Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...

I respect Karan Johar. He is an honest director. There are a lot of young directors out there today that are taking the Hollywood approach to film making and the end result is a mish mash of a desi product in a foreign packaging. Karan Johar, on the other hand, takes a desi story, puts it in a desi package but only refines it more than most others do. What you get is a very good Bollywood movie that has elements of emotion, melodrama, comedy, family values, romance and music in equal doses. Yes, I admit that the story does leave a lot of questions unanswered, but that's OK considering the desired target market is one that is alright with that and sheds expectations of credibility before walking in to the cinema.

K3G is a beautiful example of what a good director can do. Agreed, the movie may not have been as great without the power star cast, but then, let us not forget that before those people are stars, they are very good actors. Well, except maybe Kareena and Hritik.

This is where the minus points are. Hritik did nothing but weep perpetually. Kareena played an overbearing slut. And to top it off, she and her friends all spoke American slang and also had that slight twang of an American accent. (PHAT: Pretty Hot And Tempting?? That's ghetto lingo!) And I really didn't like the national anthem thing. i felt it was a little pushed. I think KJ went a little overboard there in trying to make the NRI audience cry. The only time that trick has worked effectively was years ago in "naam" when Pankaj Udhas sang the "Chitthi Aayi Hai" song.

There are certain scenes that I found really well done in the movie. The last time Rahul meets Rohan before the latter goes off to boarding school, he has a talk with him about taking care of Mum, losing weight and joining he cricket team. They are sitting on a bench, side by side having this talk. Years later, in the second half of the movie, after Rahul realizes that his brother has been living with him all this while, the scene again cuts to them sitting on a bench, this time ten years later. It could've been shot anywhere, but the fact that the setting is so similar just makes it even more memorable.

The scene where Nandini (mom) meets Rahul after years at the shopping mall, she places her hand on his shoulder and he turns around. Wow.

And the finale of course. Amitabh breaking down with SRK.

One mustn't expect great international cinema here. this is what great Bollywood is all about.

Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is one of the most ravishing, grandiose and melodramatic Hindi films ever made. It is incredibly unrestrained and stormy in its emotional quotient, and yet so watchable, enjoyable and at times even pleasurable, that you can't but applaud to this spectacular show. It is one of the few films where overacting seems superb acting and overly melodramatic proceedings, despite being very cheesy and occasionally clichéd, become quite bearable. It combines realism and surrealism, comedy and heavy melodrama in a very unique style, which makes for an altogether colourful picture which is fun to watch.

The film is about relationships in family, about loving your parents and your family, about pride, values and regret. The well defined and written characters are used to create and present all these qualities. Even the least emotional scenes are accompanied by orchestrated violins, heavy piano and strikingly sad pictures on-screen. The film shows both the bright and dark sides of happy families, and while it never breaks new ground, never looks totally authentic, it is always entertaining in spite of its flaws. It depicts both the Indian traditional world and the western modern world and tries to bring them together in many instances.

Some of the film's too emotional scenes could have been better edited and partly cut. The cinematography is good, the sets are extremely lavish, and the narrative is effectively laden with numerous songs and many memorable moments of comedy and drama. The comedy provides great relief and lightens the otherwise more-than-enough drama, and the music is extraordinary. My favourite song is "Suraj Hua Maddham", a greatly melodious number wonderfully performed by Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik and extremely beautifully shot across some breathtaking locations. Needless to say, the chemistry between the two leads, Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, is as electrifying as ever.

Where acting goes, Amitabh Bachchan is restrained and displays well the hidden pain and the visible pride. Jaya Bachchan is superb as the subservient yet strong woman. Towards the end there is one very powerful scene in which she really stands out (you'll know which one). Shahrukh Khan in a typical, cynical and likable character, is great as always. Kajol utterly steals the show and proves her prowess as a gifted comedienne. She is hilarious in her comic scenes and equally shines in moments of drama. Her strong, charismatic presence is perhaps the best thing about this film. Farida Jalal provides excellent support. Hrithik and Kareena are unimpressive and inconsistent. Hrithik is over-expressive and far more emotional than required, and Kareena, while attractive and quite funny at times, badly overacts.

