The Stoneleaf

Observations from a yet another vantage point. About anything, that Matters!

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Location: India

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Sunday, September 03, 2006

Never Say Goodbye

Point blank, here I share my perspective into what is (or was) inarguably 2006's most awaited Hindi Movie, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna.

Prima facie, KANK is a true blue (and Red and Yellow, and Green, and Purple) Karan Johar film. With its identifiable easy-to-listen rich soundtrack, the slick cinematography, and the very-very Karan Johar'ish wardrobe; it stands out as every thing his signature style entails. Yet it also signals the possible coming of age of our multi-starrers. The hint of the possible power in the script is something that is only let down by the final execution of it. When you have actors who are stalwarts in the niches that one can carve for them (SRK in the usual passionfilled romance, Rani in her gullible indolence, Priety in the strong woman semblance, and both AB's in their own forte of suave style), and yet the film delivers hiccups, there is something to be questioned, and some conclusions to be drawn.

The premise or the protagonist of the movie, contrary to what 99.8% (just a random sample) of viewers find to be SRK and Rani, is the story. It is not about there being a customized soulmate, in the altars of whose pursuit every other relation ought be sacrificed. Rather it is about questioning the foundations of relations.

It does not ask you to work on a marriage or to walk out of a marriage that does not seem to work. It asks you to examine it for yourself, that what you wanted or thought that you wanted from a liason, and what you actually take out of it. It asks you not to justify or rationalize what was done based on plans, it prods one to ratiocinate what has been already done. To determine how much is enough, and to derive -borrowing a phrase from Rushdie- that how much of bathwater can be lost before one loses a baby.

So the fact that Dev has to leave his wife Rhea and son, while Rishi has to let go of his love Maya; is not what this movie is about. It is about how frustrations turn a man bitter, about how career can be too dominating at times, about how fathers relate to their sons, about how physical can jealousy actually be, and about love being as much about the body as about the so called soul. But more than all of this, it is about the fact that the root of the word relation is not a ritual, but a verb called relate.

So when I decide to look beyond the veneer of a commercial film, I feel that apart from instances of pure Hindi phillum infection; the movie is "good". It gives some basic points to ponder, and allows the viewer to think, which is what I think this medium of communication should essentially be about. Just that Hindi films have a tendency to have an invariably happy ending, and in that pursuit of commercial viability the script suffers.

Perhaps here is a story that raises question that will find more relevance in days to come. Where it falters is in its attempt to answer them.

But I choose to overlook that for the moment.

10 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dint see the movie, and no plans also as such. so cant comment about movie itself.but I believe and practice what I heard once "dont hold in you arms what you cant hold in your heart".... many things are tough to understand and undergo!

September 15, 2006 11:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

but u just said it "alvida"

September 25, 2006 1:22 PM  
Blogger AJ ! Serendipity !!! said...

didnt have the guts to see the movie. strange, but yeah it seemed to be to cliched. i never see karan's films. or if i start watching them , i cant see it to the end. somewhere below all those stunning performances ( played to the hilt) it all seems so unreal.
they say that thu\ings are beautiful only if they are imperfect.
however it is all about interpretations. to each one her/ his own :)

September 30, 2006 8:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the movie was “Good” too..

“It is about how frustrations turn a man bitter, about how career can……………………
………..the root of the word relation is not a ritual, but a verb called relate.”…...just perfectly put into words!!!
..and from there I ponder over a question, …when u ‘relate’ to a person once...…can u really ‘un-relate’…if he/she is not behaving in a particular way?.....(obviously I am assuming the inherent nature remains the same) ..and u know to which character i am refring to.

October 02, 2006 3:33 AM  
Blogger AakASH!!! said...

@Kiran: I was looking forward toi seeing you here. You always manage. :)
But tell me if you hold in in your herat but are not able to hold it in your arms.
I think it was Gn'R that once sang: You cant put your arms around a memory.

@Anonymous: Perhaps it was you.

@Ajay: Now Karan Jhar must have been offended, that even though you are not watching his movie, you still are open to his crit.
But like you said, its all about interpretations. Thanks for dropping by.

@Payal: Ab tumse kya kahun? Tumhare sawaalon ka jawaab agar dunga toh bhi tum maanogi nahin. Thats why i say, with a few more people like you, this would have been a much better place.

October 03, 2006 1:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

well akash, if u know the answer as to how to survive in such situation, let me know :)

October 04, 2006 1:42 PM  
Blogger San said...

i totally dislike the movie, he had a good subject but completely ruined it with his candy floss ways!

November 21, 2006 9:23 PM  
Blogger Myriad Enigmas said...

woww.. you have written quite a lot since the last time I visited this space. good going!

December 07, 2006 2:00 AM  
Blogger AakASH!!! said...

@Kiran: I do not, but i am looking for one.

@San: You said it. :-)

@myriad enigmas: Come on, dont be so caustic. :-)

January 05, 2007 1:14 PM  
Blogger My Unfinished Life said...

hmmm..relate..... u got it dude...and its one person's confusion of relation which causes tension, heartbreak,pain and etc etc for two people.....
no one is perfect and evry person can relate to the other diferently with time....
as i say nothing is permanent except illusion.....

August 07, 2007 3:54 PM  

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