What would Ekta Kapoor do if she was given Rs. 450 Million and asked to make a hindi movie? This is what she would make. Karan Johar thought what works on the small screen should work on the big one too. So what is this most eagerly awaited movie of 2001 all about? It’s actually the most Disgustingly Manipulative film I have seen in my life.
Yash Raichand (Amitabh Bachchan) and Nandini Raichand (Jaya Bachchan) are the filthy rich Raichands and they have a adopted Son Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) and a real younger son Rohan (Hrithik Roshan).These guys live in a huge mansion and move around in their own private helicopter.Probably if Karan Johar had another few millions he would have shown them moving around in their own house in a Mercedes S class.SO, anyways Yash decides that Rahul will marry Naina (Rani Mukherjee) because it’s the parents who decide who their kids will marry in the Raichand family. However, Rahul commits the sin of falling in love with a lower middle class girl from chandini chowk Anjali(Kajol). Since Rahul is indebted to Yash for adopting him, he decides to call it off with Anjali but finds out that her father has expired.Since Anjali cannot live in this big bad world alone without a man (Sick!!) he decides to marry her. Yash throws a fit and tells Rahul that he proved that he is not his blood and throws him out of the Raichand family. 10 years later Rohan returns from his boarding school and realises what has happened. He promptly decides to find his brother and bring him back to the family. While doing all this he goes to London and finds the time to drive in Ferrari’s and Mercedes cars and falls in love with Pooja (Kareena Kapoor). How Rohan unites his family again takes up the rest of the time and finally this third degree torture comes to a much awaited end.
The biggest problem with this film is the liberties taken by the director Karan Johar. For someone who is considered to be a hot shot director and the future of hindi cinema the liberties he has taken are unimaginable. Here are some I noticed :-
1. The Raichand’s are super rich yet their house remains the same through out the movie. And mind you this movie moves across almost 35 yrs in time. Baby Rahul is adopted , he grows up into a young man, falls in love, gets married and then is kicked out and stays away from his family for 10 yrs and then re unites. Not a single thing changes in the Raichand house during this time. Even the lamp shades in the house remain the same so does the colour on the walls.
Rahul meets his kid brother in boarding school and tells him never to ask anyone where and why he went away from them. 10 yrs later Rohan comes home and is still surprised to learn that his brother no longer stays there. What a Dumbo!!
Rohan decides to go to London to bring his brother back to the family. Excuse me Mr.Karan, but Yash asks Rahul to leave the house. The son never goes on his own. So obviously the problem lies with the father. Should’nt Rohan stay in the house and try and put some sense into his Mulalh Mohmmad omar of a father? and why does Karan say the movie is all about loving your parents? should’nt it be ’’It’s all about loving your children and respecting their wishes’??
The most hilarious scene comes when Rohan lands in London. We are shown some places in London with Vande Mataram playing in the background!! There some British girls shown actually singing vande mataram!! Just who do you think you are fooling Mr. Karan Johar?
Anjali lives in London and keeps harping on how good the Indian culture is. Out comes her sister Pooja dressed in the microest of mini’s and a top that would put a bra to shame. Where did her Indian culture lecture go now?? Why did’nt she bring up her sister according to the indian culture?
In the cheapest scene ever in the history of Indian cinema Rahul’s son is shown singing the national anthem of India in a school function in London!!. This is not some cheap sarkailyo khaitya song you can use anywhere karan. For this Karan should be arrested and shot on the streets.
When young Rohan tells his father not to send him to boarding school, he tells him he has to go because it’s the tradition in the Raichand family to go to boarding school!! It’s like me saying there is a tradition in my family to brush our teeth in the morning. What kind of weird tradition is that???
Why is Nandini shown to be so dumb? when her son Rahul is kicked out of the house, she does’nt bother to stop him nor does she try and talk to her husband. She also does’nt bother to meet him or keep track of where he is. All she does is cry and whine helplessly that she misses her son? And we are supposed to feel sorry for this helpless woman?Why can’t she do something about it? If you argue that she does that because she believes her pati to be a parmeshwar than why does’nt she go to meet her younger son Rohan in boarding school even once? And these people have their own helicopters. she does’nt even bother to call him for 10 yrs. Why does’nt she tell him what happened in the house when he was away? And these are the happy close knit joint family!! Also she does’nt have friends or a social circle and the only person she talks to is the care taker of young Rohan. Karan should look at the Ambani’s and Birla’s to know what billionaire wives do.
The movie also comes to a sudden end. Just one lecture from Nandini and Yash suddenly out of the blue reforms himself. Why did’nt Nandini open her mouth earlier? Also, when Rahul comes to meet his dad after 10 yrs, Yash asks him why did you take my words so seriously and leave the house? what kind of crap is this?
Amitabh Bachchan is severely disabled by a role that is a continuation of his role in Ek Rishta and Mohabatein. Yet he comes up trumps. His performance in the climax is simply brilliant.
Jaya Bachchan is disgusting. if she thinks making weird faces to show emotions is acting then she needs to stop acting. To add to that she actually looks like a ghost with her flowing white hair.
Why do you shake so much Shahrukh while performing in the emotional scenes? I was confused whether he was shivering in the London cold or trying to emote.
We all know you look very handsome Hritik. Why do you try so desperately to keep your cheeks sucked in and why do you try to prove that you look like a italian hunk? you are a Indian and a very handsome one too.
Kajol is excellent and flawless as usual.
Less said about Kareena the better.
As for the emotional scenes that were supposed to make us cry, where were they? Karan takes out all means to make this movie work. Which karan johar/Aditya Chopra/ Sooraj Barjatya movie is going to be complete without the mandatory Karva chauth scene with a song?
There are constant references to Karan’s last movie. The background music in one of the songs, the star’s counting cute sardar and Rani’s constant ’’how sweet’’ dialogue. It’s all here. Karan tries desperately to make us cry. he even came on TV and said he cried buckets of tears with his parents when he saw this movie. What he did’nt tell us is that he cried because he realised the Rs. 450 million crap he just made.
Ms should come out with Minus star ratings for products like these. This deserves a minus 5 star rating.
The next time Karan, make a movie as a film director not as a MBA in marketing.