Karan Johar and his kind of cinema is a personal favourite for me. So it usually becomes a little difficult for me to objectively analyse his work. Add to it, the reviews that I read before watching his latest, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna were really encouraging, and legends like Amitabh Bachchan declared it in press that this is Karan’s finest work to date. Thus, analysing KANK and more importantly giving an unbiased critique became a tough task for me. This is just an attempt to analyse the film and be as objective as possible about it.
I would like to start my critique by saying that irrespective of the flaws in the film, I really loved it, but would not hesitate to add that it could have been a better film. Also, I have a little bit of a contention in calling it Karan’s best.
The topic of infidelity has been tackled several times on Indian silver screen. But what separates KANK is the treatment. Right from the characterisations of the betrayed spouses to the climax of the film, the film does traverse a path that hasn’t been tackled by Indian cinema before.
A major flaw in this film is its music, which is definitely uninspiring as compared to Karan’s usual musical genius. However, the excellent picturisation in some way compensates for the shortcomings. The use of colours in the song ‘Tum hi dekho na’ is a beautifully used metaphor for the importance of love in the life of two people who otherwise had a colourless life.
Even the ‘Rock N Roll’ song, which belongs to the typical ‘Shava Shava’, ‘Maahi Ve’, ‘Bole Chudiyaan’ variety and is a mandate for every Karan Johar film, has a different treatment than the usual style, and is refreshing to watch. ‘Mitwa’ has a style of picturisation that is pretty unusual for a KJ film, and brings out the hesitation, affection and innocence of the budding lovers beautifully.
The beauty of KANK is that the director has so much control over the medium, that he actually makes you love and hate the characters of Dev and Maya (played by Shah Rukh and Rani respectively) as per his wish. So when you see ‘Mitwa’, you feel the innocence, but at the same time, when you see the two in the interludes of ‘Where’s the tonight’ (which is the typical club variety, ‘You are my Soniya’, ‘It’s the time to Disco’ type (even the set is almost similar to ‘You are my Soniya’)) you do feel absolute contempt for them. The fact that a die hard Shah Rukh fan like me, who usually loves his work unconditionally, ended up hating his character in those portions, speaks volumes about the skillful execution, and the actor’s brilliant performance.
The final song which is the title song, and suits the situation perfectly, reminds me of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s style of song picturisation. The lyrics, the setting every thing match the mood of the situation (in typical KJ style though).
There are however some innate flaws in the movie. A lot of them can be attributed to the very nature of Indian cinema, which aims to target every single audience member, and ends up being a mixed matched saga of romance, drama, emotions etc. For starters, the use of humour should have been minimal, owing to the theme and mood of the film. Besides, Shah Rukh’s frustrations with his own life are understood but there seems to be no significant correlation of the same with his temperamental and rude behaviour with his own son. Unfortunately, for me at least, neither does the film convey that Shah Rukh feels guilty about having an affair, for his son, nor does it come across that he really cares too much about his son. With this background, Shah Rukh’s apologising to his sleeping son while leaving the house, and even Preity’s referring to Shah Rukh being the happiest when his son is born, looks half baked and contradictory. In fact the very existence of the kid in the plot is not utilised properly, neither for taking the drama further, or giving the film a realistic perspective, nor does the kid have that meaty a role to add to the usual ‘cute’ bit which is a characteristic of Johar’s cinema.
Another handicap that the film suffers from is the fact that the typical family entertainer tackles a bold subject, in his very on style and doesn’t really give the genre its due. Considering the fact that film talks about extra marital affairs, at least the passionate scenes should have been more intense and in sync with the mood of the film. In today’s era of sleazy steamy cinema, one would expect Johar to portray this aspect of the film with his own aesthetic sensibilities but not do injustice to the topic, which is something he precisely does.
