K. A. N. K – Would like to see Version 2.0 !
iView Author:
Faisal
(Kolkata, India)
EMAIL:
faisal_k4 [at] yahoo.co.in
KANK Ver. 2.0
First things. I am not a being fan of Karan Johar films. They are entertaining, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was fun, but not memorable. Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham was ok. However, I vouch for the man’s craft. He delivers. And I really like his writings. His articles, the few I have read present an intelligent and aware film maker.
However the one film where he failed to deliver. The one which I feel could have been a milestone in Hindi cinema was ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna‘. I saw the film. It bored me. But at the end of the show I was sad. It was a great opportunity, lost. Karan had tried to push the envelope. He took a very challenging story and an even more challenging set of characters. The two principal ones were not likable at all. A tip of the hat to Rani and Shahrukh for taking up such roles.
Think about it. Here we have a movie where the principal character is thoroughly unlikable. He bullies his sweet son, is jealous of his loving wife who is also his childhood sweetheart. Then he goes ahead and falls in love with a married woman. This woman is a bird of similar feather. She has a loving and handsome husband and a caring father in law, in short, a comfortable life. Yet she can’t help cribbing. And doesn’t take much time betraying her husband’s love.
Ideas arising out of intelligent observation of life… yet the movie didn’t work. I don’t want to sound like a know-it-all. But probably it had to do with Karan Johar not going the whole hog. He took a step forward to a new kind of story. But he was still looking backwards when it came to the storytelling. Perhaps the movie needed a smaller scale. It should have been a more intimate character study. Less songs, less of Sexy Sam. Less of expensive sets and those on your face Manish Malhotra costumes. All this took attention away from what was a very serious issue. The grand and beautiful treatment took the focus away from the warts which were what the story was about in the first place. This was unfortunate.
In this age of undeserved and pathetic remakes. I would really like to see a KANK Version 2.0 where the story dictates the form and style. And who better to do it than Mr. Karan Johar himself. Who knows we may end up with another valuable pearl in the necklace of Hindi cinema.
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
LOL!!
I can’t believe there is a post on this film…again!!
But I do share your view, it’s more of a could-have-been film, simply due to the reasons you mentioned and more.
But, i thought Niranjen Iyer did a very good job, the dialogue was crisp and full of interpretation.
Shame about the oppurtunity lost for Mr Johar.
I would say so much more, but i am exhausted by this film.
Have said so much over time….
each one to his own likes and dislikes..I am not being judgemental about that
for me KKHH was like a bubblegum sweet at the beginning tasteless at the end and at alast it inevitably spitout…The reason I was excited to see the movie was DDLJ, which still remains a favorite..
KKKG according to one review was “Kum Khushi Jyaada Ghum”..
nice to hear that u saw the whole movie. i could not watch it after 15 minutes…
crap movie by crap director
2.0? 1.0 kaafi nahi tha kya?? [was 1.0 not enuf?] no offense faisal, but here’s hoping KJo doesn’t read this article and get that crazy notion of making a 2.0…
I thought it was a fantastic film. very different then bubble gum romance from earlier Johar films, well directed, great music and brilliantly acted. It also shows growth of Johar as a director I am eagerly waiting for his next ” My name is khan”
Interestingly enough, Karan Johar expressed the same thoughts in this interview
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main34.asp?filename=hub061007IWish.asp
One has to appreciate his honesty and the fact that he objectively analyzed what went wrong. I am looking forward to his new movie.
@jwalant .. i wud really really like to know .. how did u like KANK ? which part ?
Turtle, I canont write all the details simply because I dont over analyze. I liked the problem, the solution, the overall message, music, acting, all comedy sequences made me laugh and I was very happy after seeing the film. That is more important for me as a viewer.
and I also think Karan is one of the best directors we have. His films do have a stamp of class and quality is assured. His music sense is fantastic. I think people are simply jealous of his success and want to see him fail by making a art film without Shahrukh.
@Jwalant ..
Lets just analyze .. not over-analyze.
I agree with you on the comedy part – it was enjoyable, while it lasted. But dont you think the ending of the film was way too overstretched – the last 30 minutes were a complete disaster ? The film could have ended with SRK and Rani walking away, not knowing what happened to the other one and the effect would have been there ?
A stamp of class and quality – how do you define those ? Aesthetics, great clothes, eye-stunning locations – is that all what makes class and quality ?
Are people really jealous of his success ? Or are they probably wishing that.. with the resources (financial and others) at his disposal, he could really create better cinema rather than the for-moolah-ic blockbusters that he has created. Just good stories (whether accompanied by eye-pleasing visuals or not ), entertaining cinema.
