‘Kapoor And Sons’ is a movie which in a way, can be termed as perfect! It has all the elements that are needed to seek attention of the audience. From beginning to end, you get a myriad of emotions, and trust me you will not be distracted, even for a moment! The flick is about sibling love and family ties! It comes with an entertaining combo of romance and comedy throughout the two and a half hours! The connectivity of scenes, characters and dialogues, works very well with the script. The characters are written in such a way that you feel lively and can easily relate to them. All in all, the director has kept in mind all the essential elements of making a movie must watch. We are sure that ‘Kapoor And Sons’ will make you love, laugh, cry and smile and most importantly, will make you tell your family that you love them.

There’s a strong Karan Johar impression on Kapoor & Sons, but that is expected. After all, he is the producer of the film. But what we didn’t expect was the finesse with which director Shakun Batra has narrated a predictable story. You may find Kapoor & Sons a rehash of some Dharma Productions’ films, but the treatment makes it an engaging 140-minute film. It’s a dysfunctional family which doesn’t think twice before yelling or throwing an angry cookie jar at each other. And no, they don’t do it in jest. Well, here begins the director’s meticulous planning. The writers of the film, Shakun Batra and Ayesha Devitre Dhillon, have done a fabulous job in providing every major character a chance to flourish. For the want of a better term, Kapoor & Sons is an emotional roller coaster. It’s a tear jerker for sure, but also features the intricacies of a middle class life. No dark secrets here, but the shock value is definitely there. You’ll love it for being spontaneous, precise, fast paced and well...lovable. A fantastic family drama after a long time.

Director Shakun Batra crafts a refreshing tale of family problems and the art of sweeping them under the carpet. There are scenes in the film which remind you of your own not-so-absolute families. In this tale of the flawed family, Fawad Khan is spectacular. Sidharth Malhotra tries his best to infuse life into Arjun, and is successful in doing so. However, in the frames with the two brothers on screen, you can't help but realise that Fawad outshines Sidharth.  However, underneath all the brilliance of Kapoor And Sons, there lies the problem of the quick-fix solution. Half of Batra's film is a lesson in embracing the imperfections and searching for a proper solution to them. Therefore, when the story uses that very hasty, knee-jerk climax to get things in place, it comes across as a betrayal. The music is soothing. Ladki Beautiful, of course, is already the party anthem of the year. Among the other tracks, Bolna is a memorable one. In all, watch Kapoor And Sons for everything. And if you happen to have a crush on Fawad Khan, watch it for him.

Kapoor And Sons is intense and incisive in its observation of human inadequacies but is always entertaining. Director Shakun Batra keeps it all on a tight leash and skillfully mines the multiple conflict points as much for the humour inherent in them as for the dramatic frisson that they generate. It keeps springing little surprises all the way through, so much so that at times it is hard to believe that this has emerged from the Karan Johar stable. The three lead actors are natural charmers and Batra loses no opportunity to make capital out of their looks. What stands out in the bold, breezy and emotionally engaging Kapoor And Sons is the freshness of its approach to the themes of stressed filial ties, the flight of time, and the indelible scars that mistakes and misgivings leave on hearts and minds. Rishi Kapoor, notwithstanding the overdone prosthetic makeup, is perfect in the guise of the full-blooded nonagenarian that nothing can stop. Kapoor And Sons is a winner all the way.

Shakun Batra’s sophomore effort is a finely, intelligently crafted film which stumbles because of its eagerness: eagerness, at first, to lather on the overstuffed plot faster and faster, giving us a film with too little breathing room and secondly -- and more cripplingly -- eagerness, eventually, to make audiences cry. Thus, we are left with a potentially fine film then that tries too hard to be a sad one. That, in itself, isn’t unforgivable, and because we care about the characters we do, indeed, give a damn about what comes of them. Yet the shifting of gears is clunky and the narrative pace is all awry. I wanted to care, and did care -- especially when Rajat Kapoor tried to righteously justify himself while happening to wear a fuchsia boa, say, or when the hand under Alia Bhatt’s chin shook feverishly, Batra assuredly telling us about her knee-jerking restlessness without showing it -- but by the end, as we intercut from revelation to revelation to revelation, it gets a bit much. Like those candied Phantom 'cigarettes,' Kapoor & Sons is a film that works in small doses. Then again, so does family.

‘Kapoor & Sons’ seems to have taken to heart that famous Tolstoy line: “all happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”, in the way it chooses a specific kind of unhappiness for each member of the Kapoor family. Sidharth Malhotra brings to the table an attractive  loose-limbed vulnerability which he reveals slowly. He makes something of his part. Fawad plays his straight, and he doesn’t lift off the screen, the way he did in ‘Khubsoorat’. Rishi gets some laughs in, but has to struggle against the heavy prosthetics. The two people who kept me watching all the way were Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah : they play long-time partners in a marriage gone sour, and create a relationship which has enough strength and weaknesses that you want to know more about. These two deserve a separate film. 

So, Kapoor & Sons remixes Bollywood's family drama in a bold new-age avataar. This is an entirely real family, full of uncomfortable secrets, awkward jealousies and sharp pain, where brothers steal, parents cheat, siblings suspect and 'perfect bachchas' don't have perfect love-lives.  The acting shines. In a wheelchair, Rishi Kapoor runs away with the film, smashing it with hilarious lines - an 'apology' goes, "Sorry, bhains" - and his dirty old man portrayal, lusting after Mandakini's wet sari and using his grandson's 'I-Papad' for porn. Fawad and Siddharth make terrific contrasts, Siddharth vulnerable, yet loving, Fawad, slick, yet asking with pain, "Aap ko mere jhoot bolne ka gham hai - ya meri asliyat ka?" And Ratna Pathak Shah seals it with a fabulous performance that evolves from angry edginess to calm grief. Alongside, small, silken touches - the shoes of someone who's gone, the chemistry of Alia and Siddharth, an old-world small town, a new world where children and parents comfort and confront - make Kapoor & Sons special. However, the direction, frequently evoking Monsoon Wedding, keeps things family-focused, with a moving camera and characters in meltdown. Wicked, witty and wise, Kapoor & Sons does Karan Johar proud. Because it's about loving your family - sharp edges and all.

The movie looks like a beautiful tiara, an amalgamation of fine comic punches that further grow with twists and curls into electrifying chemistry, ultimately rising to the reality block-- distorted yet perfect family. Bringing to surface the underneath of all 'perfect' family portraits, Shakun's direction is flawless. Kudos to the veteran and amazing actress Ratna Pathak Shah, who held together, being backbone of the script. Rajat Kapoor is amazing as the supporting cast and the 'aww-dorable' star of the story-- Rishi Kapoor is simply fantastic. The performances are real, audiences can connect, less of dramatisation and more of unwrinkled portrayals back the movie. Rishi Kapoor has yet again shown, what a fine actor he is and can adapt to any skin. Alia-Fawad chemistry overrules Alia-Sidharth's, however, the latter shines towards the end. Nonetheless, the story manages to descend bare into the psyche of audiences with debonair imagery tied with picturesque beauty, keeping you mesmerised. After a while, if you wish to see a congenial movie with a bottom of gravitas sans the glamour and glitz, then you must not miss 'Kapoor and Sons' since 1921.