| Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna |
|
| Directed by | Karan Johar |
| Produced by | Hiroo Johar |
| Written by | Karan Johar Shibani Bathija Niranjan Iyengar |
| Starring | Shahrukh Khan Rani Mukerji Preity Zinta Abhishek Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan Kirron Kher |
| Music by | Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy |
| Cinematography | Anil Mehta |
| Editing by | Sanjay Sankla |
| Distributed by | Dharma Productions Yash Raj Films |
| Release date(s) | 11 August 2006 |
| Running time | 194 mins |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi English |
| Budget | $18 million[citation needed] |
| Gross revenue | $25,229,168 (worldwide) INR 104.67 crores[1] |
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (Devanagari: कभी अलविदा न कहना, English: Never Say Good Bye) is a 2006 Bollywood film directed by Karan Johar and produced under the Dharma Productions banner. Released on 11 August 2006 in India and North America, it stars Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan and Kirron Kher in pivotal roles. The film is commonly known as KANK.
Set and mostly filmed in New York City, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is a romantic drama film which explores themes of adultery and extramarital affairs. Although its earnings in India waned at the box office after the first week of release,[2] the film was a success internationally and in the United States it became the highest grossing Indian film of all time, beating Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham's five year old record. In the United States it grossed over $1.3 million and $1.4 million in the United Kingdom on its opening weekend and was screened in over 1,200 cinemas worldwide.[3] The film has grossed $3,275,444 in the US market and $17,500,000 from the Indian screens for a worldwide total of $25,229,168.[1]
The film was nominated for numerous awards and actor Abhishek Bachchan won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award and GIFA Best Supporting Actor Award amongst others with Rani Mukerji winning the IIFA Best Actress Award for their performances in the film.
The film was shown at the Tokyo International Film Festival. The script of the film which received recognition by a number of critics, was invited to be included in the library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[4]
Contents |
Dev Saran (Shahrukh Khan), a successful football player, is unhappily married to Rhea (Preity Zinta), a hard-working woman who has a high-flying job with a fashion-magazine company. They have a son named Arjun. Reserved schoolteacher Maya (Rani Mukherjee) is about to marry her childhood friend Rishi Talwar (Abhishek Bachchan). Samarjit a.k.a "Sexy Sam" (Amitabh Bachchan) is Rishi's dad, and Kamaljit (Kirron Kher) plays the peppy mom to Dev.
Dev happens to meet Maya right before her wedding, and despite being strangers, they connect instantly. The connection between the two remains a glowing spark that re-ignites when they meet four years later.
During those four years, Dev, who had signed a contract for $5 million to play professional football, has been hit by a car, an accident that leaves him crippled and ends his football career. Rhea takes it upon herself to look after the family, leaving Dev embittered. So when Maya meets Dev the next time, he is bitter - his failed career and failing marriage are festering wounds to which his wife Rhea's professional success acts as rubbing salt. In the Talwar home, things are no better - Maya still does not feel any love for Rishi and feels guilty for her inability to have children.
Dev and Maya realize that their situations are similar and decide to help each other repair their breaking marriages. Things do not work quite as expected however, and they become more and more drawn to each other. At the same time, Rishi and Rhea are working to keep their marriages afloat and are willing to see hope in even the smallest, most innocuous signs from their partners. However, their efforts are insignificant in the face of Maya and Dev's intense unhappiness in their marriages and their growing love for each other.
Dev and Maya give in to a dreamy, coffee-drenched romance and realize they have fallen in love. However, when Dev is about to give flowers to Maya, he sees Rhea and gives them to her so she does not see Maya. He saves one rose for Maya. She takes the rose home and Rishi sees it and Maya gives it to him. Rhea and Rishi now think that their partners really love them and are happy. But after an incident at the ballet that makes Dev intensely jealous, they realize they now feel like they are cheating on each other with their own spouses. This realization brings them to a dramatic point of no return and they sleep together. Shortly afterward, they are caught in an embrace outside the train station by Sam and Kamaljeet.
