Karthik Calling Karthik

The director has effectively been able to make a thriller out of a story about the games our mind plays. The treatment is edge of the seat and smooth.

The screenplay does tend to get a bit clunky and the drama somewhat heavy as the director looks for text book resolutions of the teasing problem. But, by and large, there is a thrill factor that keeps the momentum on.

...the twist is indeed worth the time because it's not 100% predictable. If nothing else Farhan Akhtar's ace performance is something you will relish for quite a while.

...a film calling in all admirers and connoisseurs of intelligent thrillers. Amidst several missed calls, blank calls, wrong numbers and cross connections (read tacky thrillers), this call from a new number (read debutante director Vijay Lalwani) is worth attending.

This is not candyfloss cinema. It will find its audience in those wanting to get involved.

KCK would've been a classic had Vijay Lalwani, the director and writer, spent a little more time, developing an ending that equaled the brilliance exhibited in the preceding length of the film.

...the film is worth your time for the gripping storytelling and marvelous performances. Recommended!

As an audience, you’re not always two steps behind the script either. But that doesn’t take away from how the film holds you, almost all the way. This isn't easy. I suspect you’re not going to love the sound of a ringing landline for a while. I hope you don’t question the workings of your brain as much.

The film itself doesn’t lag behind in self-assurance. But the absence of what one may call an energetic exterior could well be mistaken by some viewers as an ingrained inertia, a malaise that the film’s protagonist suffers from.

Films like Karthik Calling Karthik are all about winding up right. This one fails to make a connect. Pity, it could have been that all important call you've always been waiting for.

Debutante director Vijay Lalwani knows his job well, but he's letdown by his own writing. The second hour not only looks stretched, but the pace also gets excruciatingly slow at this juncture. The climax, as mentioned earlier, is a complete downer.

...is inconsistent with its own internal logic. When you backtrack and see how the pieces fit, it doesn’t hang together.

Spooky 5 a.m. calls perk up a wallflower-loser in an eerie urban-nightmare that’s terrific for the most part.

Farhan Akhtar, almost in every frame, has a likeable screen presence and acts competently. Still KCK adds up to little more than a wrong number.

The direction of Vijay Lalwani shows spark but fails to take the film to its logical conclusion. In fact, the second half is not only slow but also climax seems out of tune with the feel of the movie.

...is half baked with hardly two scenes sending a cold shiver down your spine. The thrill is less while love and comedy seem to be forced.

...is low on entertainment and remains a bit dark and dreary, so it’s entirely your call.

...appears confused and half-baked, and it commits that deadly unforgivable cinematic sin – it bores you!

...there’s really no steady progression, just staccato sequences where Karthik ( Akhtar) and Shonali ( Padukone) go from happy to fractious within nanoseconds.