Golden Kash

Golden Kash is an ambitious, well-paced, enjoyable dark comedy with a charismatic cast and clean vision to boot.

What starts off as a kidnap thriller quickly evolves into situational comedy that is brave enough to flirt with the fourth wall, and through all that, the manages to story keep its bearings.

The opening music may distract from the visual quality of the film in the first few seconds, but once things quiet down and the ambience sets in, the eye is immediately captivated by the use of shadow and colour.

Shadows and silhouettes give the film a distinct noir feel, an ominous foreboding of what’s in store, and it’s all a cleverly crafted misdirect. Humour and unexpected high jinks were the last elements I expected to see in a film that centres on greed. From the kidnapper that demands a ransom and gets a call back from a phone salesman to the aloof father too engrossed with a cricket game to pick up his phone, Golden Kash creates the perfect arena for each of its leading men to one-up each other in the hopes of a fat paycheck. Each of the actors performs their part convincingly, with enough wit to stick the landing.

While the breach of the fourth wall midway through the plot is abrupt, the film manages to keep the momentum of the story moving forward. This is where we meet Ujjwal Chaudhary’s character, an unmotivated phone salesman who works the nightshift and dreams of a better life. Ujjwal’s character addresses the camera—or rather, the audience—in an expository segment where he rants about his shortcomings, and lucky for him, he stumbles upon an opportunity to change his circumstance (or does he?). Ujjwal has wit, charm and the cinematic presence to keep the audience engaged. (And perhaps even get them to root for him!)

While the ending does jump a few steps, asking the audience to draw conclusions and pave over what few plot holes the script has, Golden Kash is a prime example of how experimental, genre-bending films (if executed well) can be quite an enjoyable experience.