'Kalank' review: All bling and no depth

Heera Mandi is supposed to be a hellhole teaming with courtesans — strictly out of bounds for the 'respectable' Alia Bhatt. But the place looks so opulent that even Sanjay Leela Bhansali runs the risk of getting blinded by the bling.

Madhuri Dixit is an inhabitant of the said place, but her abode looks like a palace with an exquisite collection of floor-length chandeliers and fancy lights. Guess electricity was free in 1946.

Now, if you want to meet Madhuri, you have to hail a boat and travel through dreamy waters filled with ceiling fan-sized lotuses. The ride also offers the luxury of drowning in the kohl-lined eyes of Varun Dhawan, the resident skirt-chaser. In the background, immaculately dressed dancers ensure a steady supply of acrobatics.

Alia takes the boat everyday to witness this Karan Johar reality show. Each scene drips with gross grandeur that at the end of 2 hours 48 minutes, one needs a detox pill to flush out the force-fed extravaganza. The bejewelled women, carrying an entire showroom on them, contribute generously to the visual overload.

Now, to the not-so-heavy story. A terminally ill wife (Sonakshi Sinha), a second wife with a nonconformist spring in her step (Alia, who else), a husband who doesn't quite warm to polygamy (Aditya Roy Kapur), and a Muslim blacksmith-cum-gladiator who is allergic to shirts (Varun Dhawan, snatching the baton from Salman Khan)... Kalank is so full of people and props, but painfully empty beneath its glitzy shell. Peel off the poetic dialogues and optical opulence, and it's just another tale of forbidden love set in the time of Partition.

The performances are great, especially the lead pair's, but Kalank's soul is buried under its splendour. Dig deep and one may find some genuinely sparkling moments of love, hate, revenge and religious fanaticism. But the excesses spoil the intrigue of an era gone by.

Kalank

Hindi (U/A)

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sonakshi Sinha, Kunal Khemu, Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt

Director: Abhishek Varman

Rating: 2/5