KANK begins as any other Karan Johar movie. You spot the peculiar distaff sensitivity as also the fun and frolic routine laced abundantly in the first half. SRK’s naughty, swagger from Kal Ho Naa Ho gets a one-up here, expertly rendered by Amitabh Bachchan in fine form. You almost cry out loud Say shava shava (K3G) as the Big B hits the floor with a bevy of beauties in itsy-bitsy attire, in the number Rock and roll soniye. And when true love triumphs in the end defying all odds, the effect is strangely Kuch Kuch Hota Hai redux (although the crisis here is ironically a far cry from the innocent syrupy tangle in Johar’s directorial debut).
Don’t go sniffing for Hollywood ’inspiration’. Unlike what’s been reported by a section of the media, KANK is not Closer. Or We Don’t Live Here Anymore. Or, for that matter, any of the half dozen foreign flicks that come to mind on the subject. It is the story of Dev (SRK), football coach and loser in life, married to Riya (Preity Zinta), high-flying fashion magazine editor. And it is the story of Rishi (Abhishek Bachchan), flamboyant PR guru married to the self-doubting school teacher Maya (Rani Mukherji). Dev’s frustration finds solace in Maya’s loneliness; they become friends. The bond transforms into something deeper and both relationships see turmoil.
Perhaps Johar could have rationed the film’s runtime - at three hour-plus, KANK seems to go on and on. It’s almost as if Johar was out to give competition to a certain other peddler of dreamy schmaltz - this one rules the small screen and incidentally shares his fetish for K-titles. Still, KANK is worth one watch. If only as a sample of a Bollywood brat boy’s tug at growing up.