A basic objection that I have with the character of Maya is that she is unhappy because she doesn’t intend to be happy at all. She gets in her apprehensions in every single aspect of her life and for no reason complicates things for her own self. Also, the single reason mentioned for her unhappiness in the film is her inability to conceive a child. But this somehow seems like a far fetched reason for an extra marital affair, as she would be deprived of this very joy even in that relationship. Besides, in most of the scenes, she comes across as someone who wants to end the marriage anyway, even before giving it a serious thought. Thus, in my opinion, her character and thus the basic premise of her involvement in the affair fall flat. Also, the reasons for start of the passion between the two should have been explained properly. Neither do these lovers look as passionate as the ones in Silsila, nor do they come across as the sufferers in the relationship. Also, I can still understand to an extent that Shah Rukh is frustrated with his failures, coupled with his wife’s super success and so ends up in the affair, but what on earth is Rani’s problem with her marriage. In fact her husband looks anything but a kid, which is precisely the reason why she dumps him, and ends up with a man who actually needs to grow up.
Amitabh’s character adds to the funny moments in the film, and does deliver entertainment. But somehow, the presence of an elderly person in an Indian family, who is a philanderer, in some way dilutes the sanctity that one would associate with the institution of marriage. This may not have much significance for a
Lastly, Abhishek and Preity have such perfect characters, that one just wonders, whether the film should have been about an affair between these two, who are actually stuck with the losers, whom they love unconditionally. In fact it is really unfair that their characters are built only through the narrations their respective spouses share about them. However, their actual portrayal on the screen, is pretty different from these narrations, and thus not only does the viewer end up getting confused with the allegations done against them but also wonders if the script should have been more balanced and neutral. Rani’s character is not written well and that shall account for a major flaw in the film.
Why does the film still deliver?
The film basically thrives on the memorable moments, which I guess are the hallmarks of a film, which usually is weak in the scripting department. The scene immediately after the song ‘Rock N Roll’ takes Amitabh’s character to a completely different level. But the very reason why one would identify with the character and still love Amitabh for his performance and leave aside the flaws in his character is because it is Amitabh doing the act. The sheer star power that he exudes just destroys every ounce of negativity that one would develop towards his character, and suddenly he becomes the all knowing, caring, understanding, yet cool dad, form the philandering old man.
Same applies for the scene, where Shah Rukh suddenly asks his son to quit football, and starts playing with him. Suddenly from the irritating, frustrated young guy, he becomes the super caring and lovable daddy dearest, only because he is Shah Rukh,
Another important scene would be the ballet scene. This is one place where Shah Rukh and Rani’s passion for each other does come across, through the jealousy. Even the scene that follows takes the spark ignited by the previous one to a further level.
Preity Zinta looks ravishing in the film and in my opinion dominates the viewer’s attention irrespective of a smaller role. Abhishek has his own charm, and delivers a great performance. Also his scenes with his father are an absolute delight to watch. It won’t be an overstatement to say that after Rekha, if there is some one who rocks the screen with Amitabh, it is definitely Abhishek.
Rani is stuck with the weakest character in the film, and has a tough time, because even the length of the role is pretty big. She does look pretty and emote her part well, but can’t do much because of the weak character. Kirron Kher (the most obvious choice for the role) suits her part quite well, but the film would have definitely benefited more, had some other actress enacted the role.
The music, though not as great as Karan’s usual stuff, is good, and suits the mood and the situation perfectly. However the excellent song picturisations add to the visual delight. Anil Mehta gives the film a beautiful look, and every frame look perfect. Also, different camera angles used in ‘Mitwa’ give it a cool feel. Farah Khan does a decent job with the choreography. Another department where the film scores, is the dialogues department deftly handled, by Karan’s regular Niranjan Iyengar.
I must admit that this is the first KJ film, where I didn’t really notice every outfit and every element of the set. Thus, it is his victory as a story teller, because he does keep the viewer intrigued with the actual narrative. A comparative study with his previous films does show that he is slightly moving into territories, which are beyond his traditional strengths. Two scenes that are really worth mentioning are the ones where Preity slaps Shah Rukh and the one where Abhishek breaks down after Rani confesses. Both scenes are high on drama and KJ does absolute justice to each of the characters involved. The best part about the film is the climax, which does portray the maturity of Preity and Abhishek’s characters. Some might insist that the climax glorifies bigamy, but in my opinion the film is progressive in this regard, as the betrayed spouses have moved on with their life, and thus don’t look at their ex-spouses with vindication and let bygones be bygones. This in a way advocates the philosophy of ‘Live for the moment’ which was advocated by Karan in his previous flick, Kal Ho Naa Ho.
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