eBolly's Movie Reviews
KABHI ALVIDA NA KEHNA - MARRIAGE IN TROUBLE
- by Viral Bhayani (eBolly.com)
Starring:Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, Kirron Kher, Arjun Rampal, Ahsaas Channa, Kajol, John Abraham
Directed by:Karan Johar
Sob Sob Sob! It’s weeping time once again as Johar returns with his high end emotional saga. The film is like a three hour marriage counseling session but performance wise Karan has able to get the best out of his star cast. A look at splits of Bollywood celebrities like Sanjay Dutt and Rhea Pillai or even Aamir Khan and this movie comes out as a reality to life.
But for Indian sensibilities this film may come as a rude shock. For many, they would have preferred a happy ending and perhaps like to see broken couples coming back. But the ending of this film is entirely different. The message conveyed by this film is conflicting, confusing and debatable. At one stage one feels the marriages are getting back to normal and then it all changes back to worse. But for this worse means good. So is extra marital affair a good thing? Why6 does Rani fall for SRK when her husband still loves here? At the end of the film, both Rani and SRK come out as grey characters since both their spouses love them but they fail them instead. Was the love from Abhishek less, that she had to fall for another man. Abhishek says the same thing to Rani when she opens up to him about her alleged affair. One feels sorry for Abhishek as he is shown as a loving huisband and while Rani known for cleanliness brings the biggest dirt home when she sleeps with SRK. The movie explores the depths of human emotions, the dark corners of every personality.
It will be worth watching if the Indian audiences accept this reality. The prospects of this film are sure to be affected. The film is only meant for mature audiences as the subject is of extra marital affair. But wished the same subject would have been treated in a more lighter entertaining manner. This script was too emotionally high and Johar concentrated so much on the crux of the subject that he left no chance for some light moments and comedy. Only light moments were with Amitabh and in the beginning with the kids which failed to impress. The tearjerker would have got more life if there were more lively characters adding some fun to the film. Its so boring to see the four characters all the time. In fact there is so much of SRK and Rani all the time. Abhishek is twice on top of Rani in bed. Karan you need to take a good break and return with a nice entertainer. He could have easily done a movie like this with a lesser cost, what was the point spending crores of rupees when the same is shown everyday on our small screen courtesy Ekta Kapoor. The only plus ponit is the emotions touch you, make you cry and you start relating with the characters of the film. The first half is a bit light but the second half is high end emotional drama.
The film answers one of the hardest questions of life - 'What do you do when you meet the love of your life and you're married to someone else?'
Meet The KANK Team
SHAH RUKH KHAN as Dev Saran
Overtly sensitive, sharp of tongue and cynical Dev Saran has a rather uneasy relationship with the world owing to an unfortunate mishap that turns his dreams upside down. He is unable to come to terms with the unfairness of life or his handicap and his bitterness only cripples his mind further. He resents his wife, Rhea’s growing success and in the process ends up hating himself for feeling that way. To make matters worse he ends up turning all his anger towards his loved ones. Under these circumstances, Maya enters his life with her own wounds and together they take on a journey to heal each other.
PREITY ZINTA as Rhea Saran
Confident, savvy and with a strong sense of right and wrong…Rhea Saran leads a straight forward life where her promises and expectations are clearly chalked out. Her independence is of prime importance to her and she believes in the importance of material luxuries. There are moments when she realizes that she is not playing the traditional role of a wife or a mother owning to her busy career but refuses to feel guilty about it and strongly believes in her right to pursue success as much as a man. Her belief in her marriage is strong even during its turbulent phase and she tries every means in her power to save it until she realizes the enormity of the situation and is forced to take a stand…
ABHISHEK BACHCHAN as Rishi Talwar
Sophisticated, stylish with a gift of the gab, Rishi Talwar, upcoming public relations professional, has inherited his father’s fun-loving nature and his sense of humour. While his childlike demeanor is endearing, his volatile reactions to situations often cause his wife, Maya to believe that he is childish. He is patient and loving to Maya but is unable to comprehend her complexity especially when it rears its ugly head in the most intimate moments of their personal relationship. His entire being is devoted to Maya and that’s perhaps why he falls apart when exposed to the harsh truth about his marriage…
RANI MUKHERJI as Maya Talwar
Beautiful, sensitive and a compulsive cleanliness freak…Maya Talwar compensates for her inability to have children by teaching in a nursery. Her relationship with her husband Rishi is layered with a lot of self-doubt and questions. However, while she is ready to discuss and analyze everything small or big, she fights this area of her life with remarkable silence. She is unable to whip up enough passion for Rishi and is disappointed that her love for him does not match her own expectations of what it ought to be. This dilemma pulls her further apart from him thereby causing strain on their marital life. To add to this complication, she encounters Dev in whom she finds all the ingredients to fire the passion she lacks in her marriage…
AMITABH BACHCHAN as Samarjit Singh Talwar
Samarjit Singh Talwar a.k.a Sam is a flamboyant and fun-loving man who believes in living his life to the fullest. His life revolves around the happiness of his son, Rishi and daughter-in-law Maya. And despite indulging in all sensual pleasure, Sam does not lose focus on the ground realities of life and beneath his colourful exterior there lies a wise and sensitive parent who dispenses, at times, brutal but practical solutions to his family.