And why is it with Karan Johar that people get all stirred up ? Probably, because he DID make a dream debut (in my opinion, an excellent movie) .. he did show glimpses of what he could achieve in cinema. The potential doood … the potential being laid to waste .. thats what gets the critics’ adrenalin pumping .. more than jealousy .. what do you say ?
I dont think the film could have ended with protagonists walking away. The whole point of movie was love will find a way:d
If you didnt like it, what change should ahve been made to make it more affable to you?
His movies are original, production values are high class, music is fabulous, works with best available star-actor combination, has excellent comedy scenes, no boring moment,( btw, I was in an Indian restaurant and they were playing KKKG and I was completely hooked and noticed that lot of people their were more interested in movie then food although all of them probably had seen it earlier), so you see his films have tremendos repeat value as well,
Why should he change the way he makes his films? Thats his way of making and he likes it and wants to work with the same set of actors. I dont understand the mindset of “new wave” and different kind of, better movie people where very ordinary but flop flicks are eulogized but successful people are put down. Its not necessary to change one’s style of filmmaking. Its good but not necessary. Look what happened to poor Ramu. Now he is back to his underworld/horror genre
I am of the opinion that he makes excellent entertaining films and he his best in doing it. I also believe that each of his film has been better then preceeding one.
This was actually his first movie that was not original. I read in many articles that it is a remake of the American film “Closer”, but since I haven’t seen “Closer” and I’ve only watched the musical numbers from “KANK” I don’t really know if that’s true.
K3G was one of the first Bollywood type movies I’d ever seen and I was hooked after that. I always love the beautiful fantasy world that Karan’s films show and they are great mood lifters.I know a film can’t just be all style and no substance, but sometimes that’s what a person feels like watching. “Kaal” was the only film I didn’t care for, but that had a great title sequence musical number.
If it’s true that his new film is called “My Name is Khan” it’s probably “Khan is My Name”, because he said he will always start his titles with the letter “K” which is his good luck charm.
NoVaDJ,
I have seen both and KANK was nowhere close to “closer”
Please!! Someone please stop these guys from making films(less work more talk). KANK? Do we really want this in a time where we are losing all hopes of films true to their salt working?
We can have our own definitions of good and bad, but the point remains, can we afford the unedning prodigal numbing of sensibilities?
Why o Why!
No offences but the guy should stick to coffee tables and conversations. He is good at it.
Every filmmaker has his own style. Let karan johar be karan johar, Anurag be anurag. All types of movies should be there. Its janta’s choice which to watch and which to not…
Jwalant , it’s good to hear it’s not a remake of “Closer” since I always thought Karan at least made movies with original stories unlike the 100’s of Bollywood movies reworked from other sources.
Tushar, there is room for all types of films and filmmakers…if someone doesn’t like a certain Director then they don’t have to go see the movie. It’s a personal choice….
I am surprised that KANK can be a matter of usch in depth discussion :P
hahahahaha….we are discussing less abt KANK ..its more about Kjo and his filmography…
more people must have watched KANK and those bubble gum romances than the small indie-style pictures….audiences are naturally attracted to hype and gloss…
how to woo them back…? we need to see some real talent….aditya chopra, farhan akhtar, pradeep sarkar, hirani….etc these guys are our future , in my opinion….
anoop, why can’t there be room for both gloss and small indie-type pictures?
Great to see people taking time to comment on my article.
I wrote this stuff because I thought if we can discuss well dressed crap like Black or elevate at best mediocre stuff like Chak De! Then why not discuss a bad film with some really good moments and ideas. Its fun man ;)
@ faisal: Are you seriously going on record and saying.. “if we can discuss well dressed crap like Black or elevate at best mediocre stuff like Chak De! Then why not discuss a bad film with some really good moments and ideas. Its fun man”.
Are you out of your mind or are you out of your mind?:o:o
Black was theatrical shit..i can be with you on this faisal(reflecting now it was all senti-giri)…but not chak de…the screen play and camera work was good man..but black..i do have my reservations.
KANK should be banned by I & B ministry for preaching adultery :P…( I am not a motor mouth)
[Amin. Caution - Qwerty, Please dont be personal in remarks and keep them limited to films only. As of now your comment is not edited and hope you will maintain a healthy discussion]
Johar’s films are all quintessential homoerotic fantasies…it is very clear where he gets his aesthetic and visual sensibilities from…..His films are a gay person’s delight. Isn’t that why good ol’ Manish Malhotra is always around to do the needful? Now, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with being a gay filmmaker…in fact gay people tend to be more creative than most, but I think the sooner one comes out of the closet,the better…It’s actually quite amusing to see how his films appeal to mostly the noveau riche, or aspiring to be nouveau riche, largely ‘punjoo’segment of Indian society…one totally lacking in any intellectual or cultural pedigree, and ironically probably the one segment that would not easily forgive his sexual proclivities…which is probably why he is still in the ‘closet’.
