Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham -- Through Happiness, Through Sadness

MAIN CAST

Shahrukh Khan -- Rahul

Hrithik Roshan -- Rohan

Kareena Kapoor -- Poo

Kajol -- Anjali

Amitabh Bachchan -- Yash

Jaya Bachchan -- Nandini

BRIEF PLOT OVERVIEW:

Rohan has often wondered what happened to Rahul, his adopted brother, who disappeared from his life 10 years ago. Finally, his grandmothers reveal the awful truth: Rahul married a girl from a lower caste, so Yash disowned him. Rohan swears he will put his family back together and decides to search for his brother and sister-in-law in London.

FILM -- 4/5

If you like color and composition, this movie blows you away from the beginning. K3G is Bollywood at its best, full of bright colors, beautiful dances, witty dialogue--especially from Kajol and Shahrukh Khan--and emotional moments that will have you laughing and crying throughout the entire film. It's a damn long film, however, and Karan Johar does what he's most famous for: he bogs it down with unnecessary scenes and sequences, just to add more to the "prettiness" factor. K3G is still a great movie, but it could have been a 2 1/2 hour great movie rather than this somewhat tedious 3+ hour adventure. The costuming is excellent and really fits the characters! There's also some amazing choreography, like the traditional sequences in "Say Shava Shava" and Hrithik Roshan's fluid movements in "You Are My Sohniyan." In typical Karan Johar style, there are some truly lush and beautiful scenes; you can't help but tear up when Nandini throws open the doors of her house at the end of "Bole Chudiyan."

CHARACTERS -- 4/5

The acting is relatively superb, which is no surprise given the star-studded cast. Amitabh Bachchan is especially spectacular in his role as the stern, traditional father figure; Kajol readily matches him as an upbeat, excessively proud Indian citizen from a lower caste who probably is (as her husband describes her) a little "crazy." The minor pitfall is Hrithik Roshan, whose physical charms usually mask moments were he acts stiff and rehearsed, while Kareena Kapoor manages to turn what could have been K3G's funniest character in to an over-exaggerated pubescent girl with little comedic timing. In all fairness, Kareena does have her bright moments, though those are few and far between, and Hrithik is believable when he isn't talking at 60mph. Also, he's a friggin' incredible dancer! I don't think anybody in this millenium can match him. I like Jaya Bachchan, but I never thought she was an awesome actress; she's kind of "meh" in my opinion, although she's got some absolutely amazing facial expressions and a great grasp of body language. Johnny Lever leads the supporting cast in a role that is surprisingly not-very-annoying.

MUSIC -- 5/5

Without a doubt, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham has one of the catchiest soundtracks in modern Bollywood. The title song is beautiful, as are its two "sad" reprises, and "Suraj Hua Madham" mixes themes of sensuality and eternity beautifully. (And you get a short snippet of the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai title melody!) The real gems of the soundtrack, however, are the dance tracks; "Say Shava Shava" is an instant favorite with almost every viewer, while songs like "Bole Chudiyan" quickly grow on you. I didn't like the updated "Vande Mantram," and it doesn't hurt that it was a completely unnecessary sequence. (Once again, this is Karan Johar, so I kind of expected unnecessary sequences.) One of my favorite songs from this film is "Yeh Ladki Hai Allah," which is really playful and is picturized on the wonderful SRK/Kajol jodi. The "spirt of" song for this soundtrack is called "Soul K3G," and it's a very nice medley. This soundtrack remains a favorite on my top 50 list and is often a prominent member of my top 10 list, depending on my mood that day.

OVERALL -- 4/5

K3G flew to the top of my favorite films list as soon as the credits started to roll, although I did notice that the first half of the film (which focuses mainly on Rahul and Anjali) is better than the second half (which follows numerous plot threads, some more interesting than others). One of my favorite things about this movie is that even non-Bollywood fans will probably enjoy it due to its accessible script, colorful presentation, and ridiculously catchy music, provided they can sit through 3 hours of KJo-ness. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is a movie you either love to hate or love to death (as a trip to the BollyWHAT forums will show you), and I follow the latter group. Give K3G a rental and decide for yourself.

TOTAL SCORE -- 17/20 (great)