And even that strong 2nd half can't lift Madhur Bhandarkar's 2nd directorial effort on "exposing" the corrupt nature of the corporate world from average status. The art of story telling is obviously not one of Bhandarkar's strengths. The first half of Corporate, to put it bluntly, is BOORRINGGGGG!! And Y is it boring? Because NOTHING happens! There's no conflict aside from Bhandarkar wasting time on whose screwing who behind the scenes(AGAIN) and trying too hard to portray the very liberal lifestyles of those working in these BIG corporations. The latter especially came off very tacky to me. The story doesn't really become interesting until the discovery of pesticides in the new drink product being launched by Vinay Sehgal's(Rajat Kapoor) company and the chaos that follows after the drink's release. I loved the ending most because it's reality - Those who don't let their morality interrupt their business decisions almost always go unharmed where BIG money is involved, while the "emotional fools" end up paying for sticking up their neck to do the honorable thing. Call it stereotyping but MONEY speaks above all when the people getting screwed aren't related to you by blood.
Rajat Kapoor gets the most scope as Vinay only-profit-matters Sehgal and he takes full advantage it. It's a subtle yet chilling portrayal of an immoral man w/ an ego that matches his bank account. It's all in Rajat Kapoor's eyes and body language. I wish he'd do more movies because he effortlessly slips into any character he plays. Bipasha is just decent. Yes, she's not a PLAYBOY for a change but wearing business suits to work and no make-up(scary!) while locked up in jail doesn't make you different. Her dialog delivery and body language is same ol' same ol'. Kay Kay's a complete miscast as Bipasha's boyfriend because he looks old enough to be her father. Not to mention his character is relegated to smiling or brooding and he couldn't do the former at all w/o looking awkward. Raj Babbar underplays his superstitious character as Sehgal's rival and it comes across beautifully. Especially in the 2nd half where he's out to destroy Sehgal. The politician funding Sehgal corp. is a complete natural. Payal Rohatgi seems to be playing herself :D
Overall, would recommend it for Rajat Kapoor's performance and the cold truth of BIG businesses in the 2nd half. But Corporate's far from being a well made movie. Bhandarkar's gotta work on how to tell a story.
Rajat Kapoor gets the most scope as Vinay only-profit-matters Sehgal and he takes full advantage it. It's a subtle yet chilling portrayal of an immoral man w/ an ego that matches his bank account. It's all in Rajat Kapoor's eyes and body language. I wish he'd do more movies because he effortlessly slips into any character he plays. Bipasha is just decent. Yes, she's not a PLAYBOY for a change but wearing business suits to work and no make-up(scary!) while locked up in jail doesn't make you different. Her dialog delivery and body language is same ol' same ol'. Kay Kay's a complete miscast as Bipasha's boyfriend because he looks old enough to be her father. Not to mention his character is relegated to smiling or brooding and he couldn't do the former at all w/o looking awkward. Raj Babbar underplays his superstitious character as Sehgal's rival and it comes across beautifully. Especially in the 2nd half where he's out to destroy Sehgal. The politician funding Sehgal corp. is a complete natural. Payal Rohatgi seems to be playing herself :D
Overall, would recommend it for Rajat Kapoor's performance and the cold truth of BIG businesses in the 2nd half. But Corporate's far from being a well made movie. Bhandarkar's gotta work on how to tell a story.