Director R. Balki’s Ki & Ka is good-looking and utterly enjoyable at 126 minutes with an unusual theme and stray comments about present-day urban life. Just imagine a story of an upwardly mobile Indian family in which the roles of the husband Ka (Kabir) and the wife Ki (Kia) are reversed. That itself is intriguing and a thought for merriment.

But I have a question for the director R. Balki: you too have a working wife (Gauri Shinde, director of feature and short films) so why do you presume that present-day homemakers only cook, clean, attends kitty parties, gym and shop? Only 0.001 per cent of the population of homemakers may be doing that while the rest of us have various chores lined up after taking care of home and hearth.

Coming from the maker of films like Cheeni kum, Paa, Shamitabh with innovative subjects, one was expecting the handling of subject of role reversal in an ordinary married couple to be somewhat different. But as your protagonist Ka aka Kabir (Arjun Kapoor) says, “Aap ka confusion issi liye hai na kyon kay mein bra nahin pahenta, aur uss ki daarhi nahin hai!” Why oh why have you restricted yourself to only this difference, Mr director?

Watch this film for laughs but don’t expect any path-breaking or progressive thoughts

Otherwise, it’s a well-made flick with witty dialogues, reminding us of Balki’s first film Cheeni Kum. And for a change Arjun Kapoor who somehow never appears at ease with any character he essays, is bang on in the role of Ka, a house husband or the role-reversed homemaker. And equally good is Kareena Kapoor as Ki aka Kia, a woman who is more interested in climbing the corporate ladder than slaving in front of the stove.

It’s also nice to see Ki’s mother (played by Swaroop Sampat) back from hibernation. Still graceful and beautiful while nearing her 60s, one can easily see why this former beauty queen was selected to represent India in the Miss Universe pageant way back in 1979. Over the years she may have earned herself a Ph.D in Education but has yet to master the art of acting.

Being an ad man, Balki has his sets done interestingly. Ka is obsessed by old railways and usually spends his time walking around New Delhi’s National Rail Museum. In fact, he takes Ki on their first date to this museum and after several visits even proposes here. He doesn’t stop there. After marriage they shift to Ki’s home where he converts their rented apartment into a miniature railway yard — with steam engines popping in and out and the seating arrangement done up like a railway platform including a huge wall clock. Only an ad man can come up with something like this.

The dialogues are tongue-in-cheek. Some gems: “Mein gay nahin hoon, sex change operation bhi nahin karwana chahta, and I like women, I like whisky, par yeh office career kay jhanjhat se parre rahna chahta hoon,” explains Ka who is an IIM-B (a leading management study institute in India) topper and son of a real estate tycoon; Ki introduces Ka to her mother by saying, “Pagal mujh se shaadi karna chahta hai. Mera husband nahin, meri wife banna chahta hai!”; referring to the aftermath of the Nirbhaya rape case in Delhi, three bus workers looking at Ki and Ka walking in the night react, “Lagata hai Delhi phir se safe ho gaya!”

But the eulogies have to stop here. Balki’s ambitious breadwinner continues to take out work frustrations at home and the silent house husband bears it humbly, even pacifying the breadwinner. There is one particular scene when Ki after a very strenuous day returns home to plunk on the bed with her footwear on while Ka quietly removes her stilettos and covers her with a blanket. Do we still have such ‘wives’ in a modern, educated households? When Ki rants continuously (Kareena is really good in this long monologue), Ka is absolutely silent. No rejoinder. Simply doesn’t become an IIM-B grad! Also, was there a need to show so much blatant canoodling between couples? I really don’t think any child — Indian or Western — would like to kiss and cuddle in front of a parent no matter how progressive the latter.

Way back in 1980s, there was an Indian TV serial called Mr ya Mrs starring Jayant Kriplani and Archana Puran Singh which had the same concept of role reversal in a household. It had become very popular. Ki & Ka too might become an exemplary and a cult film, but it still disappoints. The blatant plugging of products and services — from cooking medium to hospital bed — is annoying. The music by Ilaiyaraaja, Mithoon and Meet Bros Anjjan suit the mood. Nice to hear Yo Yo Honey Singh getting back into his groove.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, April 10th, 2016