Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Photo Courtesy: yahoo.com

Saw Kabhi Alvida Na Kehana (KANK) in Sathyam Cinemas yesterday. Ticket purchase was a snap through online, no crowded line, no ‘no change’ problem.. I was even able to order my popcorn online have it delivered to our seat. Overall, Sathyam Cinemas has done a wonderful job in making the movie going experience pleasant, Now if they could just make their parking and accessibility little bit more easier.. then it will be all more fun..

OK, Now over to KANK

KANK is not your run-of-the-mill Bolloywood movie. Unlike other movies were the the portrayal is black & white, there is no bad guy in this movie and all main characters have some flaw and it’s the grey area that makes the story different in this one. Karan Johar has stepped out of his ‘feel good’ movie genre and has addressed a sensitive subject like marriage and infidelity.

Dev (Shah Rukh Khan) and Maya (Rani Mukherjee) falling love with each other as their own marriages were falling apart. What unravels after they tell their spouses may be disconcerting to some viewers, but that’s probably one of the reasons why the movie is based out of NYC and not in India.

The real stars of the movie were dialogue & music. I am not very good in Hindi, even with that handicap, enjoyed the dialogues. Niranjan Iyengar’s dialogues were crisp, direct (yet diplomatic) and forceful. I particularly enjoyed Amitabh’s speech where he talks about ‘waqt’ is ‘abhi’. “If you love some one go tell them now about your love.. just hold their hands are give them a hug. If you have hurt someone, go say sorry now.. as there is nothing more important in life than love and be loved.”.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy music is one of the clear strengths of the movie. The score is a perfect mix of western and Indian tunes. All songs are situational and furthers the movie with my favorite one being ‘Mitwaa’.

But, I did find the movie lengthy, stretching past over 3 hours. Also, lots of NYC scenes were kind of repetitive in nature. Particularly, couple of shots taken at the railway station seems to have been taken in the same schedule with the same props.

Overall, the movie is enjoyable and worth the watch..

Ratings
Direction B+ for good story telling
Acting B+ for being the character
Music A for the melodious tunes by Shankar-Ehasaan-Loy
Dialogue A for crisp, direct & forceful script
Art & Location B for repetitive scenes..

Overall B+ for an enjoyable / thought provoking movie

Bottom Line Watch it

ps: I had a double header movie outing this weekend. I also saw Adam Sandler’s Click, but it is just passé and doesn’t qualify for a post.