Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is a typical overwrought Bollywood
melodrama, featuring a sloppy, hackneyed, and highly improbable plot,
gratuitous comic relief to pad out the three hour running time, endless
song and dance numbers filmed in a foreign country (Scotland rather than
Switzerland this time), two predictable love triangles, and far, far
too much weeping. It’s also one of the best Hindi films I’ve ever
seen, and an all-around brilliant film, whatever the language.
Tina Khanna (Rani Mukherjee) is on her death-bed. She summons her mother in law (Farida Jalal) and gives her a stack of letters; they’re to be given to her newborn daughter Anjali, one on each birthday.
We meet Anjali (Sana Saeed, and from now on I’ll call her Little Anjali, for reasons which will soon become apparent) one day before her eighth birthday. Little Anjali is bright, spunky, and charming. She clearly loves her father Rahul (Shahrukh Khan), and he clearly adores her, but . . . something’s missing. She wants a mother.
Little Anjali is finally given her eighth letter, in which Tina relates the story of how she and Rahul first met. (Cue flashback!) Rahul is a cocky student at the highly idealized St. Xavier’s College. His best friend is the spunky tomboy Anjali (Kajol); it’s a close but platonic friendship, with the pair bickering over basketball, making up, and then casually discussing Rahul’s love life (and Anjali’s lack of one.) Rahul plays the field, but he’s waiting for that one special person to enter his life . . . soon after that discussion, Tina enters his life. She’s sexy, sophisticated, and very, very feminine. Rahul falls hard, and he pulls out his usual bag of tricks to woo Tina, only to fail dismally.
The very resourceful Rahul tries again, this time as Sensitive Guy. In a classroom discussion, he declares that “Love is Friendship”, and that he wants a woman to be his best friend first, then his love. It works, as Tina melts a little. Surprisingly, Anjali does as well; she realizes that her feelings for Rahul are not so platonic after all, but she doesn’t know what to do. She’s stuck in the “friend zone” with Rahul, and her attempts to be pretty and feminine end in humiliating failure. Finally Anjali decides to confess her love, but before she can, Rahul drags her aside to practice his confession of love to Tina. Heartbroken, Anjali leaves school and heads for home. Rahul and Tina rush to the train station to find out why, but Anjali won’t tell. Rahul turns away in disgust, but Tina realizes that she’s come between two people who really love each other.
In her final letter, Tina begs Little Anjali to find her namesake, and reunite her with Rahul. Little Anjali recruits her grandparents, and sets out on her mission.
Meanwhile, Big Anjali has transformed from Ugly Duckling to Swan; she’s demure, very traditionally Indian, and very feminine. She’s also recently engaged to Aman (Salman Khan). The wedding is delayed for months (thanks to divine intervention prayed for by Little Anjali), and so she heads off to her summer job teaching singing and dancing at a children’s camp run by the Britain-obsessed Colonel Almeida (Johnny Lever). Little Anjali gets herself enrolled in the camp, then tricks her father into following her, and then . . . well, it’s a romance. You can probably guess the rest.
It’s a cheesy premise at best, and yet the film doesn’t just avoid disaster, it manages to be a great movie. Surprisingly, the writing is a large part of the film’s success. The plot may seem odd, but the characters are well-drawn (especially Anjali), and the dialogue is sharp. Premise aside, the plot is also well-crafted , with subtle use of foreshadowing, dramatic irony, and all that jazz.
The acting is also first rate. Much has been made by other reviewers of the chemistry between Shahrukh and Kajol, and it is palpable, but the entire cast shares great chemistry. The supporting cast features several Gorilla’s Lament favorites, including Johnny Lever, Farida Jalal, Reema Lagoo, and Anupam Kher. Everyone is given something to do, and everyone plays off one another well. In particular, Farida Jalal and Johnny Lever have a great comic rapport, and Salman Khan and Reema Lagoo play off one another nicely. It was a personal pleasure to see Everybody’s Mom and Everybody’s Other Mom sharing the screen, as well.
The songs and choreography were both wonderful. The cinematography and set and costume design were as well; the use of color in the film is at times stunning.
