Film: Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan

Cast: Salman Khan, Venkatesh Daggubati, Pooja Hegde, Jagapathi Babu, Bhumika Chawla,  Vijender Singh, Abhimanyu Singh, Raghav Juyal, Siddharth Nigam, Jassie Gill, Shehnaaz Gill, Palak Tiwari, Vinali Bhatnagar 

Director: Farhad Samji

Rating: 2.5 Moons

Salman Khan films have their own charm. They’re massy, stylish and high on cinematic escapism. The formulaic films have often worked even if that meant logic is taken for a toss. His Eid 2023 offering Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan is nothing different. Bhai packs punches, shows his strength by lifting cars and romances a beautiful girl with songs playing every now and then. That’s Farhad Samji’s directorial for you. 

It’s a no-brainer that Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan is out and out a Salman Khan fan service with little or no importance given to the supporting cast. Thankfully, the pulse of the audience and the current pan-India trend was sensed well in time to give Venkatesh Daggubati a strong footing in a Bhaijaan entertainer. 

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan revolves around a nameless goon who punches and stabs people left, right and center because he’s Bhaijaan or protector of these three young brothers. They’re not connected by blood but by emotions. The brothers wish to end their bachelorhood and marry their girlfriends but Bhaijaan’s decision to stay single keeps them away from marriage. With the entry of Bhagya (Pooja Hegde), their ‘bhagya’ changes and they follow her to Hyderabad to meet her peace-loving Annaya (Venkatesh Daggubati). In between, family rivalries come into play.

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan delivers what it promises – mindless action, whistle-worthy stunts, and our beloved Bhai’s swag. While it does have its heart in the right place, the execution is uneven. In order to make it a highly commercial film, writer-director Farhad Samji fails to understand that the audience is smart enough to choose between fun entertainment and cringe entertainment. The dialogues get worse with every new scene. The film is 2 hours and 24 minutes long but the pace and flow of the narrative make it difficult to sit through. The first half of the entertainer seems more like a musical and the story takes place in those few minutes when nobody breaks into some weird dance step.

The film scores brownie points in terms of scale and action sequences. However, not even the most earnest and impactful Salman and the ever-charming Venkatesh can save the film from recovering from the disjointed screenplay. One scene will be shot outside a temple and the very next will be an action stunt leaving the audience confused as to what’s exactly happening. The metro fight scene is cinematic but illogical. Before you process what are Salman and Pooja doing inside the metro, in come thousands of goons attacking the duo relentlessly. 

Speaking of songs, they make no sense, just like those lunges in Naiyo Lagda. It seems the makers felt the supporting cast deserve some attention hence songs are necessary randomly. Sadly, this doesn't work and makes the film further sluggish. The chemistry between Salman's Bhaijaan and Pooja's Bhagyalaxmi is missing. There’s a lack of spark in all the pairings. 

Salman carries Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan on his shoulders. Without him, the film wouldn't have even earned a strong audience. Adding his swag and manly charm to the story, he makes Farhad’s directorial sail through rather smoothly. Salman’s swag is such that what Rajini ‘kan't’, he can. Venkatesh as Annaya is in his top form. There’s a lot more to him than just Bhagya’s brother. Teaming with Salman, he lends some credibility to the venture. 

Pooja Hegde looks stunning in every frame but has very little to do. She is good with emotional scenes and that’s all about it. Bhumika Chawla and Satish Kaushik are underutilized. There was a lot of noise around Shehnaaz Gill, Palak Tiwari and Vinali Bhatnagar's debuts but all of that was fake alarm. They had less than 10 minutes of screen time in the 144 minutes long film. While they were present in the songs but the focus was certainly on Salman and Pooja. Raghav Juyal, Jassie Gill and Siddharth Nigam are better than them in terms of screen presence and importance given to their characters. 

Vijender Singh, the champion boxer, should ideally stick to sports and not venture into acting. Rohini Hattangadi is a breath of fresh air. In a brief role, she leaves behind a strong impact. Jagapathi Babu’s Nageshwara is a weak villain. The conflict between him and Annaya doesn’t come across as planned. 

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan blends North and South with an ensemble cast. Sure, Salman and Venkatesh will draw an audience but Farhad’s poor execution could leave them disheartened. The runtime seems forever. The grandeur and lavishness could blind the eye but not for a long time. A true Salman Khan-genre film, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan will strictly appeal to super fans only. 

PeepingMoon gives Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan 2.5 Moons