Technically, the wait is over. The year’s most-awaited flick, KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA, has finally released. The biggest multi-starrer in recent history is bringing every Indian person you know and their mother, aunt, and grandmother to the movies. Assuming you can get a ticket sometime in the next week, you may find yourself waiting a bit more. When will the movie start? When will it get really good? When is intermission? And finally, when will it be over? Those were, at least, my thoughts when watching the film. I went in thinking I would love every minute of it, and I left struggling to remember one moment that touched me. The trouble is, when you’re Karan Johar, you feel the need to cram every genre of cinema into 3.5 hours. The result is a diluted drama/sex comedy with no focus, flat characters, and a screenplay in need of a heavy trim.
Every Karan Johar film has a theme. In KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI it was friendship, in KABHI KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM it was family, in KAL HO NAA HO it was life, and in KAAL it was...tigers. This time around, the theme is marriage. The story, in its most basic form, deals with relationships and extra-marital affairs. Dev and Rhea Saran (Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta) form one couple, while Rishi and Maya Talwar (Rani Mukherji and Abhishek Bachchan) form the other. Neither couple is really thrilled about their marriage. With Dev and Rhea, it’s an issue of careers, egos, and personality clashes. With Maya and Rishi it’s... we’re never quite sure what, but they’re unhappy too. Through a ridiculous but somewhat entertaining set of circumstances, the couples meet, exchange social pleasantries, and part ways. Dev and Maya, however, continue to meet up and realize that they can find in each other what is lacking in their marriages. How they deal with this situation and the repercussions of their choices are what form the rest of the film.
Performances deserve a special mention. The cream of the crop is, undeniably, Abhishek Bachchan. His character is easily the most likeable and honest in his intentions, and Abhishek is able to convey a whole range of emotions many people thought he wasn’t capable of. Preity Zinta is a huge surprise, turning in her most intelligent performance since ARMAAN. It’s a shame she didn’t get more screen time. Rani Mukherji does her best with a poorly written character, adding her own special charm to the role but she had similar characters in chalte chalte and saathiya. Shahrukh Khan does fine in his role as a perpetually angry, bitter man. It’s hard to understand why the film revolves around Shahrukh and Rani’s characters, when we can’t even sympathize with their situations and personalities. That is, perhaps, the film’s biggest flaw. It’s usually a good idea to have main characters with at least one redeeming quality. Maya’s is that she’s pretty and wears stylish makeup. Dev’s? I’ll get back to you on that one. On top of that, we never understand why these two are so drawn to each other. All they do is share a few laughs to some romantic background music. I shared a few laughs with an uncle at the theater, but I’m not about to run off with him.
The film has its shares of plus points as well. Of course, it’s shot beautifully throughout New York, Philadelphia, and Connecticut. Almost everyone looks amazing, and the music sounds great. "Tumhi Dekho Na" is shot creatively, while the rest of the songs mostly fit into the narrative. Preity and Rani have never looked better. There is a shot with the two of them walking side by side, and I really think my head almost exploded. (There are, however, a few too many extreme close up shots. Some are unflattering even for Rani.) When a movie looks and sounds as good as this, it’s hard to completely hate it. The film also has an overall gray atmosphere, which is very appropriate considering the storyline. Overall, it has a soul...it’s just that the soul has multiple personalities.
Karan Johar has tried to do too much, and in the process, has not done anything noteworthy. Life-changing confessions and revelations in the film are so unimaginatively written that you would think a first time director made this film. On the other hand, the screaming matches and moments of genuine emotion are where the movie excels. But there is just too much unnecessary comedy and too many typical, drawn out scenes for the audience to hold still for 3.5 hours.
What ever happened to the simple days of Rahul, Anjali, and basketball? Hidden inside Karan Johar is a smart, creative filmmaker who knows how to entertain an audience. At this point, he is too busy trying to break records and solidify his name in the history of cinema to really care. Fortunately for him, the industry and the audiences will give him as many chances as he needs to find himself again.