Movies from Sudhir Mishra's basket as always stand apart from the rest of the crowd. The subjects he chooses, the characters he brings to life and the way he presents them on the celluloid has always been different. And Khoya Khoya Chaand is no different. This time around he attempts a period movie against the backdrop of the Indian film Industry (I would abstain from using the word Bollywood as I very much doubt if the term existed in 1960's). He takes bits and pieces from the film magazines, scandals, rumours and biographies to weave a plot and base it on the love-story between the writer/director and the actress. Sounds familiar? Well, fact meets fiction and a thin line separates the two. For a novice it would seem KKC is a tale taking snippets predominantly from the lives of Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Meena Kumari, Nargis, Kamal Amrohi, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. And perhaps more, if one were to ask an expert on the subject.
As with Sudhir Mishra's movies he infuses the grey shades to the characters owing to which they flesh out very much true-to-life.
ם Shiny Ahuja:: Does a good job. Its evident that his character loosely inspired on the life of Guru Dutt and perhaps Raj Kapoor.
ם Soha Ali Khan:: Quite a matured performance indeed. Her character has many layers and safely manages to deliver the goods. I am sure the inputs from Mum must have helped.
ם Vinay Pathak:: Initially you feel the actor is wasted in a pathetic character, but in second half the character gains momentum.
ם Rajat Kapoor:: As usual dependable.
ם Sonya Jehan:: Extremely pretty however her performance seemed very plastic.
The set, makeup, songs, dances, costumes (and even the telephone ring) transport you into the era of 60's. Everybody who has contributed to the movie deserves to be acknowledged for the valiant effort. KKC is not Om Shanti Om, the goody-goody glorified industry, it is not Bollywood Calling, the dark satire and neither Luck By Chance which portrays the industry from the struggler's perspective but yes - it belong to the same genre. It does not shy away to tell the darker side of the industry and attempts to realistically portray the picture behind the iron wall without being derogatory. The movie caters to a cross-section of audience hence there is hardly any room for commercial or wider acceptance.
