(Since the published version appeared today with major cuts, here’s the writer’s cut)
Slow Poison
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Amitabh Bachchan
Director: Karan Johar
Storyline: Dev and Maya fall in love. But wait, they are married. Not to each other.
Bottomline: Karan tries to sugarcoat a bitter-pill, manufactures slow poison.
Shyam Benegal, during the International Film Festival of India last year, observed that Indian filmmakers start out with something that caught their attention from Hollywood, and in the process of setting it in the Indian context, end up making something that has no resemblance whatsoever to the original.
KANK has a few resemblances though. If `Closer’ is about two American women in London, KANK is about two Indian women in New York. KANK too begins with a literally accidental meeting and gets into the thick of drama when an angry husband asks his wife if she slept with her secret lover.
Anna: “Don’t do this.”
Larry: “Just answer the question! Is he good?”
Anna: “Yes.”
Larry: “Better than me?”
But for these two scenes that give you a deja vu of Mike Nichols’ Closer (starring Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen) and the premise of two couples whose lives get inter-twined, the rest of KANK is a fairly original screenplay, which sees Johar take a couple of steps away from his first two melodramatic (yet effective) outings.
The sensibility in this is more restrained (it’s ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ more than ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,’) as we see Johar attempting a more mature representation of adults and relationships. Though he manages to achieve that well in the key confrontation scenes, you never get a ‘Closer,’ realistic look at the complexity of relationships.
The trappings of the Karan Johar candy-floss fantasy genre give little room for real characters and realistic situations.
The chance encounters between the characters are so many that you will wonder if all of New York City bumps into the other, and in pairs. The predictable stock of much mush, corn and contrived situations trademarked by the Johars and Chopras makes it all the more difficult to digest..
<!– D([“mb”,” \nSample: Rhea tells Maya: "Dev ko vaapas karo" (when she\’s just referring to a\nphotograph of Dev that Maya is taking with her). \nPreity Zinta as Rhea and Abhishek Bachchan as Rishi are backed by well-etched\nout roles, come out of the film with their heads held high. While Preity\nbreathes life even into what could have been a tough stereotype, Abhishek\nBachchan in the best-written role in the film steals every frame, along with\nhis player-father Sam (Amitabh Bachchan) introduced into the film purely for\ncomic relief and the mandatory patriarchal advice.
\n\n\n
Shah Rukh Khan looks appropriately tired mouthing similar\nlines to similar characters in similar movies. But this time, his tired,\ncynical look is probably intentional as the King Khan plays Dev, a bad loser in\nlove with a self-centred school-teacher Maya (Rani Mukerji)
\n\n\n
\n\n\n
American society is known to be more progressive and yet the\nHollywood take on the same subject chose to take a more punitive angle on\ninfidelity.
\nThe tagline for Closer goes: If you believe in love at first sight, you never\nstop looking.
\nCloser is a microscopic examination of the complexity of relationships and infidelity,\nbut with a righteous sense of morality. It underscores the importance of\ncommitment and addresses that in the conversation when Dan confesses to Alice.
\nDan: "I fell in love with her, Alice."
\nAlive: "Oh, as if you had no choice? There\’s a moment, there\’s always a moment,\n\’I can do this, I can give into this, or I can resist it\’, and I don\’t know\nwhen your moment was, but I yet there was one."
\nIn KANK, though the lines paint them as selfishly human, the visuals and the\nscore project them as poor innocent people who had no choice but to fall in\nlove. The cinematic grammar including the star iconography associated with\nKaran Johar\’s brand of cinema ensure that this bitter-pill of a love story is\ndistastefully sugar-coated.
\n\n\n
The director ends up sanctioning infidelity just because\nShah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee cannot be shown as the villains of the piece.”,1] ); //–>Sample: Rhea tells Maya: “Dev ko vaapas karo” (when she’s just referring to a photograph of Dev that Maya is taking with her).
Preity Zinta as Rhea and Abhishek Bachchan as Rishi are backed by well-etched out roles, come out of the film with their heads held high. While Preity breathes life even into what could have been a tough stereotype, Abhishek Bachchan in the best-written role in the film steals every frame, along with his player-father Sam (Amitabh Bachchan) introduced into the film purely for comic relief and the mandatory patriarchal advice.
Shah Rukh Khan looks appropriately tired mouthing similar lines to similar characters in similar movies. But this time, his tired, cynical look is probably intentional as the King Khan plays Dev, a bad loser in love with a self-centred school-teacher Maya (Rani Mukerji)
American society is known to be more progressive and yet the Hollywood take on the same subject chose to take a more punitive angle on infidelity.
The tagline for Closer goes: If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking.
