Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna: Karan Johar comes of age
I saw Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna tonight.
First off, before I get to my review, let me say this: the poster of SRK sitting on a chair for Don? Is SEX.
I liked it. It's not my favorite movie of the year (that title is still being fought over by Fanaa, Rang De Basanti and Omkara, and like all KJo movies, I actually need to see it again for it to sink in, but I liked it. A lot. And my hat's off to SRK for taking on this role because...not your typical Raj/Rahul at all. And hat's off to KJ for how he handled the controversial theme.
First off, let's get the shallow stuff out of the way. I believe Karan tried to sabotage my cognitive faculties on purpose. Because all those shirts that show off SRK's collarbones? How can I concentrate on the scene when all I am thinking is YUM? Really.
And in case the shirts wouldn't do it, then there is the SRK SEX SCENE. Which is most 'explicit' I've ever seen of SRK (no, I haven't seen Maya Memsab and don't want to :)). It's incredibly tame by HW standards (would it even get a PG?) but...let's just say just remembering this means the rest of this post was written by the dead body of moi, as...
But to be serious, I really did like KANK. It's a movie full of unlikeable people whom I like. Let me explain. There isn't a single character in this one who is a wonderful person (with the exception of Abhi's Rishi). But even though they aren't wonderful, they are interesting and understandable. I don't think Dev is a paragon, but I understand him and I want to know more.
And this brings me to SRK. I am very very impressed. Both by his acting (more below) and the fact that he took this role. This might be a KJ movie, but it's far from his typical one and this role is miles and miles away from Raj/Rahuls SRK is often identified with (though how adorable was that little shout-out to DDLJ?) Dev is unlikeable. He is not nice. He is a mess. He is a bitter, disappointed man taking it out on the world, on his family, on himself. Forget dream love. This isn't even a guy I'd want to sit next on a train to. When Rhea slaps him, people in the audience applauded, and I could see why! SRK hasn't played anyone this unlikeable since Asoka (my favorite SRK movie btw), and in Asoka the destruction was epic and in keeping with the grandeur of the story. Here, the nastiness and the flaws are petty, every day, painful in being real. Actually, I don't think he's played anyone this unlikeable since Baazigar at the least.
And SRK realizes that he is not playing a Prince Charming. He's toned down his charm (and it's clearly on purpose, as when he thaws under Maya's influence it comes back, and their romantic scenes sizzle and make me into a giddy fangirl). This is the most realistic, understated KJo movie in terms of acting, and I love that. But serious serious kudos to him for taking on such an unlikeable in parts role and not 'cuteseing' it.
OK, on to the spoilery part of the review.
And yet, you might want to shake Dev half the time, but you understand where he is coming from, and he never stops being interesting. I actually think having the little prologue before his injury was a brilliant idea. We see him before life dealt him too many disappointments and he is a charmer. He is adorable. He still has his sense of humor and his sharp tongue but they are good natured and funny then. He teases his wife about not being there for the match, but it's good natured. Here's a guy you don't mind hanging out with, you think! And then he comes back to it once he gets involved with Maya. I think that was the problem with his marriage: Rhea is a bit brittle but she is a nice woman (and huge huge kudos for not making the spouses evil, btw). But he wasn't in love with her, so when his career went bust and his dreams disappeared, he had no love to fall back on. He was left with nothing in his life. After all, once he falls for Maya, having that in his life makes a huge difference for him.
The relationships really are a highlight of this movie: not just the relationship between Dev and Maya, which is not very like the idealized Bollywood love: they are both bitter, flawed people and the movie doesn't gloss either over their flaws or the damage they inflict on their spouses which is undeserved (I thought the ending, with Rishi and Rhea forgive-and-forgetting and helping them to find happiness was a bit too good to be true, but the bad marriages themselves felt real). In a way, this movie is the most mature of KJ's movies, and not because it's least over the top, least melodramatic: there are no big weepy moments here, not really, and Dev and Maya don't get the adorable-uber-romantic KKHH love confession. You get Dev saying "I love you, dammit" and complaining that he wants to get off his knees because his leg hurts.
