Review of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) by Ganeshp. — 16 Aug 2006

OK, first the positives: Great-looking stars, some catchy music, many laugh-out-loud comic situations and dialogues (especially in the first half), very good cinematography and some moments of great acting, especially by Abhishek Bachchan.

But then, on to the negatives: An extremely weak storyline and main characters who aren't very believable. What can one say? Karan Johar's interview before the movie's release should have given the game away.

The director's philosophy is that there is a soulmate out there for everyone, and one can only be happy by marrying that person. It's a rather naive view, for it implies that there is no need to work at a marriage (i.

E., to have the courage to change oneself) because there is someone out there who is tailor-made for you! With such a juvenile philosophy driving the plot, it's little wonder that the story fails to convince or evoke sympathy for the two main protagonists.

The character of Rani Mukherji is especially weak because she has everything in her marriage - a rich and handsome husband who is also devoted, loving and kind. It's hard to believe that love could not have grown in four years, even if the marriage only began with platonic friendship.

But then, the director claims not to understand arranged marriages, so the possibility of love growing in a marriage has obviously not occurred to him. Ultimately, that's the main weakness in this movie.

The director is trying to preach a philosophy to the audience instead of just telling an entertaining story. And when that philosophy is half-baked, the movie falls far short of greatness, in spite of its many strong positives.