Closer is a microscopic examination of the complexity of relationships and infidelity, but with a righteous sense of morality. It underscores the importance of commitment and addresses that in the conversation when Dan confesses to Alice.
Dan: “I fell in love with her, Alice.”
Alive: “Oh, as if you had no choice? There’s a moment, there’s always a moment, ‘I can do this, I can give into this, or I can resist it’, and I don’t know when your moment was, but I yet there was one.”
In KANK, though the lines paint them as selfishly human, the visuals and the score project them as poor innocent people who had no choice but to fall in love. The cinematic grammar including the star iconography associated with Karan Johar’s brand of cinema ensure that this bitter-pill of a love story is distastefully sugar-coated.
The director ends up sanctioning infidelity just because Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee cannot be shown as the villains of the piece.
<!– D([“mb”,” \nThe fact that screenwriters Shibani Bhatija and Karan Johar flesh out Preity\’s\nand Abhishek\’s roles well enough works to the film\’s disadvantage because you\nKNOW that they both were true and loyal to their partners and left no room for\ncomplaints.
\n\n\n
If you are to get into Dev\’s or Maya\’s pants, then no\nrelationship is perfect.
\n\n\n
It is that unjustified act of infidelity that will make KANK\none of the most-discussed films of the year. How sacred is a committed\nrelationship and the institution of marriage? When do you know when to give up\nwhen things are not working and till when do you try to work it out?
\nThat\’s also where KANK succeeds. It breaks certain stereotypes.
\nThe cheaters were not in love with each other before they got married to\nsomeone else.
\nThey did not fall in love because they had evil husbands or wives who cheated\non them, they fell in love because they were plain selfish and self-centred.
\nThe cheaters though played by SRK and Rani are no heroes.
\n\n\n
Despite the inherent flaw that Karan Johar tries to salvage\nthem from the depths they\’ve fallen into by giving them refuge in "a love\nthat broke all relationships" story, KANK, unlike \’Closer,\’ is not about\nmorality. It\’s about vulnerability.
\nIn \’Closer,\’ infidelity is wrong. In KANK, it\’s human.
\n\’Closer\’ does not forgive cheaters. KANK is more kind.
\n\’Closer\’ is so dark, real. KANK sugarcoats it, makes it DISTANT.
\n\n\n
eom
\n\n\n
MADRAS INK. 
Jeez….
I watched KANK this morning minus asprin!!
Big mistake!
This movie is against “bharatiya sankriti”. They should ban it 😉 Where is the moral police?
hi sudhish kamath
am a regular reader of your reviews , enjoyed this review too. but i feel that this review is more of personal opinion about the concept than the actual movie.
this is my personal opinion , that’s all 🙂
–
jvpoirot
initially i thought not to read any spoilers b4 watching KANK but…could not resist!
nice write up:)
hi sudhish kamath. just started reading your blog. good stuff you have here. keep it up. and about KANK… plain trashy. KJ tried so hard to justify SRK and RM that i hated them. they just can’t make india’s sweet hearts look bad can they? the far superior closer made the same mistake with julia( america’s sweetheart)roberts’ role.
and whats up with everybody bumping into everybody? they should have bumped into the black beast while they were at it. cos then we would have less lousy characters to deal with.
i just spent my last 10 bucks on this movie. i have a bad taste in my mouth, don’t know if its the movie or my gastric juice.
Hey,
nice review – very balanced…liked it much, much better than the one in rediff (which, to me sounded way too acerbic).
Shelob.
ps – when is ‘tflw’ and ‘jillunnu oru kaadhal’ hitting the screens? want to see both before we leave…
Ok, so Johar boy has grown up to make more mature movies?! Hope I don’t have to cry myself to sleep tonight after watching the movie for wasting the 10 bucks I’ve paid booking the tickets..
Its a story about two losers who fall in love. It sucked! Karan Johar should stop making his characters cry so much.
you kind of made this movie sound good…from what I heard this movie is not worth this decent a review…same as all johar films; strictly ‘unwatchable’…so what he chose to remake Closer…he didn’t have the balls to stick to that one’s intensity!
Maybe Karan Johar as part of the cast(as SRK’s secret love interest) would’ve spiced it up! 😀
PS: Saw City Of God..makes Pudupettai seems like a wannabe!!Namma oorula why dont they make flicks like this ?!!
This one is a unrelated comment..but I just wanted to thank you for the writeup “The Son rises in the west” 🙂
hey…guess what I saw this movie today…unbearable that it was…but most of all…I thought I could have sat through that movie with someone else instead of SRK…someone please shoot him…or at least shave off those ugly things called eyebrows on his face that he keeps twisting at wierd angles!…and football for forty plus…haha give me a break!
Why was SRK’s and Rani’s “affair” a mere act of infedility?? I’d assumed KJ’d direct it better being the God of Luv for quite sometime now!! Disappointing…tho different!