There – I’ve said it, now let the chips fall where they may….
@ qwerty: i stand by you..spot on description. Its sick that he segmentizes to rake in some moolah from the “noveau riche”…so true..you speaketh the truth,sire!!
Make that nouveau riche, Punju NRI segment! An apt description qwerty, particularly the part about Punjus and (lack of) culture/intellect.
Well am quite clear- Black was nothing but expensive crap where I got the feeling that the director’s ghost was lingering on every frame saying look at the visuals I create.
Chak De! Yes its mediocre by the numbers filmmaking.
@Qwerty
We are discussing a film and its filmmaker. Why talk about his being ‘gay’ ? How does that contribute to his making a film with aesthetic sensibilities ? Does that mean Sanjay Leela Bhansali is also gay ? Does that mean Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra are gay ?
And what is this bit about the ‘punjoo’ segment ? How can you call them ‘lacking in any intellectual or cultural pedigree’ ? ‘Nouveau Riche’ – is a derogatory term. Who gave you the fuking right to call them that. What are you – Einstein ? Or a racist version of Einstein ?
whatever. I am not interested in personal lives of film people and I dont care what they do/do not do.
I like his films and will take each film case by case basis in future as well. He is a good entertainer.
- it is sad that a filmmaker’s sexuality is tossed around (for whatever reason) while discussing his film. Come on guys, if you are looking for such convoluted discussions, please take it elsewhere. Shocked to see derogatory/racist words being thrown around here by the commenters. Things have been bad before but the casual way in which such words are being thrown around here without giving it a second thought… is very sad indeed. Maybe this party doesn’t need some of you in this drunk state of mind and I say this with utmost politeness. Please take a break if you are riding an emotional high on the negative side.
i second oz’s comment…..
we are here to discuss cinema.
good bad or ugly….
racist and personal attacks are seriously uncalled for…
Thanks Qwerty, at least now I know the reason I like his films is because I’m Gay:-?
@Jwalant
“If you didnt like it, what change should ahve been made to make it more affable to you?”
I said so before. Take out the last 30 minutes and KANK would still be a largely palatable movie (and so would be Kal Ho Na Ho sans its last 20 or so minutes). See, the ending is the point of it all. If the whole point of the movie was ‘love will find a way’ .. why not show how that love happened ? Is the audience supposed to guess why SRK and Rani fall in love ? And why does Rani cheat at all ? Does she cheat because she does not find Abhisheik mature enough (there are ample references to him being too childlike) ? If she does, how does SRK’s character seem more mature than Abhishek’s ? SRK is all grumpy and jaw-tightening. He is a pathetic loser. What does he have to offer that makes Rani make love to him ?
Or is it companionship ? Rani wants companionship outside her marriage, because she is not satisfied ? Then, why O fuking why, do we have Rani and SRK slo-mo-running towards each other in the end .. more companionship ? What is it that I did not see, that you did ?
If you are showing an intimate drama involving infidelity and two couples (Karan Johar’s words), what is ‘Sexy Sam’ doing in the movie ? How is his character justified ? He is supposed to be the catalyst (who is a friend to his son, but) who provides words of wisdom to Rani after discovering her affair ? Then what have his sexual escapades to do anything with the story of these two couples ? His character is supposed to be the one who is ‘living up’ his life, inspite of a personal tragedy (losing his wife) .. aren’t there other ways of showing that ? See … you have Amitabh in that role, so you have to give him a few one-liners, (so that critics can go ga-ga over how Amitabh chews into a ‘meaty’ role ?) so you are forced to ‘play it up’ – read that as compromise on the basic premise of the movie.
Thats the thing. You promote a movie by saying that “its different”, then why do you show the same thing again ? Why cheat the audience ?
And oz –
Why feel shocked at the words ? I have heard this ‘Karan Johar is gay’ statement from umpteen people, who spout it out as if they themselves gave him a blowjob. Reflects the intelligence of the filmgoing audience. Period.
In his personal life if Karan Johar is gay then its noone’s business. But also when sometimes when ppl say his movies are gay, its a term that is heavily used here is US as being feminine, lame among many other things, and usually in a joking way. Its still maybe derogatory, but its not like his movies does not have crass comedy. About intelligence of filmgoing audience, imho each to its own as in the end its just a movie. And KANK to me was just plain annoying.
[editor note: please avoid broadcasting people's sexuality on PFC]turtle…btw, bhansali is flamingly gay..the whole industry knows that. And yes anyone who derives pleasure from a Johar film is definitely lacking in cultural pedigree. Also,if u care to READ my post carefully, I did say there is nothing wrong in being gay..only he should come out of the closet…And oz, yes, a filmmakers’s sexuality has a HUGE bearing on his approach to the craft. Why is everyone getting their panties in a bunch when I wasn’t attacking in the first place…? In the west, being called gay is not necessarily derogatory, but yes, if one in the closet, then I can see how….and turtle, you’re the one being abusive here, not me….Johar’s films are largely patronized by intellectually bankrupt/or aspiring/social climbers…who dont know the difference between class and arse..
