

    It feels longer than its two hours running time, and you won't be able to shake off the feeling that it delivers very little in the end.
  2. Top critic

    Indian Express

    Film review ·

    Great to see the premise– send a woman out, keep a man in, and reverse gender expectations- on screen : it just needed to have been sharper and deeper.
  3. Top critic

    NDTV

    Film review ·

    With its promising premise undermined by erratic execution, Ki And Ka is only intermittently watchable.
  4. Top critic

    Rediff

    Film review ·

    Ki & Ka wants to be important, it wants to be revolutionary, it wants to be a feminist statement of equality. Admirable, sure. But it doesn't know how. It is a film that thinks it knows better, but really -- really -- doesn't.
  5. IndiaWest

    Film review ·

    Here's a treat that should not be missed by normal, right-thinking and good human beings. You will probably come out as a higher quality person than when you went in.
  6. Times Of India

    Film review ·

    Kareena is terrific, Arjun, endearing. But Balki's writing is inconsistent. A few scenes leave you misty-eyed, but for the most part, the stock situations are banal. Yet, Ki and Ka is worth a ticket because it tells shows how there is nothing wrong with the man wearing the apron and the women wearing her ambition.
  7. About

    Film review ·

    Ki & Ka is watchable, even enjoyable in parts. It is comforting to see that someone is making films on themes of gender in today's times where free love is still unconstitutional. And despite its uneven narrative, we definitely recommend that you take your whole family with you - especially the ones who have always told the women to "be seen and not heard" and the men "to man up".
  8. Bollywood Hungama

    Film review ·

    ...a cleverly crafted feel-good film that packs all the emotions. Though it has strong performances by both Arjun and Kareena, the film is bound to draw extreme reactions from the orthodox audiences who may find the premise difficult to digest. It is an urban progressive film and should appeal more to women and young married couples.
  9. Mid-Day

    Film review ·

    What doesn't work for the film is the constant onslaught of in-film marketing. Though it is done pretty cleverly at some points, too much is always a bad thing. The other thing is that the plot tends to get unnecessary gimmicky at points. Also, one wishes that the other characters like Kia's mother (Swaroop Sampat) as the liberated woman who runs 5 NGOs and Kabir's father, Mr. Bansal (Rajit Kapur as a successful businessman) were not confined to such tight boxes.
  10. DNA India

    Film review ·

    It's enjoyable when it's not trite. You might take to it if you are the sort that enjoys clichés​.
  11. Fully Hyderabad

    Film review ·

    Obviously, the director wanted to try his hand at a typical Bollywood rom-com, but moved forward with a pertinent concept in keeping with his reputation for making topical films. This kind of straddling has been successful in the past, but sadly, is not in this case. So grab a slice only if you're in the mood for mildly entertaining, escapist fare. Otherwise, skip it.
  12. Gulf News

    Film review ·

    Just like a marriage that has seen better days, this film was potent with promise but doesn't cash in on its potential. Reserve this for a one-time watch.
  13. Hindustan Times

    Film review ·

    Too much breakfast and coffee table drama make this well intentioned film lose steam. Ki & Ka isn't a strong voice against gender stereotyping, but it's one of its kind in mainstream Hindi film industry, and that makes it notice-worthy.
  14. KoiMoi

    Film review ·

    Ki And Ka is a brave attempt to bring in the issue of a gender role reversal but the story fails to keep you engaged. The film never reaches a conclusion of the concept and loses its focus. Despite the impressive performances by the leads, the movie simply disappoints.
  15. PinkVilla

    Film review ·

    It does have its own plusses, but that doesn't take away the fact that Ki & Ka defeats its purpose. Talk about stereotyping and no one film has done it more methodically than this one. No, you won't detest this film but it is saddening to see the effort go in vain.   With its stock issues and patchy solutions to them, the film lacks insight. No matter how watchable it is, the contrived narrative never allows it rise above average.
  16. Rediff

    Film review ·

    Ki & Ka is obviously taken in by its liberal notions but fails to realise that it's not so uncommon in today's urban context where lots of working men and women share both their professional and personal duties.
  17. Yahoo

    Film review ·

    While I wasn't very happy with the direction, I loved Arjun's understated performance. It is, however, Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan's cameo that's the highpoint of this film. The second half has a nice twist, but the sheer number of times you hear 'Ki' and 'Ka' in this story is just exhausting.
  18. Deccan Chronicle

    Film review ·

    When the setting itself is so unnatural, it is indeed a task to make the troubles seem organic. Ki and Ka have their fights, but the situations seem forced into the narrative. The tone goes from playful to preachy and that ride is choppy. So the concept, a crackling one to begin with, soon crumbles like a house of cards.

