Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is a breathtaking rollercoaster ride of emotion,
comedy and drama woven beautifully together through the threads of binding
relationships, that endure time, space, joy and sadness.
The film begins with a brief word from the two principle patriarchal
characters of Yash and Nandini Raichand (Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan) on the
importance of expressing a parent's love for their child, which aptly sets
the tone for what's to come. The viewer is thrown immediately into the world
of the Raichands as we learn of their family situation and of how their
adopted son Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) is no longer with the family due to a
fallout, which comes as hard and fast as it hits their younger son, Rohan
(Hrithik Roshan). This allows for a flashback recount of the story which
leads to the current circumstances and etches out clearly each character and
their relation to one other, as well as the roles defined within the family
and expectations that rise from them. This takes the film into the interval,
after which the crux of the narrative is how the family are reunited, and
what repercussions the split in the family has had.
From its first to last frame Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is a masterpiece. It
has every ingredient that has made Indian cinema so great embedded within
it, rhythmically progressing the movie through its core strength in
narrative that is based in relationships and the family. Karan Johar has not
just made a film, he has created a cult populist modern text rooted in
tradition - that will be used as a yardstick to measure good cinema by.
Whereas previously a cluster of films displaying great cinematic technique,
sharp screenplay execution, masterful direction, presentation and
storytelling have been referred to as examples of how good cinema can be,
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham will now sit adjacent to some of these (and hopefully, precede
many others) as a dictionary that defines complete filmmaking.
His homage to modern classic cinema is one that pays respect, stirs memories
and ensures it too will spawn tributes as he tips his hat to the works of
Sooraj Barjatya, Yash Chopra and others, even raking up nuances of his own
previous characters' as inside giggle-raisers.
The background score of the movie flows in unison with the heartbeat of the
audience, escalating with grandeur as their breaths quicken, and stealing
slices of silence when the anguish is numbingly quiet. Even the colour
scheme of the movie is in complete tune with the film's soul, with one
particular sequence highlighting to the hilt Karan's artistic imagery,
shuffling between a bright and colourful song vibrant with life and a
hollow, empty resonating echo in a mother's eye as she hears and feels, but
cannot see her son. Cinematic experiences don't come any better. The lavish
scale of the film is such that every penny spent is seen on screen and the
beautiful cinematography captures the locales of Egypt and London in a
groundbreaking manner, without causing distraction from the flow of the
film. The camera uses a frame rate and pace that cuts like a knife one
moment and is slowed down to savouring speed the next, revealing one other
technique that Karan has successfully used to his advantage to be able to
puppet the strings of his audience's heart.
Performance wise the film belongs not to one actor or actress but to the
ensemble cast that is the family. Each artiste has managed to master their
role to such a degree that you have to remind yourself that this is a film
and you are not watching a real family, and also that you may have even seen
some of these faces before. Shah Rukh excels in what is possibly the most
difficult role to assay in the film. His histrionics during the scene when
we literally feel his heart break for both disappointing the man he idolizes
and also because he realises he cannot be with the love of his life is
possibly his most violent, because he massacres the viewer's emotions in a
swift sequence that will not leave a dry eye in the house. His performance
is par excellence and to pick out which are the best for any of the actors
is too arduous a task. Amitabh Bachchan gives his finest performance in
recent times. His presence not only commands respect but for the three hours
twenty seven minutes of the film he becomes the father who wants the best
for his family, is clutching onto tradition while attempting to maintain
control and authority without allowing even his gaze to be questioned. Every
viewer will see shades of their own parents in Yash and Nandini Raichand,
and will be able to understand, even if they do not agree with, their every
decision.
Kajol is a lit firecracker in the entire film that makes bangs and wallops
in bursts that light up the heart and screen with no warning. Her screen
antics are such that in a one-woman-act she'll make you howl with laughter
and dance with joy one second and bring you to tears with a single look the
next. It is without a shadow of doubt, I can say, her finest
performance to date and one that will be etched in viewer's hearts forever.
Kareena Kapoor will have you in stitches by the loudness and classiness of
her British-raised character, allowing her to showcase her comic
brilliance for the first time fully. Her sweet yet exaggerated Pooja shrieks
for rescuing but ends up forcing you to pledge allegiance to her character
that will change the lingo of the moment for a while to come, as well as
give birth to a new icon among the college crowds. Hrithik Roshan sizzles in
an all-round performance that gives him scope to stir emotions, simply be
cool, and play a doting brother and son like never before. His dance moves
in You Are My Soniya are electrifying to his and Farah Khan's credit and his
chemistry with Kareena is teasingly and explosively volatile.
Song picturisations are a dream in themselves. Be it the spiritual ethos of
Suraj Hua Maddham or the playful Yeh Ladka Hai Allah each song in itself is
a visual delight. Amitabh Bachchan looks fantastic in his song Shaava Shaava
and dances on air with a bevvy of beauties in another perfectly framed
moment on celluloid.
Director Karan Johar and Associate Director Nikhil Advani have woven
together a journey of emotions, technical brilliance and mesmerizing screen
moments that will live in the audience's memory for years to come. Each
scene has so much detail that on repeat viewing one can find the definition
of each character and ambience of every location from the framing and
background alone, such is the attention to minute details.
Overall Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is without a doubt the most enthralling,
entertaining, emotional and complete vision and definition of Indian cinema
I have ever seen. It is simply the perfect Hindi film that will appeal to
anyone and everyone, and will hold special place in the hearts of the Asians
in the UK and overseas who will relate wholly with the boy who brings home a
girl to his family immediately edging away from their expectations, the
cracks in the family that will haunt and taunt until they are once more
enjoined and intertwined and the father-son relationship that has been
captured in volumes like never before on 70mm.
This film proves we are not always in control of our emotions.because Karan
Johar is controlling them everytime he steps behind the camera. Just as life
is a complete experience full of sadness and joy, the aptly titled film
completes Indian cinema and rewrites the book of filmmaking. Kabhi Khushi
Kabhie Gham is a film you cannot miss, and Karan Johar is a man you cannot
ignore, because legends can never be ignored.
|
