Kaalakaandi movie review round-up: Bollywood critics, celebs laud Saif Ali Khan's 'let loose' character

Saif Ali Khan appeared in a never-seen-before character in his upcoming movie Kaalakaandi. Released this Friday (January 12), the movie has been appreciated by Bollywood celebrities who have already watched it at special screenings.

The Akshat Verma directorial is a dark comedy about life, death and karma. Kaalakaandi is actually a Marathi slang for when things go disastrously wrong. So, this movie might give you the vibes of Delhi Belly and Shaitan.

Saif's funky looking character in the movie is the highlight. Decked up in a yellow furry coat with his hair tied in multiple ponytails and a gun in hand, the actor has won hearts with his role.

Celebrities have lauded the Chote Nawab after watching him let loose in the movie. It is an absolute treat of bizarre humour, celebs say.

Critics have also appreciated Saif's performance in the movie. The recently released song, 'Swagpur Ka Chaudhary', already gave a glimpse of Saif's crazy side in the flick.

Kaalakaandi also features Vijay Raaz, Deepak Dobriyal, Shobita Dhulipala, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Isha Talwar, Shenaz Treasurywala, Nary Singh and Akshay Oberoi.

The movie chronicles the story of six characters from different worlds of Mumbai in a span of 12 hours and how the lives of complete strangers intersect.

With all of Saif's recent films bombing at the box office, Kaalakaandi surely is an important film for the actor. Although it appears to be made on a medium budget, the trailer and posters are certainly impressive, and the movie is likely to connect with the audience.

Meanwhile, take a look at how Bollywood celebs reacted after watching the movie:

Here's the critics review:

Swetha Ramakrishnan of Firstpost said: "In the middle of all the madness in Kaalakaandi, some lessons are doled out. For one, nobody seems to be judging anyone else in this film's universe: drugs, sex cheating, prostitution? It's cool; live and let live is the mantra of the film. And in these tightly wound times, it's refreshing to see a film wear its open-mindedness on its sleeve."

Udita Jhunjhunwala of Live Mint said: "There are many first film issues with Kaalakaandi: it is technically inconsistent and the narrative doesn't quite pull together. You are waiting for the loose plots to come together as the film nears its end, but that does not happen quite to satisfaction. You are left with some doubts, a lack of closure, like there's maybe something that slipped between the writing and the final edit."

Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in said: "In Kaalakaandi, Khan moves smoothly between behaviour that is outrageous and touching, delivers whacky lines with aplomb, and conveys the movie's desired madcap quality without a trace of self-consciousness."