From our readers

Audience reviews (7)

10 ratings · user score 5.5

  1. AnkitApr 2016
    6/10

    * acting and chemistry between arjun and kareena is good and somehow manges to save the film *good first half *very basic script ,it seems like an essay written by 10th class student whose prime goal is to impress instead of express * this basic script can work if it has support of some really witty and clever dialog (piku) but here lack of them exept in the last scene from kia's mother * everyone is happy with everyone ,everyone accpts anything or say everything *none of the speech which arjun gives is shown bcause the writer dont have any confidence and hence argument to express there point ,this is both strength and weekness of the film *many hilarious scene can be there if there were some more characters * it is not boring at any point because no scene is streched *some really good scenes but those can be great if and only the dialog were more clever *balki leaved me confused weather admire him for idea or critisize him for inconsistency

  2. 6/10

    Ki & Ka is a romantic comedy-drama film by R Balki. With successful films to his kitty in the past viz. Cheeni Kum and Paa (Shamitabh did not see great success though), expectations were bound to be there out of his latest film Ki & Ka. When I had seen the trailer, I had felt that this film is based on the concept of gender role reversal, which is so much relevant to our society. Off late, lot of discussions happen, and articles / books are written that talk about women empowerment, women and their careers. These also focus on gender roles that limit their options and how difficult it is for an ambitious woman to grow in her professional life without making compromises on the personal front. These also talk about how challenging it is for women to balance their personal and professional lives. In our society, men are traditionally seen as the providers while women are seen as the ones who take care of things, be it home / family. Society expects men to be ambitious and to perform as the primary breadwinner. Boys are taught from their childhood to be strong personalities, to take on leadership and protector roles. Boys are always encouraged to be career-oriented, extrovert, go-getters. The trailer gave the impression that the film is going to deal with the concept, what if a man does not want such roles? What if a man chooses to be a homemaker and take care of the household chores, whereas their wives go out and work? Another question mark is how acceptable such males are in the society ? The trailer made me feel that the film revolves around gender role reversal, but when I watched the film, it talks beyond gender role reversal. Rather the film talks about the concept that how a financially independent person or the one who earns in marital partnership becomes the dominant figure. The film highlights, how the breadwinner of the family, be it 'Ki' or 'Ka' (female or male figure) feels that the family survives or thrives because of her / him, whereas she or he ignores the contribution of the support system of their partners. Marriage is a partnership, which can be successful only when both the parties believe in this partnership and live this togetherness without being insecure or jealous of one another's achievements, be supportive of one another's journey, and be tolerant enough to handle mistakes of one another. A marriage will not become successful, if 'I' dominate. Ki & Ka talks about 'We' predominating than 'I' and to be instrumental in the growth of one another and henceforth further evolve in marital relationship. Such a beautiful concept could have been handled with more depth. I felt that the flavour of comedy has made the film shallow. Especially a director of great caliber like R Balki could have added lot more pathos to various scenes in the film. Ki & Ka begins with a marriage party, where Kia (Kareena Kapoor Khan) is a guest, who is reluctant to join the dance. The very effort of picking up every incoming call shows her disinterest towards the party. She ends ups expressing during one of her conversation that marriage for a girl is equivalent to her death since her dreams, freedom, desires everything die with marriage. She just becomes 'the support'. This scene itself makes it very clear that Kia is fiercely independent ambitious girl. Kabir (Arjun Kapoor) enters in the next scene in a flight sequence, where he is seen to be sobbing about his mother's absence in his life on her birthday. Kia, the passenger next to him, finds him weird, but strikes an instant chord with him, which leads them into a series of further meetings. Kabir, in spite of being IIM-B topper and son of a business tycoon Mr. Bansal (Rajit Kapur), doesn't want to be part of any rat-race in profession / business, and just wants to settle down with Kia as a househusband, proposes to Kia. Kia, who is three years elder to him, ultimately accepts his proposal and gets into matrimonial alliance with him. Kia's mother (Swaroop Sampath) approves of their marriage whole heartedly, whereas Mr. Bansal humiliates Kabir for choosing to be a househusband. According to Kabir, he always wanted to be like his mother who was a housewife, a great artist in Kabir's language (knew the art of managing home beautifully). Kabir and Kia do court marriage. What happens after their marriage? How Kabir becomes instrumental in Kia's successful journey in the corporate world ? How does ego, insecurities, jealousies play part in the screenplay ? Is Kia able to handle the fact that her husband is actually just a househusband? Does Kabir's male ego come in the way of their relationship? Is Kia able to balance her personal and professional life? How Kabir handles his financial dependency on Kia? Is Kabir able to handle Kia's professional success? Does Kabir ever think of moving out of her shadow, if yes, how ? How does Kia respond to it ? Watch the film to explore further… Kareena Kapoor Khan as Kia has done justice to her role. Arjun Kapoor as Kabir could have done better. Probably his body language did not work in his favour. Rajit Kapoor as Mr. Bansal is not very natural, whereas he is a veteran and such a fine actor. Swaroop Sampath has justified her role. The surprise element is cameo by real couple Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. Let me not reveal, how they fit into this cameo. The script had indeed so much of potential. I felt, the comedy angle made the film lose its depth. The scenes, which could have directly hit the audience' hearts, fell flat due to humour making them trivial. Probably Balki wanted to keep the film light-hearted. Certain scenes were not well executed viz. Kabir's expressing to Kia in regard to his desire to be like his mom, his troubled relationship with his father, his mingling with the housewives' gang etc. Even the court marriage scene had only one witness as Kia's mother, whereas generally witness from either side is required. The last scene was indeed not a show-stopper scene. Kia does feel at one point of time that Kabir used her, but Balki's thought behind this scene was not clear. Also, I did feel that through gender role reversals, Balki wanted to show how people caught in unconventional roles are treated by the society at large, but he did incorporate scenes to showcase both Ki and Ka in their conventional / expected roles, viz. Kia emphasizing that she is emotional (like other girls) and Kabir fighting with people passing comments on them i.e. role of a protector. Were these scenes required? Overall, Ki & Ka is a decent watch. You would be able to enjoy this film if you could overlook certain flaws of the screenplay. And if you strongly feel in the traditional concept of men being providers and women being careers, you may just not like this film. Females may envy Kia's professional status, since they secretly desired to be in her shoes, and so, they would like the film. 'Ji Huzuri' song is very nice. Though I felt that Illayaraja's music is good, but could have done more wonders. Ki & Ka starts with gender role reversal, but grows beyond this concept to convey that a marriage partnership evolves only when both Ki & Ka appreciates one another's contribution. A home becomes happy home with the feeling of 'We' predominating than 'I'. Though the screenplay turned out to a bit shallow, overall, it is an enjoyable film. Watch the film for its concept.

