*Story*
Naina Catherine Kapur (Preity Zinta) lives in New York with her half-Punjabi, half-Catholic family. Her life is burdened with financial problems, bickering among family members, and memories of a dead father. She is a almost always grumpy and cynical, finding nothing to smile about. The only part of her life she likes is her friend Rohit (Saif Ali Khan) who is a fellow student in an MBA program.
Into this drab life of Naina's comes a waft of fresh air in the guise of Aman Mathur (Shah Rukh Khan). Aman, the eternal optimist is the anti-Naina. He invites himself into the homes and hearts of the residents of the cozy Indian neighborhood and eventually, into Naina's life as well. What they don't know is that Aman is harboring a painful secret.
The rest of the movie is about Aman, Naina and Rohit finding love, hope, happiness and ultimately the joy of living.
*Review*
The feeling I had as I left the theater can be best described as the feel of a woolly blanket on a chilly night. The woolly blanket in this case was around my heart. Kal Ho Naa Ho is by no means perfect. It has its share of illogical moments and cliched scenes. But while watching Indian films, one must get over such hurdles to appreciate them. Or like Naina, we'll be left criticizing everything in sight and forgetting to enjoy the moment. Also we must remember that although its important for the film industry to grow and evolve, its equally as important not to lose what is inherently our Indian identity which is apparent in the songs and the emotional quotient of hindi movies.
That said, for me Kal Ho Naa Ho will go down as one of my all time favorite movies. The performances were wonderful. Shah Rukh Khan gives another performance that will be remembered. He may not be the greatest actor who ever came out of Bombay, but he is one of the few who manages to create characters who seem so friendly and lovable, you would think of him as your own. No one else in the industry has this knack of creating an atmosphere of 'apnapan'. Preity Zinta as Naina is wonderful and a perfect choice for the role. I have no idea how Dharma productions even considered Kareena Kapoor for the role of Naina. Saif Ali Khan is also incredible. Rohit is very similar to Sameer in Dil Chahta Hai but with a lot more emotional depth. I don't care how many times Saif plays that character, I still love him for it and I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing it. Jaya Bachchan who plays Jenny, Naina's mother is incredible in this small role. This character is very real and you can really sympathize with her because of Mrs. Bachchan.
I was very disappointed with the music when it was first released. But the songs grew on me after watching them on screen. The title song is especially good as are Pretty Woman and Mahi Ve. Kuch To Hua hai is also much better on screen. Cinematography is wonderful, another aspect that makes this movie magical. Direction by Nikhil Advani is surprising to say the least. He did an excellent job bringing the story to life. And I will look forward to his next movie. It must have been hard for Karan Johar to give away his story, but Nikhil justified Karan's confidence in him and possibly made a better film than Karan might have. One of the many things I loved about the movie was that it was quite funny. Even during the dramatic moments, I was either laughing or smiling. The screenplay and the dialogues were excellent. Nikhil Advani must have a real talent for comic scenes because they were terrific.
And finally I'd like to commend Karan Johar for writing such a wonderful story with characters that are very down to earth and real. Even though I loved his previous films (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai & Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham), Kal Ho Naa Ho is definitely my favorite. I hope we get to experience many more of his wonderful stories that are hopefully made with SRK :) because they are the dream team. If I ever meet Karan Johar, I will shake his hand and give him a hug for creating such a heart warming film.
Naina Catherine Kapur (Preity Zinta) lives in New York with her half-Punjabi, half-Catholic family. Her life is burdened with financial problems, bickering among family members, and memories of a dead father. She is a almost always grumpy and cynical, finding nothing to smile about. The only part of her life she likes is her friend Rohit (Saif Ali Khan) who is a fellow student in an MBA program.
Into this drab life of Naina's comes a waft of fresh air in the guise of Aman Mathur (Shah Rukh Khan). Aman, the eternal optimist is the anti-Naina. He invites himself into the homes and hearts of the residents of the cozy Indian neighborhood and eventually, into Naina's life as well. What they don't know is that Aman is harboring a painful secret.
The rest of the movie is about Aman, Naina and Rohit finding love, hope, happiness and ultimately the joy of living.
*Review*
The feeling I had as I left the theater can be best described as the feel of a woolly blanket on a chilly night. The woolly blanket in this case was around my heart. Kal Ho Naa Ho is by no means perfect. It has its share of illogical moments and cliched scenes. But while watching Indian films, one must get over such hurdles to appreciate them. Or like Naina, we'll be left criticizing everything in sight and forgetting to enjoy the moment. Also we must remember that although its important for the film industry to grow and evolve, its equally as important not to lose what is inherently our Indian identity which is apparent in the songs and the emotional quotient of hindi movies.
That said, for me Kal Ho Naa Ho will go down as one of my all time favorite movies. The performances were wonderful. Shah Rukh Khan gives another performance that will be remembered. He may not be the greatest actor who ever came out of Bombay, but he is one of the few who manages to create characters who seem so friendly and lovable, you would think of him as your own. No one else in the industry has this knack of creating an atmosphere of 'apnapan'. Preity Zinta as Naina is wonderful and a perfect choice for the role. I have no idea how Dharma productions even considered Kareena Kapoor for the role of Naina. Saif Ali Khan is also incredible. Rohit is very similar to Sameer in Dil Chahta Hai but with a lot more emotional depth. I don't care how many times Saif plays that character, I still love him for it and I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing it. Jaya Bachchan who plays Jenny, Naina's mother is incredible in this small role. This character is very real and you can really sympathize with her because of Mrs. Bachchan.
I was very disappointed with the music when it was first released. But the songs grew on me after watching them on screen. The title song is especially good as are Pretty Woman and Mahi Ve. Kuch To Hua hai is also much better on screen. Cinematography is wonderful, another aspect that makes this movie magical. Direction by Nikhil Advani is surprising to say the least. He did an excellent job bringing the story to life. And I will look forward to his next movie. It must have been hard for Karan Johar to give away his story, but Nikhil justified Karan's confidence in him and possibly made a better film than Karan might have. One of the many things I loved about the movie was that it was quite funny. Even during the dramatic moments, I was either laughing or smiling. The screenplay and the dialogues were excellent. Nikhil Advani must have a real talent for comic scenes because they were terrific.
And finally I'd like to commend Karan Johar for writing such a wonderful story with characters that are very down to earth and real. Even though I loved his previous films (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai & Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham), Kal Ho Naa Ho is definitely my favorite. I hope we get to experience many more of his wonderful stories that are hopefully made with SRK :) because they are the dream team. If I ever meet Karan Johar, I will shake his hand and give him a hug for creating such a heart warming film.