In other words, do you mean this movie, just like most other bollywood flicks helps you get out of that emotional let down.. Hilarious with absolutely no intention of being so?
I would love to read a review of ‘The Killer’.. Yet another blatant rip-off of hollywood movies.. ‘Collateral’ to be specific..
Actually, I’d just think everyone should watch the movie.. It would be a spoof all by itself.. Watching Imran Hashmi come out of the ‘party 24×7, ladies’ man’ image & into the shoes of a scared taxi driver (Jamie Foxx) should be a treat enough for the viewers!!
Nice blog you have here..
Cheers!
I saw KANK yday. Its the first movie that has made me want to bash my head against a nail-studded wall as an alternative to watching it again.3 hours and 45 minutes felt like three years, and i wanted to throw rotten guavas at the screen. The characters (barring maybe abhishek bachchan) are all idiots, half the film is superfluous, and I am going to be sending letter bombs to all people involved in the making of this misery. Plus the clothes were all camp, as if all the characters were actually karan johar in bad disguises. Your review is considered and well-written, but its written for a better film than KANK can ever hope to be.
Saar,
Closer was crisp..KANK? After such a loong drive u come otu of theatrer and start searchign for ur grandkids..Do advice the readers tot ake patience along.
http://www.sunsuna.com/new/top100/
Ur 65 in the Indian blogosphere. 🙂
Just saw the movie this morning…it wasn’t bad…abhishek was awesome…and priety was gud too…
while coming out my friend jus woudn’t stop talkin bout the movie…he was even asking for a KANK-2…he made the story line too…SRK and Rani married…Abhishek and Priety married (don’t ask me how) and thn SRK and Priety fall in love again and Rani and Abhishek fall in love too….
orey the comedy…
Karthik
sudhish,
The piece on KANK today in Metro was great!
Cheers
Sholob
Sudhish , I have been wanting to ask you this
How do you pronounce Shonali’s surname? Mudhalali ? as in Mudhalali, tozhilali types..
Romba mandai kudaiyudu
there was no magic between srk and rani! they were just hopeless losers! loved abishek in the move tho…
I saw this movie in usa. Thought it was housefull after about 3 hrs, ppl started walkin gout of the theatre. It was plain unbearable. Donno how they call it a hit in India. for the first time i hated Shahrukh.
Not watched the movie yet! But really liked the way you had written against immorality! In today’s world no relationship’s strong enough to shirk away from temptations! And movies like this may just be encouragement! Well, will watch the movie and give a better picture! 🙂 brilliantly written, as usual! 🙂
it was such a bad movie.. can’t believe its from the same guy who made kuch kuch hota hai… it would have been more convincing if abhishek and preity had cheated on their spouses.. i think both srk and rani’s characters were such selfish and irritating characters…. if i were preity i would have broken srk’s other leg too….
I am just surprised, what the moral police of tamilnadu doing? I mean seriously, they are talking about extra- marital affairs! Shiva, shiva!!
And you know whats the worst part, SRK as a football player. for heaven’s sake, in NY?!!!
PS – Is Karan Johar gay? I saw only one of his interviews, just curious:)
The Conscience
one helluva chootiya film, pardon my joharrage. and so so unending.
U gotto watch We The People on NDTV on sunday at 8:00. I’ve seen it on friday. I think he said it all.
very good review.
but i wud rather watch unfaithful where she does it because she wants ‘it’. at least diane lane is hot
Candyfloss Emotions. This is KJo’s attempt to give an impression that he wants to make movies with no “Archie” College Settings or crappy “Indian culture” sentiments.
Well, what still remains true is that this chickflick is as superfluous it gets and goes further in demonstrating that the house of “Karan Chopra Johar Barjatyas” are totally incapable of producing anything more intelligent than the “Kabhi Humaaare Tumaaare Koun Hain Dil Sanam Mohabbat Na Kehna” movies.
Its time KJo confirms the obvious and gets married to SRK and “settles” down with Sindoor on his Ma Huang. As for Gauri, well lucky girl…how many “modern” women can have such a great chance to escape !!!
Liked your review.
My friend who is a die-hard fan of Karan Johar & SRK movies didnt like KANK.
Karan Johar did a mistake by challenging his fan base (which is still under the influence of Kabhi Khusi..)
The movie was a typical Karan Johar. A 1 hr 30 mins movie stretched beyond any recognizable limits. Yuck. I never managed to understand why Rani’s character fell in love with Sh-sh-sharukh… Eh perhaps becasue he wasn’t her husband and you must have an affair with someone outside marriage to qualify for infidelity! Or perhaps simply because it was in the senseless script… Although the theme was worth debating the script ruined it all.
best