It's easily the year's most widely discussed film — last week's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. So many of you sent in your reviews on the film and most of them were very interesting.
Evidently, the movie has got everyone thinking. I think I can safely say that for every person who's sent in a positive review, there are 10 who say they didn't enjoy it.
So much so that many, many of you have questioned my four-star review of the film. Fair enough. I just want to say that I went back to watch the film again this week, and I completely stand by my review.
I still maintain that Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is different because it's about people who are flawed, these characters aren't heroes. It's about relationships that are complex.
There are no easy answers in life, and not every relationship has a logical explanation. I enjoyed the film because it addressed complexed relationships, I enjoyed it because it didn't claim to have all the answers, but most of all I enjoyed it because it was done with all the Bollywood trappings.
How many big-budget mainstream movies tackle uncomfortable subjects? When was the last time a film elicited such a passionate response from you — positive or negative? When was the last time a film made you so angry perhaps that you took the trouble to go back home and write a vitriolic review?
Very few movies these days stay with you after you've left the cinema. Very few make you think, and even fewer make you question.
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is not like Karan Johar's previous movies. It may have a happy ending, but it doesn't leave you smiling.
It's an unsettling film and it leaves you fairly disturbed. Disturbed perhaps because you don't understand what draws Rani Mukherjee to an obnoxious Shah Rukh Khan, or because you don't feel particularly sympathetic towards either Rani or Shah Rukh. And that's alright.
These characters aren't role models to be celebrated, they're not necessarily virtuous people, I don't think the film's trying to justify their extra-marital affair either. I think it's just a story, a slice of life.
Of course you absolutely don't have to agree with my opinion on the film, but do allow me to have my own opinion. After all, that's the beauty of cinema — different things to different people.
Comments
0 comment