While the premise may strain your suspension of disbelief, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is strongly rooted in character, and it makes perfect sense given who these people are and the cinematic universe that they inhabit. If you like Bollywood and haven’t seen KKHH, go rent it. And if you’re curious about Bollywood, this is a great film to start with.
Tina Khanna (Rani Mukherjee) is on her death-bed. She summons her mother in law (Farida Jalal) and gives her a stack of letters; they’re to be given to her newborn daughter Anjali, one on each birthday.
We meet Anjali (Sana Saeed, and from now on I’ll call her Little Anjali, for reasons which will soon become apparent) one day before her eighth birthday. Little Anjali is bright, spunky, and charming. She clearly loves her father Rahul (Shahrukh Khan), and he clearly adores her, but . . . something’s missing. She wants a mother.
Little Anjali is finally given her eighth letter, in which Tina relates the story of how she and Rahul first met. (Cue flashback!) Rahul is a cocky student at the highly idealized St. Xavier’s College. His best friend is the spunky tomboy Anjali (Kajol); it’s a close but platonic friendship, with the pair bickering over basketball, making up, and then casually discussing Rahul’s love life (and Anjali’s lack of one.) Rahul plays the field, but he’s waiting for that one special person to enter his life . . . soon after that discussion, Tina enters his life. She’s sexy, sophisticated, and very, very feminine. Rahul falls hard, and he pulls out his usual bag of tricks to woo Tina, only to fail dismally.
The very resourceful Rahul tries again, this time as Sensitive Guy. In a classroom discussion, he declares that “Love is Friendship”, and that he wants a woman to be his best friend first, then his love. It works, as Tina melts a little. Surprisingly, Anjali does as well; she realizes that her feelings for Rahul are not so platonic after all, but she doesn’t know what to do. She’s stuck in the “friend zone” with Rahul, and her attempts to be pretty and feminine end in humiliating failure. Finally Anjali decides to confess her love, but before she can, Rahul drags her aside to practice his confession of love to Tina. Heartbroken, Anjali leaves school and heads for home. Rahul and Tina rush to the train station to find out why, but Anjali won’t tell. Rahul turns away in disgust, but Tina realizes that she’s come between two people who really love each other.
In her final letter, Tina begs Little Anjali to find her namesake, and reunite her with Rahul. Little Anjali recruits her grandparents, and sets out on her mission.
Meanwhile, Big Anjali has transformed from Ugly Duckling to Swan; she’s demure, very traditionally Indian, and very feminine. She’s also recently engaged to Aman (Salman Khan). The wedding is delayed for months (thanks to divine intervention prayed for by Little Anjali), and so she heads off to her summer job teaching singing and dancing at a children’s camp run by the Britain-obsessed Colonel Almeida (Johnny Lever). Little Anjali gets herself enrolled in the camp, then tricks her father into following her, and then . . . well, it’s a romance. You can probably guess the rest.
It’s a cheesy premise at best, and yet the film doesn’t just avoid disaster, it manages to be a great movie. Surprisingly, the writing is a large part of the film’s success. The plot may seem odd, but the characters are well-drawn (especially Anjali), and the dialogue is sharp. Premise aside, the plot is also well-crafted , with subtle use of foreshadowing, dramatic irony, and all that jazz.
The acting is also first rate. Much has been made by other reviewers of the chemistry between Shahrukh and Kajol, and it is palpable, but the entire cast shares great chemistry. The supporting cast features several Gorilla’s Lament favorites, including Johnny Lever, Farida Jalal, Reema Lagoo, and Anupam Kher. Everyone is given something to do, and everyone plays off one another well. In particular, Farida Jalal and Johnny Lever have a great comic rapport, and Salman Khan and Reema Lagoo play off one another nicely. It was a personal pleasure to see Everybody’s Mom and Everybody’s Other Mom sharing the screen, as well.
The songs and choreography were both wonderful. The cinematography and set and costume design were as well; the use of color in the film is at times stunning.
While the premise may strain your suspension of disbelief, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is strongly rooted in character, and it makes perfect sense given who these people are and the cinematic universe that they inhabit. If you like Bollywood and haven’t seen KKHH, go rent it. And if you’re curious about Bollywood, this is a great film to start with.
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