Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

I still remember that day in my ninth class when there was hype for the release of Kuch kuch hota hai which had generated huge hopes in the audience of being a blockbuster. The fact that it turned out to be one is history now and of course any Karan johar movie now is expected to do the same. One thing you can be sure of finding in a Karan Johar movie is grandeur, lovely locations abroad, amazing costumes, some smiles and tears. This movie also falls into the same category and can be identified to be a Karan johar movie even by a person who does not know that it is one. The differences that you can find in this movie compared to the rest are the absence of a "sagaai " or a "karva chaut" song, a bold subject which is alien to the families that were seen in his earlier movies. It seems like Karan was experimenting to test the acceptance by audience in "kal ho na ho" by touching on issues of homosexuality subtly behind the facade of light comedy.

Gone are the days when the woman in the house was shown as sati savitri. The sense of independence that many women feel and want to feel now is nicely captured in this movie through the character of Rhea ( Preity Zinta ). It is a fresh change to see the heroine of the movie ( Rani Mukherji) listening to her heart and desires rather than having blind devotion to husband like she used to do spending years shedding tears or staying as a widow in the movies of 70s and 80s. The presence of three superstars of course adds more charm to the movie though the Bacchans who are portrayed as the cool dudes in the movie steal the show when pitted against a fussy and irritable character that is played by Shahrukh khan. Kiron kher who is present in almost every superhit movie now a days is given enough footage in the movie as the whole movie revolves only around these six people except for a few friendly appearances by other actors. Talking of such friendly appearances in a Karan Johar’s movie everyone in the audience knows that right from KKHH to KANK the trio of shahrukh, Rani and kajol has to be a part of the movie. Whoever among these does not play a lead role definitely appears in a song. And so did Kajol in a song that rocked the theatre with the Bacchans dancing for Rock n Roll. John Abraham and Arjun rampal have also made guest appearances in the movie which act as respite from the lead roles who are there throughout the movie.

The movie starts off with an introduction of the lead roles in a hyped manner which provides enough opportunity for the audience in the theatres to whistle clap and shout for their favorite actors and actresses. Especially the introduction of Shahrukh Khan goes on for about five minutes before he reveals his face fully. The FIFA Fever has not vanished yet and hence based on the time of release Karan Johar has made use of it to create waves of enthusiasm by introducing Shahrukh khan as the heroic football player. The first half of the movie moves at a good pace with both content and comedy. Abhishek Bacchan and Amitabh Bacchan fill the theatres with giggles through their crispy dialogues and cool attitude in the movie. We have come across Baby B doing that in many movies. But it is interesting to see Big B flirting with the fairer sex over a broad range of age from 20-60. Kiron Kher as usual comes across as a modern mummy with touches of her characteristic comedy. Preity Zinta who represents the independent, successful and career oriented gal has carried her role well though she has not got much of an opportunity to showcase her talents. Rani Mukherji has performed well as usual and Shahrukh khan’s performance also gives a clear picture of Dev Saran. While watching the movie you can’t crib about the performance of the actors and the actresses in the movie. Afterall all of them are well experienced and popular. Yet the feeling that the movie lacks something lingers on.

Though the movie has a storyline that is different from the ones that Johar and Chopras deal with, the screenplay does not live up to that. At certain points in the last few minutes, the pace of the movie lags behind. The background score typical of these movies that play the tune of one of the songs of the movie often makes it slow when the actors walk away from each other or look at each other for the first time. This is because they are shown doing these things in slow motion till the tune of at least two lines of the song plays in the background. The comedy scenes are not spread over the movie like they were in Kuch kuch hota hai or Kal ho na ho to keep the audience entertained. The last part of the movie seems slow and insipid due to lack of energy and enthusiasm. But whatever comedy scenes are present in the movie concentrated in the first half are very good. Especially, scenes of some confusion leading to dialogues with double entendre and attempts of Rani and Shahrukh to rekindle the romance in their lives which end up as fiasco. The character representation in the movie is one of the main points that make the movie less effective. The roles of Rani and Shahrukh seem repetitive and often remind you of roles that they played in Hum tum and Chalte Chalte respectively. Hence the freshness of the characters remains absent. The songs are a good mixture of both melody and energy. "Rock and Roll" as well as "Where’s the part tonight" are two songs that sweep you off your feet in a good DTS theatre. But the positioning of some songs like " Party song " and the title song are untimely with the former not going with the flow of the movie and the latter reducing the speed of the movie almost while nearing climax. The cinematography is commendable which has made every scene fit to be made as a poster. The scenes that show snowfall and dry leaves being carried by the wind remind you of some scenes from kal ho na ho.

The theme of the movie is pretty realistic as the same feelings that are experienced by Maya ( Rani Mukherji) in the movie can be experienced by many women of the married community. It is quite possible that the person to whom you get married may not be the one whom you can call your "soulmate". And what if you actually meet that kind of a person after marriage? That is a very possible thing to happen. How the relationships get strained and life changes is something that needs to be addressed to. But the strength in the topic is not found in the script. First of all there are not an instant in the movie that can make you actually feel that Dev is indeed the soulmate of Maya except for some common likes and dislikes. In fact, there are more instances of Maya being upset with Dev too which may diminish the difference between Rishi and Dev as far as Maya is concerned. Moreover the role description of Dev is not at all attractive which will probably make you question at some instant while watching the movie – "What is her problem in loving such a charming guy like Rishi ( Abhishek Bacchan ) ?" . This is because neither is Rishi portrayed strongly as someone whom Rani cannot be happy with or Dev as someone whom a married woman can get attracted to. It is understandable that Dev had to be shown as a failure which could create problems between him and Rhea. But looking at him limping throughout the movie with a long hair do that does not suit him often makes you crib about his appearance in the movie. To cut short the whole story and say in a few words, the presentation of the love between Maya and Dev is not convincing that makes us overlook the fact that it is extra-marital and wish that they should be together.

Some things that can be appreciated as different in the movie are twists like Rhea and Rishi deserting their respective partners when they learn of their affair; while you will be actually expecting them to forgive them and lead a happy life thereafter like ‘usual’ Hindi movies, Abhishek Bacchan announcing his marriage when you expect him to say "I cant live without you. Come back to me." Sudden death of Amitabh Bacchan and his advice to Maya to leave Rishi also seem unexpected.

Overall this movie can be rated as reasonably good for audience without much expectations of the hyped " Karan Johar Blockbuster" movies. It is a mixture of + and – points and what overtakes what depends on how much you believe in the theme as well as on how much you can relate to the characters in the movie.