Hi KJ,
Before I say anything else, let me tell you that this is first time I have watched your film in a theatre. I understand you won’t like that much but honestly your school of over-the-top cheerful, frothy and mushy cinema is not my taste. But I believed you when you said with KANK, you were not playing for the galleries and that it is a more mature movie. And stood in queue for tickets for two hours (ok my friend did, while I roamed around!)
Well you didn’t lie. This is different and more mature cinema but excuse me, you lost your reputation in my eyes! I had always believd that no Indian director handled emotions like you, atleast when dealing with magnum opuses like you do and telling stories that you do. So it just surprised me that all your trademark gloss and glitter (NY locales and plenty of white skin, apart from Sharmishta Roy’s hardwork in production design) you have failed to add the required depth to this mature story!
But more about that later.
I think one of the biggest advantages of being you (being THE Karan Johar) is that finest people are just too eager to work with you, and undoubtedly you deserve that!
I will talk about your actors later, but first a word about your fabulous technical team.
I understand your love for NewYork’s skyline and roads and people (no I don’t mean ’white skin syndrome’ or do I?) and if there is a veteran like Anil Mehta behind camera, there are almost as many chances of going wrong as many of Amar Singh inviting Sonia Gandhi on dinner! Jokes apart, Mr. Mehta has done amazing job, but I couldn’t help feeling a sense of deja-vu watching some scenes. It seemed a continuation of ’Kal Ho Na Ho’. So please don’t shoot your next film in New York!
I can’t heap as many words of praise on your editor Sanjay Sankla though. The film is way too long and at times boring too, specially when your protagonists are around! Does that sound ominous?
I have liked the music but surprisingly, no song made me feel like burst into an impromptu dance (not that I give in to such feelings!) in the theatre. However I liked the picturisation of ’Tumhi Dekho Na..’ very much. The wonderful color coordinations in the song make it a treat to watch and this is something I expect from a director of your caliber. However other songs (and their filming) are too trite. And yeah, showing Kajol (you lucky mascot!) and John Abraham is a great move. They got more cheers, whistles and claps than rest of the movie put together.
I have already talked about Sharmishta Roy and her production design. You can shoot in a slum and yet make it look glossy, when she’s around!
And could you (or anyone else) please tell me what this ’Thrills’ means, that Shah Rukh Khan has been credited with?
OK, now coming to writing department where you are more than involved. Though you have a co-writer, Shivani Bathija, for screenplay it still feels very cliche ridden and has a familiar (read repetitive) stamp of a KJ brainchild! If it still works, it is entirely due to the actors. And I am not even talking about climax!
The good thing with your actors is that these guys are one of the very best (if not very best!) in their business and can sleepwalk in their roles and yet sweep all the awards. But their skills can’t hide the sketchy characters they play.
Frankly speaking Karan, I felt that it would have been better if you had not tried to justify the decision of the protagonists to ’walk out of their marriages’ because they never seem to be garner even an iota of sympathy.
Indeed most of the times, I don’t even understand your protagonists (like why do they love soaking in the rain? Just joking) and their actions. Why do they keep on saying that their marriage is not working and if so why don’t you show that to us? In this regard, the worst written character is that of Maya (Rani Mukherjee), who behaves most bizzarely and cries at the drop of a hat (or doesn’t even need that as a reason!) Both Maya and Dev (Khan) seem to be hating their spouses almost without any reason and yet keep on justifying their ’love’ for each other with inane dialogues.(The witty dialogues by Narayan Iyengar are very good otherwise)
So if this was your idea of maturity, sorry it falls flat!
Though Sam (Amitabh Bachchan) seems a bit over-the-top character, I liked his exuberance, considering he was the only one who brought some cheer! Rishi (Abhishek Bachchan) and Rhea (Priety Zinta) are believable and well written and thankfully not depicted bitchy, giving infidels any reason.
About acting. Have you seen ’Swades’? People said that Shah Rukh Khan looks Mohan Bhargav in the movie and not SRK. I don’t know what your idea about this comment was because you have ensured that he looks only SRK, complete with his trademark facial expressions and hamming.
Rani Mukherjee has done so many roles of marriage not working (’Saathiya’, ’Chalte Chalte’) that it seems that it comes to her as naturally as breathing! Priety Zinta fits to her role as T and so does Kirron Kher. Will you or all others give Ms. Kher any other role than Gentle Punjabi?
A special thanks to you for making me love Amitabh Bachchan all over again. It’s just surprising that with a white stubble and age written visibly on his face, he makes all that he does, entirely believable. Isn’t it?
But my pick is Abhishek Bachchan. Do you know about some sort of secret in his stubble? If you come to know of any, please tell me.
It’s been quite a long letter. Hope you enjoyed it. I will recommend your film to my friends, no doubt about that. But please Karan, next time do your homework more carefully. You have a reputation to protect.
Lovingly yours.
Abhishek