All in all, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham has bits of everything: drama, melodrama, romance and comedy, all presented wholeheartedly in true Hindi-film style with lots of tears and lots of fun. It is an example of Bollywood entertainment at its grandest, and works as such. This is a movie to be seen with one's family. Go for it.

Saw it Own it. And not just because I'm a woman either. The movie is rather lengthy but well worth sending the message it sends, which is: Family is our most precious asset we can own in this world. No matter what Family is Family and you love them regardless of their choices, mistakes and what nots. This is the type of movie that should be shown to all, to wake up our society and make them realize that life and family are too precious to take for granted. I wish more people knew about this movie, it has a universal language and appeal. And while others may think its too long of a movie to watch, I say get an attention span. I wish American movies were more like this one. The musical numbers while at first seem a bit weird, are rather entertaining and joyful to watch. Excellent movie!!

Glossy emotional drama, bringing together talent across the acting generations of Indian cinema.

With a cast that reads like a Who's Who of Indian cinema, Karan Johar's film focuses on the tensions within a divided family, namely the rift between strict disciplinarian father Yashovardhan (played by Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan) and his estranged son, Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan).

With Bollywood heart-throb Hrithik Roshan in the role of brother Rohan and Kareena Kapoor as sister Pooja, the A-list cast is completed by Jaya Bachchan. Following the fortunes of wealthy non-resident Indians in the UK, the film takes in beautiful locations from the British Museum to Blenheim Palace and serves as a paean to the motherland, India.

K3G (as it is more commonly known) is a glossy emotional drama, bringing together talent across the acting generations and includes the show-stopping number 'Shava Shava.'

Movie going audiences the world over, or so smart young filmmaker Karan Johar would like to believe, are glad that the wait is finally over: `Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham' or `K3G', the snappy alternative title that the publicity machine came up with, hit movie screens today! The shrewd publicity campaign ensured that wherever Hindi films are shown, a fever pitch of anticipation sharpened to incandescent proportions over the preceding several months. A record 650 prints of the film have gone into distribution-unprecedented for a Bollywood release. The cast of the film is equally unparalleled: Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, plus another popular leading lady in a `guest' appearance, form the headliners. Such a formidable phalanx of stars alone would guarantee that this film would elbow out the competition. So, you ask, how good is this film; was the foregoing hoop-la justified?

Let's put it like this: I saw it this afternoon (first day, first show, just like in my student days!) and, though it is a shrewd and manipulative exercise in filmmaking, I bought into it. I laughed, I cried, I resisted the urge to dance in the aisles. The word `shrewd' comes to mind again and again. The casting was shrewd, the marketing blitz, as well. Ditto, for the mix of the film's ingredients, the plotline, and clever typecasting. Shrewd, shrewd, shrewd! But Karan Johar persuades you to overlook the blatant exploitation of your emotions, the plot twists seen coming a mile away, the unsubtle set-up of the next dramatic confrontation. He inveigles you into colluding with him in this charming filmic flim-flam; he winks broadly and you roll your eyes but go along for the ride. Why? Because the characters, while not the least bit new, are likable. Johar handles his dauntingly large cast well, gives each of them a moment to shine.

Amitabh reprises his stern unyielding patriarch role. He has portrayed uptightness before, as recently as `Mohabbatein', but here he's filthy rich and the stakes have been ratcheted up a notch. He plays a captain of industry, though what industry, we are never told. References are made to his appearances on CNN, so one gathers he is a globally important captain of industry. As is the wont of tycoons, he lives in an enormous salmon pink palace, but inexplicably, all the indoor scenes take place only in the cavernous drawing room with its spooky shadows and fifty-foot ceilings (like the lobby of a particularly unwelcoming hotel), or in his dressing room. Early in the film, his business tycoon character is shuttled to the office in a helicopter. The man gets out, shoots a look of proprietary pride at the monogrammed chopper and deadpans to a minion, `Nice machine! Should get a few more!'

