Movie Review: KANK

Movie: Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna
Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Rani, Abhishek, Amitabh and Preity.

My top 10 complaints about this film:

01. Shah Rukh Khan is back to his overacting self. Too bad Yash Chopra wasn’t in charge to keep him under control like he did in Veer Zaara.

09. The story could very well have been set in India. The NY setting was a blatant attempt to target the NRI market. It had no relevance to the story whatsoever.

08. It sounds like the Director took the title too seriously and never wanted to end the movie. 🙂

07. Abhishek and Preeti Zinta were running into each other everyday in NY and suddenly they lost contact and never bumped into each other until three years later.

06. The songs were so formula-like –very much like earlier Karan Johar movies. Makes me wonder if they have automated the music composition process!

05. Amitabh’s character was so unreal and not not to mention so “un-desi”. What were the movie makers thinking?

04. The Director appears to have forgotten that the movie is set in NY. Amitabh gives a speech in Hindi to a predominantly white audience!

03. At least the the small kid (growing up in NY) could have had an American accent.

02. What was Abhishek’s job? He has a fancy house in NY, bums around in the coolest cars and is always at fancy parties!

01. Way to many holes in the story/script starting with the chance meeting of two strangers who right away delve into deeply personal issues.

This movie seems to have produced extreme reactions. Many seem to have loved it, while others hated it. One friend went to the extent of saying, “Its not even worth watching on DVD let alone going to the theater”

The DVD rental approach was what actually worked for us. We saw the movie in parts spread over three days! There was no time to get bored since you watch it in focused parts (!!), you also overcome the length problem, and to some extent overlook the flaws in the script. The theme of the movie as such has merit, but the rest is where it falls apart. If you like the typical Karan Johar gloss (pretty faces, great locales, hip dresses etc.) you won’t be disappointed, else it can be a drag.