  3. Umair GurmaniApr 2016
    6/10

    good to watch. start scenes was not too good. when kareena and arjun just met and they fall in love. that was weak point. interval was v good.

  4. 5/10

    R.Balki's 'Ki and Ka' is furnished with brawls between a husband- wife relations. His directorial represents the depth of a relationship in the institution of a marriage, which is portrayed exceedingly well. Here, the plot is intertwined as both exchange out their position. But for all those students who went to see the movie Arjun's character is recognized the full worth of. Primarily, because of the all-encompassing humanness which is portrayed by him in the most consummate way. In the film, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor are portray Husband and wife. Kareena is Kia, a pushy woman who is the bread winner of the house. She does her job beyond her wildest dream. She is attractively lively. And has verged on obsession other than her character which she plays. She yowls, howls and wails at Kabir, her husband who is a house husband and carries out household duties traditionally done by a housewife rather than going out to work. His admiration, endearment, intimacy for his wife compels him to take care of her in the gentlest way where he tends to her needs extending a helping hand in the daily chores, keeping track of social expectations from her. And above and all taking care of her mother too in the most reverent modus operandi. His character is attractive. And emulate him in totality in his communication skills. He casts an appreciative look and makes a go for it. He has a lot more vim from which he seems deeply vigorous. At last it is shown that Kia is jealous of Karan as he gets publicity. R. Balki's direction is not so convincing. But he is able to contrive the film with his new conceptual abstract idea. His innovatory designs which are used by him in other of his films are good and are beneficial to the society. And what makes the film more beguiling is the melody itself. It pleases smooth to hear. Party song 'High heels' is recreated and is used in the film. Both Kia and Karan stagger the screen in the runtime of the song. Toying with the theme, the film is an average ambivalent watch about a married pair altercations. One can enjoy watching it.

  5. Ankur RastogiApr 2016
    10/10

    This movie i love the best.... The concept is very good.... Every one should watch this movie once and realize that he / she is not the only one who takes the credit of family making. Husband & Wife both are equal...

Credits

Cast & crew

Cast

You may also like

Hindi films like Ki and Ka

TMDB

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.