KIRRON KHER as Kamaljit Saran
A self-reliant woman with a combination of strong traditional values and a progressive mindset, Kamaljit Saran is an example of a parent who has moulded herself to the changing world without losing her roots. While she is a silent spectator to her son, Dev and daughter-in-law Rhea’s changing equations, she does not hesitate to voice her opinion as an elder when required. She is fearless in her decisions and takes a rather progressive stand for her daughter-in-law when the situation worsens.
Plot:
KANK centers on the budding romance between Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji - both married to different people.
Rani is married to Abhishek Bachchan and Shah Rukh is married to Priety Zinta. Both the couples are settled into a life of domestic routine, and are convinced that they are happy in their respective relationships, yet the protagonists still yearn for something deeper and more meaningful, which is precisely what they find in each other.
From a relationship starting off in pleasant barbs, the two begin to develop and acknowledge the feelings they have beneath the surface. When their feelings come to the fore, what results is a collision of lives and emotions, affecting everyone involved and changing them forever.
Interesting facts:
Shah Rukh’s kid played by Ahsaas has a Harry Potter look.
Abhishek’s dog Shanook was on the sets of Rock N Roll Soniye when it was shot. The dog though huge was loved by everyone.
There were over a dozen Marilyn Monore look-alike dancers in that song.
Karan would cleverly take retakes from Preity by saying “mind-blowing”, and that would make her laugh.
The shooting experience in NY was pleasant but it was very cold and there was hurricane too.
The American Conulate members (whites) came down to see the film and were fascinated to know that there are so many spot boys at a Bollywood shoot.
This is the first film Karan Johar has made without his father being around. He was greatly missed on the sets.
Since this was a long outdoor all the stars had taken membership to a gym in NY. All of them went together there.
Kajol features in the Rok N Roll Soniye track with both Abhishek and Big B.
Arjun Rampal and John Abrahman too have very short guest appearances. Reitesh Deshmukh’s appearance was dropped from this film.
The chemistry between SRK and Amitabh is very negative, maybe the news about them not getting well must have started because of the characters they play here. In real life they get along quite well.
There are quite a few of gay jokes here. Like Shah Rukh mistakenly romances a man in a bed at a showroom and on the street he asks a man if he wants to save his marriage and he turns out to be a gay!
SRK jokes to Rani about big breasts and being a lesbian in one scene.
There is this one scene where SRK takes rani to a hard core bondage sex shop so she can buy lingerie and a swipe.
In one scene Abhishek is seen dancing to Salman’s track Just Chill Out. Wonder how Ash feels about this!
There is an interesting dialogue in the film which SRK tells Rani. Rukh nahin hote, dukh nahin hote.
Check out this link, and you will find some similar look and feel of the movie to KANK: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381681/
Verdict:
It’s clearly a movie where both SRK and Rani have eaten the big share of the cake. The both perform their chracters to perfection.
Sadly for Abhishek and Preity, the movie turns out to be more like supporting actors. There was ample space for both the characters to have more drama instead of just being so casual all the time. But Abhishek walks away with the best two tracks in this film. Even Saif would have been another good option in place of Abhishek.
Kiron Kher is fine but looks bloated and her make up is just not right for the kitchen scene. Big B lovingly calls her Chandigarh.
Big B is the most lovable and fun character in the film. His look is brilliant and each time he is on the screen, the movie becomes entertaining. Wish there was more of him.
On thought that there would be romance between Abhishek and Preity, but somehow it was just meant to confuse our minds.
The editing was poor and the film needs to be cut down as three hours is a long journey.
Dialogues by Niranjan Iyengar were thoughtful and meaningful. The speech of Amitabh after the party touches your heart.
The songs grown and the sales are only gonna get bigger after this film. They must also include the background score on the CD.
Cinematography of this film is too good, each frame is well crafted.
Overall the film is worth watching once. A DVD will be a must watch though. Don’t push for the tickets if you ain’t getting them. The excitement is just about OK.