Jaya plays his worshipful, obedient wife clad in matronly pastel sarees with tasteful embroidery and triple strand of pearls--appropriate Mrs. Tycoon garb. Just as you question the wisdom of coaxing her out of retirement for this thankless role, Johar gives her a small scene where she puts her steely-eyed pig-headed husband in his place, and this without raising her voice and thundering as he does, and you think, right on! Then it makes sense that she is in the film. Shah Rukh, as their son, plays Shah Rukh yet again, alternatingly lovelorn and stubborn, but here he gets to do some comedic shtick too. Mercifully, it's not slapstick; in fact, all the humor in the film is intelligent. Even Johnny Lever, who is insufferable in most films, is given some pretty good lines. But best are the throwaway ones that Shah Rukh, and on a couple of occasions, Kajol, toss off casually. Anyway, Shah Rukh has a London MBA in this film, and good thing too, because he has to go off and make his own fortune in the tough, cruel world. Oops! I gave away something you'd never have guessed would happen in a Hindi film.

It is a delight to see Kajol in a film that makes good use of her looks and skills. Her screen appearances are becoming rare and it is a shame to see her squandered in execrable fare like `Raju Chacha'. In `K3G', she looks ravishing, is photographed lovingly, and positively sparkles playing, once again, a character called Anjali. Hindi filmgoers will recall that Anjali was her character's name in Johar's debut film, `Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'. This Anjali is from Delhi's Chandni Chowk and speaks an outlandish mix of Hindi and Punjabi. You don't understand it all, but her sheer effervescence bowls you over, so it's no surprise that Shah Rukh (whose character, like the one he played in `Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', is named Rahul) falls for her almost immediately. They go into an extended dream sequence that involves them singing around the Pyramids, a heretofore-unused location in Hindi films. Kajol wears loads of kohl and numerous stunning monochromatic sarees which contrast well with the starkness of the Egyptian sands, while Shah Rukh, not to be outdone, resorts to see-through organdy shirts. Unfortunately, right after the sartorial one-upmanship of this song, daddy announces he has other plans for his son, and thus begins the `Gham' (sorrow, tears) portion of the film.

Hrithik and Kareena play the other romantic leads and they are adorable. I got a kick out of the back story that Hrithik's character has been given: in early childhood, he was obese and all the scenes featuring the boy Hrithik (played by an extremely tubby child actor), show him either eating or conniving to get something to eat. So all you overweight boys out there, take heart-you could well grow up, turn into a Hrithik, captain a winning cricket team, and end up with a cutie-patootie like Kareena Kapoor! But I should caution that it is unlikely that this would happen outside the wacky world of Hindi films. The grown up Hrithik is endearingly earnest and sets about restoring the `khushi' (joy, happiness) of his film family, but takes time out to drive fast cars, and show off some nifty dance moves and bicep revealing leather vests. But mostly, as he performs good works, he gazes soulfully, while his brown eyes glisten with unshed tears.

Kareena Kapoor's character is modeled after Archana Puran Singh's in `Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', so of course I loved her. After seeing Ms. Puran Singh in a film called `Raja Hindustani', I became a big fan of her work. In that movie, she played a deliciously evil stepmother, had a fabulous wardrobe and was nasty to everyone within hollering distance. She was so enthusiastically wicked that she completely overshadowed the insipid heroine played by Kareena's older sister Karisma Kapoor. But, enough about that film. Here Kareena, channeling the spirit of Ms. Puran Singh, vamps hilariously and is adorably clueless. She is aided and abetted by two sweetly dim cohorts. Of course, like any self-respecting younger female lead, her clothes are skimpy to the point of being almost non-existent. One of the best lines in the film has to do with her blink-and-you'll-miss-it outfits. That she pulls this off without looking cheap or vulgar is to her credit. After this and her similarly fabric-challenged turn in the awful `Asoka', the courageous Ms. Kapoor should be given some sort of award for conserving cloth and her contribution towards reducing the wardrobe budgets of films.

So you see, I had a couple of good laughs, tapped my feet to the songs (the handiwork of three different composers), and shed several cathartic tears that Karan Johar contrived to wring out of me. Of course, the "gham" (sorrow, tears) in the film was disproportionate to the amount of "khushi"(happiness), but as a friend e-mailed me, what good is a Hindi film without the opportunity to weep copiously! I walked out thinking, `There was nothing new, I was hoodwinked with my complete cooperation, and it was all good fun!'