And you see the daily indignities of an affair and the toll it takes on other relationships, mixed with moments of love and tenderness and hope. That scene with the flowers, with Dev having that huge bouquet for Maya but seeing Rhea by her? It's a wonderful wonderful scene, and not just for the fact that SRK has the most expressive face ever and his face changing from boyish delight to increduilty to horror to shame is a really really good scene. Or the scene at the Opera? It's funny, true, but it's dark also. Or one of my favorite scenes, Dev's confession about Maya at the dinner table which he turns into a joke, but Amitabh of course sees that something is up, and you get from Dev the sense that he really really wants to say it, he doesn't want it to be a secret any longer. Or the scene where Dev finally tells Maya how he feels? It's romantic, it's wonderful, and I love her running after him saying 'I like blue' but yo know any such giddiness is short-lived.
I also thought it was brilliant that KANK intercut the scene of Dev and Maya finally deciding to take that last step and kissing on the platform and going to the hotel room with the song by Preity and Abhi about how great love and marriage are. Because the movie never forgets that love or not, this is wrong and is hurting people. That whole scene is cut brilliantly, encapsulating everything: the fact that it's hurting their spouses, really good people, the shame and secrecy of it (Dev gets the key to the hotel room by himself while Maya hides), and yet the lack of control (the necking scene is dizzying in its camera movemements), and the happiness and the love and the passion (the close-up shots of their faces and skin feel oddly pure and the shorthand of Maya's tear shows her finally finding sexual fulfillment she's never had before). And yet it ends on the shot of their wedding rings. Brilliant.
But Dev and Maya aren't the only interesting relationship here. I found the relationship between Maya and Rishi fascinating. I have to say, Maya must have a screw loose not to find sexy Abhi who is kissing her feet, buys a whole house-full of flowers and loves her so utterly, unappealing. I mean, seriously, is she on drugs? Abhishek does a wonderful job as a good man who loves a woman with all his heart and no matter how much he tries can't induce that love back in return. He broke my heart and reminded me why he is my favorite of the younger actors.
Rani does a good job too. Her character, IMO, is even less sympathetic than Dev's, in many respects, because Abhishek is doing everything he can to make her happy and to make the marriage work. But her inner woman blossoms with Dev and not with him. I guess this movie really is about two very flawed people who find happiness together. And I love that. I love that the movie had the guts to end with Dev and Maya together. Love it.
First off, before I get to my review, let me say this: the poster of SRK sitting on a chair for Don? Is SEX.
I liked it. It's not my favorite movie of the year (that title is still being fought over by Fanaa, Rang De Basanti and Omkara, and like all KJo movies, I actually need to see it again for it to sink in, but I liked it. A lot. And my hat's off to SRK for taking on this role because...not your typical Raj/Rahul at all. And hat's off to KJ for how he handled the controversial theme.
First off, let's get the shallow stuff out of the way. I believe Karan tried to sabotage my cognitive faculties on purpose. Because all those shirts that show off SRK's collarbones? How can I concentrate on the scene when all I am thinking is YUM? Really.
And in case the shirts wouldn't do it, then there is the SRK SEX SCENE. Which is most 'explicit' I've ever seen of SRK (no, I haven't seen Maya Memsab and don't want to :)). It's incredibly tame by HW standards (would it even get a PG?) but...let's just say just remembering this means the rest of this post was written by the dead body of moi, as...
But to be serious, I really did like KANK. It's a movie full of unlikeable people whom I like. Let me explain. There isn't a single character in this one who is a wonderful person (with the exception of Abhi's Rishi). But even though they aren't wonderful, they are interesting and understandable. I don't think Dev is a paragon, but I understand him and I want to know more.
And this brings me to SRK. I am very very impressed. Both by his acting (more below) and the fact that he took this role. This might be a KJ movie, but it's far from his typical one and this role is miles and miles away from Raj/Rahuls SRK is often identified with (though how adorable was that little shout-out to DDLJ?) Dev is unlikeable. He is not nice. He is a mess. He is a bitter, disappointed man taking it out on the world, on his family, on himself. Forget dream love. This isn't even a guy I'd want to sit next on a train to. When Rhea slaps him, people in the audience applauded, and I could see why! SRK hasn't played anyone this unlikeable since Asoka (my favorite SRK movie btw), and in Asoka the destruction was epic and in keeping with the grandeur of the story. Here, the nastiness and the flaws are petty, every day, painful in being real. Actually, I don't think he's played anyone this unlikeable since Baazigar at the least.