Thanks…zee and sourav…look at this storm in a teapot guys!
@Qwerty .. Not abusive, dude, not at all. Debating a point or two. Thats all.
You make statements about cultural pedigree and/or the lack of it, intellectual bankruptcy, being gay being an influence on filmmaking skills and what not. What is the basis of these arguments ? Pray tell. Tell, tell. :-w
And oh yes. When you make a generalized statement about a culture (Punjabi, in this case) in derogatory terms, it is called ‘racism’.
say whatever about anything or anybody but KANK was rubbish…
Turtle,
I dont understand the logic of justification for every character ( justify why she fell in love, why he was sexy sam etc etc). Why cant Sam be a taken as flawed character and there could be several couples you and I may know of where you ask yourself why the heck they got married or this is devoid of any logic. C’mon now, Do you seriously belive that all love stories have some or other justification?
Yes. When one falls in love, it is for a reason. And when one falls in love outside one’s marriage, it is most definitely for a reason. And whether the film is about infidelity or just a plain vanilla love story, then you have to justify why it happened or at least show how it happened (which, in turn, shows why it happened). What have we here ? SRK and Rani meeting after a long time, trying to advise each other on how to perk up their respective marriages and then the BIG BANG. They are in love. If you are not going to show why, at least imply why !
Sexy sam is not a flawed character. The flaw is in the fact, that the character is not adding to the basic premise of the movie, except for a few comedy scenes and one catalytic line ‘Maut aur pyar bin bulayen mehmaan hotey hain’.
Turtle,
you win. Why spend 300 hours analyzing a 3 hour film? You did not like it, I loved it. Lets be happy and keep it that way.
Agree to disagree, huh, Jwalant ? :-?
Nova…i believe small and indie films should co-exist…more than that…i would like to see the indie films becoming a major influence…becoming hits and super hits…but now a majority is content to settle for glossies, why …”lets enjoy for 2-3 hrs?” now, how come there is a notion that indie films, arthouse movies are generally bore movies..if we could shake off the tag of “boredom” associated with the indie films it would be a boost…how to do it…
better subject selection, better narratives, better marketing of course…
there should be a desire to tell our story in such a way that can appeal to a vast audience…
I think KANK was a piece of thrash for lack of better word. These are the kind of movies you get from folks who haven’t seen life beyond Juhu, Colaba, Napiency and in Karan’s case everywhere outside India. His movies deals in carricatures with no soul in them. He can write well as he has shown in patches but firstly he should get some “real life” experiences and secondly he should stop sucking up to the NRIs. “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna” is one such, inflicting increasing doses of pain and grief on the audience and sinking into deeper morasses of banality with every passing scene
KANK had the potential atleast on paper, but when commerce starts dictating your screenwriting, you are heading for an aesthetic failure.This man is incapable of seeing the world of real men and women—-he always seems to wear rose-tinted, soft-focussed, Mills and Boon and Harlequin-romance- speckled glasses. Which is why believability is the first thing that gets defenestrated in his movies. And ofcourse the great Sharukh Khan, With the inevitability of old Faithful Geyser, he comes up with yet another lip-snarling, voice-quivering, eye-closing, head-shaking, scenery-chewing performance which is so overwrought that it brings down the entire cast with him. As in almost all his movies (except ‘Swadesh’) SRK is SRK, the hero, and not the character he is supposed to be playing. [Watch the opening sequence of the movie where as a soccer star taking a penalty kick, we see the stadium huge-screen TV just showing SRK’s eyes. If this isn’t the super-heroization of a character, then tell me what is]. But then again, compared to the basic flaws of the movie, such gripes are indeed petty
There are so many flaws in the film, that you forget ask logical questions. What could have been an interesting movie about a middle-aged man, morbidly bitter at the fact that he ‘never made it in life’ , engaging in an extramarital affair so that he can feel successful, wanted and young again is reduced to an endless nightmare of contrived situations, convenient resolutions, copious tears, cornucopian cleavages, clich'ƒ©d climax and corny comedy.
In conclusion, despite having its moments (few and far between) and despite holding some amount of promise, “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna” totally fails to be anything more than yet another money-spinning product from the dream machines of the Yashraj-Johar factory—vacuous, body-beautiful, bookishly sentimental, full of sound and fury.
And yet, as Shakespeare would say—– signifying nothing
Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna was perhaps Karan’s best effort.The only complain I have was that the movie was stretched and was looong.But still it was better than Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham.