Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan review: A tent-pole commercial entertainer that celebrates Salman Khan’s larger-than-life persona

Irrespective of their quality, several South films have been remade into Hindi in the recent past. A certain fatigue has set in which is evident in the way most of these remakes have fared.

Of course, Ajay Devgan’s Drishyam 2 was a huge blockbuster. But by and large, remakes have fallen flat on their face.

For those who are not aware, Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (Someone’s Brother, Someone’s Lover) is based on director Shiva’s Tamil film Veeram (Valour, 2014) starring Ajith and Tamannaah.

Veeram majorly worked because of Ajith’s charisma. It was also remade into Telugu as Katamarayudu (2017) with Pawan Kalyan. However, the Telugu version flopped big time.

Now, the film has been remade into Hindi. Though the trailer of Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan didn’t receive a great response, there was certain optimism as it is an Eid release.

The inclusion of the Telugu actors Venkatesh and Jagapathi Babu added a certain curiosity to it.

There are few films where the overall product turns out to be better than the first glimpse, and this one falls in that category.

Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan isn’t an outstanding cinema but is largely enjoyable. In a way, it can be called Salman Khan’s version of 2 States (2014) and Shah Rukh Khan’s Chennai Express (2013).

Plot

Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan revolves around Bhaijaan (Salman Khan). He lives in Delhi with his brothers Luv (Siddarth Nigam), Ishq (Raghav Juyal) and Moh (Jassie Gill). They are not blood brothers but the bond between them is strong.

In a way, they are small-time mafia using violence to settle disputes in their locality. Luv, Ishq and Moh have girlfriends. But there is a problem — Bhaijaan is unmarried and he feels that the entry of a girl into their lives will ruin their bond.

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Late Satish Kaushik plays a father figure to all four men. He plays his part with a lot of warmth and is a delight to watch.

Bhagyalaxmi (Pooja Hedge), an Andhra girl, lands in the same locality where Bhaijaan and his three brothers live, for research on antiques. She falls for Bhaijaan and soon, love blooms between the two.

Balakrishna Gundamaneni (Venkatesh) is the peace-loving elder brother of Bhagyalaxmi, or at least that is the impression we get in the beginning.

Two major villains get in the way of Bhaijaan getting his happy ending:  one is boxer-turned-actor Mahvir (Vijender Singh and the other is Nageshwar (Jagapati Babu).

Mahvir, like a typical real estate villain, wants to take over the basti where Bhaijaan lives.

On the other hand, Nageshwar has a major grouse with Balakrishna Gundamaneni. This is the story in a nutshell.

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Characterisation

Director Farhad Samji wastes no time in establishing the larger-than-life persona of Salman Khan. The actor makes a dashing entry and the dialogue is filled with punch lines. Not all punch lines work but still, there is some joy to be had.

The camaraderie between the four brothers is established well. As viewers, you do root for them.

However, there is one major bump — the characters of the girlfriends. None of them stands out except for Pooja Hegde. Things get better with her entry.

Pooja is quite good in her chirpy role. She does come across as animated in the initial portions. Her character Bhagyalaxmi is good to watch. This is easily Pooja’s best performance in a Hindi film so far.

The fight sequence in the Delhi Metro train – when Bhagyalaxmi learns how violent her boyfriend is — sets the stage for an engaging second half.

Venkatesh as the elder brother has a powerful presence that uplifts the second half considerably. His scenes with Salman are a delight to watch. Venkatesh also has his mass moments and the actor packs a strong punch.

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Director Farhad Samji needs to be credited for not presenting the south Indianness of Balakrishna in a caricaturist way.

The dialogues are a mix of Telugu and Hindi and don’t come across as jarring at any point. Not surprisingly, Jagapati Babu as Nageswar fares much better than Vijender Singh. The reason is Jagapati Babu has mostly done negative roles in his second innings.

Bhaijaan Salman mostly plays to the gallery. However, he does shine in some of the emotional moments with the brothers. There are also hugely enjoyable Meta references. One of these is the scene involving his Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) co-star Bhagyashree.

Music

The songs composed by Ravi Basur, and Himesh Reshammiya & Co go with the vibe of Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan.

The songs “Yentamma” and “Naiyo Lagda” stand out. The presence of Ramcharan dancing with Salman and Venkatesh makes “Yentamma” more fun to watch.

There is also a dialogue where Ramcharan says that “Ram has come to attend Bhaijaan’s wedding”. This does crack the viewers up.

The trio of Jassie Gill, Siddarth Nigam and Raghav Juyal do a fine job in their limited screen time. However, as earlier said the girlfriends are one big minus point of the film.

For Salman Khan’s fans, this can be easily overlooked.

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Verdict

Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan isn’t high on the story but there is enough to enjoy in this “North meets South” if you don’t analyse too much.

(Views expressed are personal.)