In a Nutshell, the movie is about
1.The development of an adulterous relationship between Saran ( Shah Rukh Khan ) and Maya (Rani Mukherjee)
- How this bonding breaks their marital relationships which just existed, without life in them , but gives a new direction to everyone after a while.
Karan Johar spends roughly equal time on these two, which are predictably sequential. He takes a little more than three hours on the screen for these two themes. For once, I was impressed with his efforts.
The movie has a galaxy of stars – Abhishek, Priety, Arjun Rampal, Kirron Kher and of course , the towering personality of Amitabh Bachchan. Kajol and John Abraham make special appearances. But, Mr.Karan Johar, your storyline is strong enough to carry the movie through, even without this assembly of stars and the dose of melodrama which is a trademark of the second half in all your movies. Yes, cheating by the spouse hurts like nothing else, but isn t it time Indian cinema moved to a more graceful portrayal of sorrow ?
The biggest plus is the deep and realistic depiction of the way Shah Rukh – Preity relationship falls apart. Shah Rukh, who plays a soccer player whose career comes to a crippling halt when he meets with an accident, becomes bitter , sarcastic and stinging to the lady he is married to ( Preity Zinta). The shift on Preity s responsibilities – from a career oriented woman who is loved to the breadwinner of the house who hardly has time, takes a toll on their time together.
Not so much with the other couple , Abhishek and Rani Mukherjee. Rani s obsession with cleanliness and Abhishek s outgoing nature are weak arguments for Rani to search for love outside her wedlock. But, Karan has carefully plotted this. He starts Shah Rukh- Rani relationship as a casual friendship that blossoms into love over time. Fair enough , Mr.Karan Johar !! You have demonstrated that (sometimes) you can look beyond the surface and think deeply too !!
Once the illicit relationship starts painting the great New York City red, sparks begin to fly – back home. When it comes out in the open, a deluge of emotions – anger, blame, the feeling of betrayal, shame and guilt that are the consequences of an extra marital affair fill the screen and Karan seems to have overdone the crying part. But , it is acceptable , considering the fact that it is at the end of the day, a commercial movie.
The clincher is how Karan has chosen the finish – a very practical ending, where all the bleeding hearts heal, find new partners for moving ahead and of course, Shah Rukh and Rani give their relationship the status ‘married ‘, moving away from ‘illicit’.
Now, what is the Big B doing ? As a widower father of Abhishek who has a nice time with call girls, he does show what a class act he is on a couple of important scenes
1.The scene in which he reveals his love for his wife and his regret for not letting her know how much he loved her when she was alive.
2.When he tells his daughter in law ( Rani ) to divorce his son and seek to marry her true love
But, should a respected senior pro like the Big B take on a role that picturizes a old man messing up with scantily clad models and guessing a woman s native by looking at her rear end?
New York has been picturized gorgeously. Music is more of a distraction and a time consumer, but there are a couple of good songs for the Disco Jockeys to play on the dance floor.
Don t miss this movie. It is long, has some traumatic crying scenes, but the story and the presentation is worth spending your time and money