Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna another review - BOLLYWOOD MOVIE AND MUSIC FROM RADIOSARGAM.COM...

Producer: Dharma Productions
Director: Karan Johar
Star Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukherjee, Kirron Kher, Kajol, Arjun Rampal, John Abraham, Karan Johar

...... And it finally arrives! It arrives with a lot of excitement and a lot more of curiosity. Will the "Master story teller" be able to weave the same magic as his previous enterprises? Will he able to "Rock" the box-office yet again? Will he be able to rise up to the gargantuan expectations from him and the star cast of the movie?

The answers to these questions will vary on person-to-person basis. Some people are bound to adore this bold movie while some others might find it too bold for their taste. But no one can deny that Karan Johar has successfully managed to come out of his usual movie style and has proved that he is a "Master story teller" who can weave sheer magic with such a mature subject coming up with a 3 hours plus long, entertaining and beautiful movie which sets our minds to think. The people who consider him as a "Safe-player" and "Candy-floss" movie maker are in for a huge surprise.

Set during current time in New York, the movie revolves around two married (un-happily married to be precise) couples. Dev Saran (Shahrukh Khan) is let down in football coach career because of an accident which results in a broken limb. He now leads his life with Rhea Saran (Preity Zinta): his wife, Kamaljit Saran (Kirron Kher): his mother and his son (Ahsaas Channa). Dev's career lies at an all time low with his broken leg while Rhea is super successful as a modern day Mom and a top fashion magazine editor. In short she is the one who runs the family. Because of Dev's irritability they end up fighting almost on every petty issue. Plus, because of Rhea's busy life she does not find time to concentrate on her family duties.

Rishi Talwar (Abhishek Bachchan) and Maya Talwar (Rani Mukherji) have an arranged marriage and stay with Rishi's father Samarjit Talwar (Amitabh Bachchan). While Sam is a philanderer and a skirt-chaser, Rishi and Maya's marriage is on rocks because of several facts including: Maya cannot deliver a baby and tries to find a more mature person in Rishi. Rishi is on the other hand a good husband but not mature enough for Maya. Also Maya is not able to whip enough passion for Rishi.

One fine day Maya and Dev meet as a part of confusion on the railway station. Although it is not love-at-first-sight, they find in each other a person who can understand them better than their respective better-half's. This small meeting changes their lives and they fall in love. This brings a lot of questions which have to be answered and lots of questions which cannot be answered. The rest of the movie is for you to see.

With the sheer complexity of the situations in this movie it would have taken someone only as deft as Karan Johar to do the justice. The film is abounding some really beautiful and poignant sequences like:

� The dinner table scene where Sam invites Dev and Maya to their house for dinner. Easily one of the best directed sequences by Karan Johar
� The party scene where Sam explains why he celebrates this day every year
� The flower bouquets scene where Dev is comes across Maya and Rhea
� Rishi-Maya and Dev-Rhea quarrel scenes
� Sam and Maya's scene in the kitchen after Maya is caught with Dev
� Sam's scene on the death bed where he gives advice to Maya about what she should do
� The scene where Rhea slaps Dev
� Also the one when Rishi comes to meet Maya after 3 years

All this and many more memorable and emotionally gripping scenes make for an excellent and mature movie watching experience. First half of the movie is abundant of light and comic sequences while the second mainly concentrates on the emotional factor. Never does the movie get stretched, chatty or boring. Having said that, the movie can be edited for 15 minutes or so, to make it a more pleasant, and a smoother watching.

Full marks should be given to Shibani Bhatihja and Karan Johar in the writing department. The twists and turns in the movie keep the viewer hooked although the end might come as a surprise (or a shock to more traditional audiences). Personally, I would not have asked for a better climax. Screenplay is tight and there are no un-necessary and long drawn chatty sequences. Dialogues (Nirenjan Iyengar) are good. But a word of advice too much use of English in the movie will entail in some people not understanding some good points in the movie. Technically it is above the high-standards set by Dharma Productions. Cinematography (Anil Mehta) is awe-inspiring. Full justice has been done to NY skyline. Sets (Sharmishtha Roy) are contemporary and very realistic (unlike K3G where they were more of larger-than-life value).

Karan Johar has really drawn good performances from the entire star cast. Shahrukh Khan's Dev is miles away far from his Raj and Rahul. This one is more mature and requires a lot of performance. King Khan suits the role to T and does full justice. His sheer intensity needs to be seen even in the scenes where the spoken and un-spoken both are communicated with eyes. Rani Mukherji gets the meatier part and with a talent like her one can only expect the best. She does full justice to Maya and never goes over-board. Abhishek's brooding look and his Rishi is the most positive character in this movie where all the lead characters are grey in nature. He excels in every scene proving that he can handle this mature role such admirably. Preity on the other hand has to look pretty but she manages to do that and much more. Her scenes with Shahrukh as well as Abhishek show that she is an excellent actress.

Amitabh is in full form this time. His is the funniest part in this movie. He is excellent not only in comic sequences but also in the emotional sequences. His scene on the stage in the party is just heart-wrenching. He looks like million-bucks and dances like a Rock-star. Kirron Kher is very good in emotional sequences and fills the space of a mom in a Karan Johar movie and puts in a praise-worthy performance. Her comic punches with Amitabh and conversation scenes with Preity are very good. Arjun Ramphal hardly gets any scope. Kajol is awesome in the one minute dance sequence. So is John Abraham. They add star value to this already star-studded movie. Ahsaas Channa is cute and does well as Shahrukh's son.

Songs are melodious and not one of them comes as a hindrance in the movie. S-E-L have done a brilliant job this time around. Lyrics by Javed Akhtar are mushy and meaningful. The filming of songs is breath-taking and ethereal. Tumhi Dekho is easily the best shot song by Karan after Suraj Huaa Madham. Mitwa, Rock N Roll Soniye, Wherez the party tonight all have mind-blowing choreography by Farah Khan and a lot to the entertainment value of the movie. The title song can be made a little short although it is very melodious.

To make a movie on such a bold subject would have a big step for Karan Johar. He takes this "Big" step in the correct direction. But a "Master story teller" as he is, he really did the justice to the movie's theme while coming up with a good entertaining movie. He can easily be bracketed in some of the most brilliant directors of all times in Bollywood after watching this movie. This movie is definitely one of the best movies made on extra-marital affairs so far, for some even better than Silsila. It�s Karan Johar's most in-depth work so far.

As true as the fact that some people will find this subject difficult to digest some other will love this movie (like I did). This is a masterly-made movie and at box-office while this movie will face mixed response in the beginning it will get stable and fall into a Hit status for all its investors. The first week collections are bound to surpass all the previous records due to 6 day weekend and magnanimous opening. Go watch it, its beautiful movie!

Reviewers Rating: 4 out of 5

P: S: Watch out for a blink-a-miss appearance of Karan Johar in the train during the climax scene.

Anurag