By Taran Adarsh, September 30, 2005 - 15:08 IST

An offbeat pairing can either arouse curiosity or generate negative vibes. The teaming of singer-actor Lucky Ali and Pakistani actor Meera in KASAK also raises similar feelings.

So when you saunter in a movieplex screening KASAK, you expect the two diverse actors to cast a spell with their performances. Also, you are eager to know how deftly director Rajiv Babbar has handled a love story for the first time, after attempting a number of masala films with Mithun Chakraborty.

But your hopes come crashing down as the reels unfold. The culprit, of course, is the storyline that vacillates from functional to outright predictable. Also, the director has not been able to hold your attention for most parts of the film.

The only glimmer of hope is M.M. Kreem's music, but can a vehicle move on just one wheel, while the remaining three wheels [direction, script, performances] are flat?

Amar [Lucky Ali] is a simpleton, looking after his diabetic mother [Anjana Mumtaz], who slips into coma one day. After his mother's demise, the only goal in his life is to serve others.

Serving as a mail nurse at a diabetic centre, he comes in contact with Anjali [Meera], who also works at the same centre. Anjali is an ambitious woman who believes in having the best in life and wants to reach for the skies in the shortest possible time.

Amar inherits crores from a rich patient. Meanwhile, Amar and Anjali get married and Amar gifts his entire wealth to Anjali. But Anjali's true colors surface overnight and she drops Amar like a hot potato.

A heartbroken and dejected Amar bumps into Raunaq [Mukesh Tiwari], who recommends him to Captain [Puneet Issar], who in turn appoints him as his bodyguard. In a land deal, Amar attains riches overnight and he desires to meet Anjali once again. Anjali agrees to meet Amar and there's a twist in the tale...

Bearing a slight similarity to Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's WHITE [1993], the story of KASAK is archaic and Rajiv Babbar's direction reminds you of the cinema of 1970s. In these fast-changing times, when ground-breaking stories are being attempted with amazing regularity, a film likes KASAK looks completely out of place.

With a predictable and hackneyed story on hand, you sit and watch the monotonous goings-on without getting involved. The conflict between the two characters is established in the first 20 minutes and the next one-and-a-half hours are devoted to Lucky wanting Meera back, but Meera shunning and insulting him all the while. Nothing makes sense, not even the climax, which is more of an anti-climax.

Director Rajiv Babbar tries hard to make an absorbing love story, but with a half-baked screenplay [Rajiv Babbar, Sanjay Masoom, Neeraj Sahai] on hand, the results are poor. M.M. Kreem's music is melodious, but seems wasted in an enterprise like this. 'Jaana Hai Jaana Hai' and 'Tod Diya' are two numbers that stand out because of sheer melody. However, the sexy number in the second half [filmed on a skimpily clad woman] should be deleted instantly. Cinematography [Nadeem Khan] is pleasant.

Lucky Ali is strictly okay in a role that doesn't really give him a chance to display histrionics. If Meera was average in NAZAR, Meera is awful in her second Hindi film. Her English diction is faulty, her wardrobe outrageous and her makeup garish. Mukesh Tiwari is wasted. Ditto for Puneet Issar.

On the whole, KASAK is a poor show. At the box-office, it's a non-starter!