Film Review: R. Balki’s ‘Ki and Ka’ (2016)
By Kouser Fathima
Ki & Ka, with a catchy name and new idea of role reversal attracted many movie buffs but sadly failed to deliver. As a Bollywood movie, it has a good cast, music and the promise of a different storyline. While Ki is the man of the house and Ka tries to be the homemaker.
Ki is an ambitious corporate woman married to Ka, a laid-back guy who is happy to not work and take care of home and mom-in-law, while Ki continues to climb her career ladder.
The idea seems fascinating to many of us women, who dream to balance work and life with the help of a supportive spouse but, in reality, how many of us are ready for this “womanly husband ” who doesn’t have any career but ends up a househusband.
Here, we are not talking about husbands working from home or husbands taking a break from work to support wives; rather the husband, who has no career. The man is happy not to be working and be part of the rat-race though he is qualified enough.
Yes we women have been doing this for ages, giving up our careers to support our husbands. But how many real-life men would we find trying to be like Ka? More importantly, how many Kis would be happy to have a man like Ka? A man with no ambitions, no identity of his own in today’s world, where even girls are breaking barriers to create their own identity. Very few, I suppose.
Though the movie starts on a high note, it later fails to live up to the mark. This is a usual story of one workaholic spouse and another supportive spouse. However, the difference is that the wife is the workaholic one, while the husband acts as the waiting spouse at home.
The movie fails to cover the more intricate and complex issues of such a marriage and ends on a positive note of “all is well.”
It resorts to symbolism like Ka wearing the mangalsutra, instead of Ki. In real life, things wouldn’t be so glossy. But we can’t expect much from a Bollywood movie.
It would be interesting if a sequel, Ki & Ka 2, is made covering more issues, including how the story would progress for this unusual couple coping with the new challenges of life. Parenting included.
Till then, it’s good to see women going crazy watching Ka serving breakfast in bed and doing the laundry.
Bio:
Dr. Kouser Fathima is a Bangalore-based dentist who writes on issues concerning women, especially Muslim women. Email: drkf_18@hotmail.com. Twitter: @drkf_18
The piece first appeared on Janta Ka Reporter.
***
Like Cafe Dissensus on Facebook. Follow Cafe Dissensus on Twitter.
Cafe Dissensus Everyday is the blog of Cafe Dissensus magazine, based in New York City, USA. All materials on the site are protected under Creative Commons License.
***
Read the latest issue of Cafe Dissensus Magazine on ‘JNU and Its Tradition(s) of Dissent’, edited by Malavika Binny, JNU, Delhi, India.
Cafe Dissensus Everyday 
One Response to “Film Review: R. Balki’s ‘Ki and Ka’ (2016)”
Reblogged this on Gabylovesyourpost and commented:
Seems a great movie! The storyline and the characteristis of each actors sounds interesting. Bollywood have the characteristic to be unique and special. Because of the elements. I wish we have the opportunity to watch it. Thanks for this awesome article.