Kal Ho Naa Ho (Nikhil Advani, 2004)
The first ten minutes of Kal Ho Naa Ho are a test. When I put the dvd on the other night, ready for what must be my third or fourth viewing of a film I remember loving, just getting through the opening was a struggle.
Because the introduction – setting up Naina (Preity Zinta) as an angry young woman with a miserable life, is pretty much the cheesiest most stilted melodrama ever. By the time it got to the point that Naina’s whole family (minus the evil grandmother) were praying together on the floor for an angel to bring light back into their lives (and BOOM, coincidence, their mysterious new neighbour’s bedroom light coincidentally flicked on JUST AS THEY WISHED FOR IT) I was rolling my eyes and thinking maybe I had been high on crack (KIDDING!) or really naïve when I watched KHNH first time round.
The family that prays together…um…prays together.
But the testing intro to the film really is that – a test. It’s asking you, the viewer:
“Are you in this for the right reasons? Are you willing to let us SHAMELESSLY MANIPULATE YOUR EMOTIONS for the next 3 hours? If you just want a garden-variety rom-com, go watch something with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan being cute. But look – if you submit to our blatant penchant for extravagant romance, melodrama and things that sometimes don’t make a bunch of sense, and you accept it because this movie is pure indulgence, then look what we will give you as your first reward…”
Who wouldn’t want THIS?
Shahrukh stars as the aforementioned ‘angel’ Aman,(but he’s not LITERALLY an angel, he’s just an ordinary guy – don’t make the mistake I did first time round and be all like “Wait…what?”) who tries to change the unhappy life of Naina (Priety Zinta) and her only friend, Rohit (Saif Ali Khan) by making them fall in love. The predictable complication arises when Naina falls for Aman instead (because seriously – who wouldn’t? IT’S SHAHRUKH KHAN, COME ON. Plus have you seen how much eyeliner Saifu is wearing in this film?).
Okay, so , this picture doesn’t illustrate the eyeliner situation that well, but ehhhh…it’s Saifu! Before the unfortunate bandannas and back when he could still move his face!
Basically, if, like me, you:
- love Shahrukh Khan in all his guises (romantic Rukhie, forceful manly Rukhie, Punjabi-dancing Rukhie, heartbroken crying stoic Rukhie, dimply cheeky impish Rukhie…they all appear…AND MORE!)
- are willing to suspend your disbelief or turn off your inner snark regarding the fact that certain events are extremely improbable or implausible
- love movies that shamelessly urge you to cry until your nose is all stuffed up
This is what I look like for roughly 50% of the film.
then I urge you to see Kal Ho Naa Ho. It’s ROMANTIC AND HEARTBREAKING AND FUNNY AND SAD and what more could you ask for on VALENTINE’S DAY?!
OTHER THINGS KHNH HAS GOING FOR IT
– Classic love triangle! Rohit loves Naina but Naina loves Aman! (and Aman might love Rohit…)
– I’m a sucker for the “falling in love” songs in Hindi films, and Kuch To Hua Hai has been one of my favourites for a long time. Every single time I watch KHNH, I start crying at the exact same place in the film – during this song, when Preity and Saif are waltzing by themselves. GETS ME EVERY TIME.
– SRK (who has the most expressive face in the world) uses every expression ever invented and some that have NO NAMES:
– Special guest appearances! I won’t spoil the good ones for you but there was one cameo I had NEVER noticed before:
UDAY! He pops up in the most unlikely places!
– KHNH does 2 things that I absolutely adore in Hindi films: 1) that thing where it delays letting you see the face of the star of the film for ages (in KHNH we spend 10 minutes SRK-less and then see the back of his head like 20 times before the glorious reveal); 2) a key scene on a train or at a train station (in this case, at a train station). I love when Hindi movies have a train in them in some form. I don’t know why.
Shahrukh Is Love 
Loved the write-up! that thing where it delays letting you see the face of the star of the film for ages I loooove that! K3G, KHNH and KANK all get extra brownie points for inventive ways of delaying the apperance of the hero. But KHNH is my favorite by far, because it's like 10 minutes of Shah running his hands through his hair….what can be better than that?
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*SPOILERS*Ohhh this movie. I have such a love-hate relationship with it. I know there's a place for KJo melodrama and you have to just go with it, but by the end of this movie, I was like, “Will you please just hurry up and die?” …That being said, Kuch To Hua Hai is one of my favorite songs – the lyrics are ADORABLE, especially the “Cheezein mein rakh ke bhool jaati hoon, bekhayali mein gungunati hoon, ab akele mein muskurati hoon” (I forget about things I'm holding in my hands, lost in thoughts I'm humming to myself, While alone, I smile to myself” – SO CUTE and so exactly how we are when we're in lowwe.But again the colors, the fun, the songs! It's like how I feel about Mohabbatein and K3G. Love-hate.
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Man o man, you nailed it. I hadn't realized it but you're absolutely right about the test metaphor. There's a part of me that hates the shameless tearjerkery of the heroine's cruddy circumstances and relentless goodness, altruism and smile thru tragedy stance of the hero. The other part of me cries like a toddler with a boo boo at the SRK song that has him on top of the bridge. Oh dear, how I cry.In the end, I think you're right. If you're willing to suspend cynicism, this film is a homerun of sentiment. And I agree. It's SRK expiring beautifully. How can you go wrong with that?
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