And SRK realizes that he is not playing a Prince Charming. He's toned down his charm (and it's clearly on purpose, as when he thaws under Maya's influence it comes back, and their romantic scenes sizzle and make me into a giddy fangirl). This is the most realistic, understated KJo movie in terms of acting, and I love that. But serious serious kudos to him for taking on such an unlikeable in parts role and not 'cuteseing' it.
OK, on to the spoilery part of the review.
And yet, you might want to shake Dev half the time, but you understand where he is coming from, and he never stops being interesting. I actually think having the little prologue before his injury was a brilliant idea. We see him before life dealt him too many disappointments and he is a charmer. He is adorable. He still has his sense of humor and his sharp tongue but they are good natured and funny then. He teases his wife about not being there for the match, but it's good natured. Here's a guy you don't mind hanging out with, you think! And then he comes back to it once he gets involved with Maya. I think that was the problem with his marriage: Rhea is a bit brittle but she is a nice woman (and huge huge kudos for not making the spouses evil, btw). But he wasn't in love with her, so when his career went bust and his dreams disappeared, he had no love to fall back on. He was left with nothing in his life. After all, once he falls for Maya, having that in his life makes a huge difference for him.
The relationships really are a highlight of this movie: not just the relationship between Dev and Maya, which is not very like the idealized Bollywood love: they are both bitter, flawed people and the movie doesn't gloss either over their flaws or the damage they inflict on their spouses which is undeserved (I thought the ending, with Rishi and Rhea forgive-and-forgetting and helping them to find happiness was a bit too good to be true, but the bad marriages themselves felt real). In a way, this movie is the most mature of KJ's movies, and not because it's least over the top, least melodramatic: there are no big weepy moments here, not really, and Dev and Maya don't get the adorable-uber-romantic KKHH love confession. You get Dev saying "I love you, dammit" and complaining that he wants to get off his knees because his leg hurts.
And you see the daily indignities of an affair and the toll it takes on other relationships, mixed with moments of love and tenderness and hope. That scene with the flowers, with Dev having that huge bouquet for Maya but seeing Rhea by her? It's a wonderful wonderful scene, and not just for the fact that SRK has the most expressive face ever and his face changing from boyish delight to increduilty to horror to shame is a really really good scene. Or the scene at the Opera? It's funny, true, but it's dark also. Or one of my favorite scenes, Dev's confession about Maya at the dinner table which he turns into a joke, but Amitabh of course sees that something is up, and you get from Dev the sense that he really really wants to say it, he doesn't want it to be a secret any longer. Or the scene where Dev finally tells Maya how he feels? It's romantic, it's wonderful, and I love her running after him saying 'I like blue' but yo know any such giddiness is short-lived.
I also thought it was brilliant that KANK intercut the scene of Dev and Maya finally deciding to take that last step and kissing on the platform and going to the hotel room with the song by Preity and Abhi about how great love and marriage are. Because the movie never forgets that love or not, this is wrong and is hurting people. That whole scene is cut brilliantly, encapsulating everything: the fact that it's hurting their spouses, really good people, the shame and secrecy of it (Dev gets the key to the hotel room by himself while Maya hides), and yet the lack of control (the necking scene is dizzying in its camera movemements), and the happiness and the love and the passion (the close-up shots of their faces and skin feel oddly pure and the shorthand of Maya's tear shows her finally finding sexual fulfillment she's never had before). And yet it ends on the shot of their wedding rings. Brilliant.
But Dev and Maya aren't the only interesting relationship here. I found the relationship between Maya and Rishi fascinating. I have to say, Maya must have a screw loose not to find sexy Abhi who is kissing her feet, buys a whole house-full of flowers and loves her so utterly, unappealing. I mean, seriously, is she on drugs? Abhishek does a wonderful job as a good man who loves a woman with all his heart and no matter how much he tries can't induce that love back in return. He broke my heart and reminded me why he is my favorite of the younger actors.
Rani does a good job too. Her character, IMO, is even less sympathetic than Dev's, in many respects, because Abhishek is doing everything he can to make her happy and to make the marriage work. But her inner woman blossoms with Dev and not with him. I guess this movie really is about two very flawed people who find happiness together. And I love that. I love that the movie had the guts to end with Dev and Maya together. Love it.