Dec 17, 2001 10:09 PM
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(Updated Dec 17, 2001 10:27 PM)
Well I did my bit for our very own, 'always in doldrums', Bollywood by standing for an hour in that cold chilly Sunday morning, in an 'as long as the eye can see' queue after traveling some 10 km in the worst fog of this season in Allahabad, just to get a 'First Day First Show' ticket of the 'biggest film Bollywood has ever made'. Well while most of you must have done the same (or perhaps more) hard work for the similar prize, some might dismiss me as a 'just another star struck person' who was dying to see his favorite star's latest venture or a person who was awestruck by the magnificence of the film. Well, yes I was dying to see the film when I heard that it was a Karan Johar's second Film (after his wonderfully fresh and unlike bollywood KKHH) and it starred Big B with his real life partner and Shahrukh Khan with Kajol, the best romantic pair after Big B & Jaya Bachchan left the scene. Also notwithstanding the Wonderful screen chemistry between Big B & Shahrukh in Mohabbatien. But I was disappointed at the inclusion of Hritik & Kareena. Not becaue I don't like them, but because I feared that now the film might become a big 'Khichdi' or someone will have to suffer at the cost of other. And after hearing the disastrous music score of the film I was certainly not betting on the film. But perhaps it was my faith in Big B, Shahrukh, Kajol & on the sincerity of Karan Johar hich finally convinced me to 'Go for it'.
So what actually Karan johar did with the film which had biggest star cast of the millennium? Well after watching the 3 hours 31 minutes of melodrama I can safely presume that he simply made a film in which he never accounted for two things, the money spent on it and the number of minutes each star had in the film. In K3G karan Johar surprises us once more by making a typical Bollywood multistarrer which has all the compulsory ingredients (Masala), considered necessary in bollywood, for a film to be hit(even it's songs strictly followed this methodology), yet he manages to make a very simple film whose purpose is just to enjoy its audience. Yes you don't need brains to understand this film neither you are required to keep your brains outside the hall. Its a film made for the viewers, so that for three & a half hours they just forget various tensions in their lives and find a moment to enjoy. May be that’s why it had such a star cast so that people can get most out of their money and don't feel cheated.
K3G is about a Billionaire businessman Mr. Yash Raichand (Amitabh Bachchan), his wife (Jaya Bachchan), and their adopted son Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) and their original son Rohit (Hritik Roshan). A small little happy family, which with all the Nanny's & Granny's becomes quiet a large one. At the age of 8, Rahul comes to know about his adoption after which the family decides that not a mention about this fact will be made in future. But as the luck would have it Rahul falls in love with Anjali (it's high time they came with some new names)(Kajol), a fun loving MIG(middle-class indian girl) from Chandni Chowk, exactly when his father finalises his marrige to Naina (Rani Mukherjee). Even his father refusal could not stop Rahul from marrying Anjali after her father's death thus leading to a father & son clash resulting in Rahul's expulsion from the family. When Rohit on his return from the boarding school comes to know about this he decides to reunite his family.
A simple DTH(direct to heart) story, made really effective by some memorable performances. Big B repeats the Mohabbatien magic in a similar kind of role. Though I would love to see him solving the problems of his children not creating them, but any way something is better than nothing. Jaya ji strikes an almost impossible balance between the role of wife & a mother (a true bhartiya nari). I'm terribly short of words to describe her awesome performance. Her elegance & poise don't betray a bit even when she does the rebel act. SRK is the center of the story in more than one ways. Firstly the story revolves around him & secondly he comes up with a performance, which in no ways was second to anybody. Though the confident rebel of mohabbatien is not required here but his romance with kajol & later a concerned family man(Remember KKHH) is enough to make him the highlight of this film.
Kajol is fresh, upbeat, silly, funky, innocent, charming, beautiful, graceful all at the same time. I don't know how she manages to do such a thing. May be that's why people were waiting for her in spite of her marriage and unwillingness to act. Her role of a Cricket loving, song & dance loving loudmouth punjabi chandni chowk girl just changes the look of the film in a frame. You can't help yourself falling in love with her. No wonder Rahul raichand 'fell' for her at the first glance. Hritik, well he has a not so long role but even in that he does well to stand tall among his seniors. His portrayal of a concerned brother is also one of the highlights of the film and he easily manages to make you cry. Kareena is Sexy, is hot, is charming, not much of a role though, but at the end of the day 'it's raining men' for her.
Though at this stage I would like to point out that none of then came up with a life time best performance of did anything fresh. But that was intentional and it showed. Otherwise the film would have turned into a stage to host 'Who's the best' contest, and not a simple one made to enjoy. Which was probably the best thing Karan Johar did after signing such a star cast. Among the others the one to stand out was the fatty who played Hritik Junior. I don't know his name but he does leave an impact.
The film has some awesome sets, amazing cinematography, excellent choreography, decent background score, lovely outdoor locales, slick editing, high production values but the winner in the end is undoubtedly the superb direction of Karan Johar. His portrayal of family ties is at par with any family drama ever made if not better. Even the dissent & anger the family undercurrent is never lost. The breaking up of the family, the brother act by Shahrukh & Hritik in the bench, Sharukh meeting his mom after 9 years, Kajol's aashirwad act and later hritik's resolve, and finally the reunion of the family easily manage to dry up your tear glands. Karan plays heavily with the viewer’s emotions thus making you an integral part of the film. As if that wasn't enough he also finds ways to incorporate 'Mera Bharat Mahan' theme with couple of versions of Vande-mataram and believe it or not the national anthem. Though I thought that this was not at all required but I suppose it was done keeping the overseas market in mind, as this film would have the largest ever release for a hindi film.
The film also had its share of drawbacks biggest of them was its uninspiring music. Well 'the fastest selling album ever' is not anyway close to KKHH or KNPH leave alone DDLJ & DTPH. Just like Mohabbatien it looks like here also the reliance on jatin-lalit has not paid of. May be that’s why the Men's room were busiest during the songs. Only two tracks stand out 'Suraj Hua Madhdham' & 'You are my soniya' both by Sandesh Shandilya of Piya Basanti fame. Picturisation wise 'Bole Chudiya' was the best especially when Big B starts off. Among others 'Suraj hua madhdham' was excellantly picturised among pyramids of Egypt & 'Oye shava shava' simply for Big B & SRK combo. The Mohabbatien, DDLJ effect was also evident.Also the film is as realistic as a fairy tale (contd.).