Sam, having lived the good life for a long, long time ultimately has to bear the punishment of all his excesses - he has a fatal heart attack and as he lies on his death bed, he gives Maya some unconventional advice: he tells her to leave his son Rishi since neither of them are happy in their marriage.
Things come to a head and Dev and Maya decide to leave each other and return to their partners. But this re-union will not be without honesty, so they come clean and confess their extramarital affair. Rishi and Rhea decide that enough is enough and end their marriages - this does not mean that Maya and Dev come together however. They only speak to each other on the phone, and lie to each other, saying that all is well in their marriages!
Three years later, Rishi goes to meet Maya and invites her to his wedding. There Rhea sees Maya for the first time in three years and realizes that she and Rishi were not together as she thought. The news that Dev is still alone, combined with some prodding from Rishi and Rhea convinces Maya to run after Dev. Dev is about to catch a train to Canada when he sees Maya. He hides from her because he has told Maya earlier that he was happy with Rhea and he thinks that she is happily married to Rishi. However, Maya finds him in his seat a few seconds before his train leaves the station. He uses the emergency brakes to get out to meet her. Realising how alone the two have been, Dev proposes to Maya and she accepts.
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna was directed and written by Karan Johar who collaborated with Shibani Bathija to write the actual screenplay, and Niranjan Iyengar produced the dialogue. Produced by Dharma Productions, the soundtrack to the film was performed by the musical trio, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with lyrics written by Javed Akhtar. Farah Khan was brought in to organize the choreographical aspects of the film, with costume designer Manish Malhotra, production designer Sharmishta Roy and MAC cosmetics all playing a role in production.
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is set in New York City, while many of the scenes were filmed nearby in East Hartford and New Haven in Connecticut. The soccer game scene was filmed at Rentschler Field, the home of the UConn Huskies football team. In several scenes, a light 'UConn' can be seen on the field. The majority of the Grand Central Station scenes were actually filmed at New Haven's Union Station and Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. It was filmed over a 90 day shooting period in the USA but a few scenes were shot on 4 large sets in Mumbai's studios.[5]
Like previous Karan Johar movies (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kal Ho Na Ho), Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna has a four-word title that starts with 'K'. The screenplay was co-written with Shibani Bathija.
Kajol was initially offered the role of Maya Talwar. When she refused, the role was passed on to Rani Mukerji who was supposed to play Preity Zinta's part. Ritesh Deshmukh originally had a guest appearance in this film, but his scene was cut during the editing process.
| Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna | ||||
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| Studio album by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy | ||||
| Released |
16 June 2006 (India)
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| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 42:07 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy | |||
| Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy chronology | ||||
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The music of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna was launched in the United Kingdom on 12 June 2006 and was officially released in India on 16 June 2006 along with a grand music launch at the IIFA Awards function in Dubai.
| Track # | Song | Singer(s) | Duration | Picturised on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna | Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik | 8.03 | Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan |
| 2 | Mitwa | Shafqat Amanat Ali, Shankar Mahadevan, Caralisa | 6.22 | Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji |
| 3 | Where's The Party Tonight | Shaan, Vasundhara Das, Loy Mendonsa, Shankar Mahadevan | 6.18 | Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, John Abraham. |
| 4 | Tumhi Dekho Naa | Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik | 5.47 | Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji |
| 5 | Mitwa Revisited | Shafqat Amanat Ali, Shankar Mahadevan, Caralisa | 5.32 | (Remixed version of Mitwa) |
| 6 | Rock N Roll Soniye | Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Mahalaxmi Iyer | 5.41 | Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Kajol |
| 7 | Farewell Trance | Shweta Pandit, Caralisa | 5.44 | (Instrumental with vocals) |
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, with a multi-star cast, premiered on 12 August 2006 and saw a record opening at many of the cities in India and the film generated Rs 60 crore (Rs 600 million) in the first week itself. However in India interest rapidly waned after the first week, falling alarmingly from the second week .[2] However, whilst the commercial success of the film was shortly lived at a domestic level, it was a major success in the overseas market. The film emerged to become the highest grosser worldwide for an Indian film, opening in at least 1,200 screens worldwide and surpassing Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham's five year old record.[3]
The film opened strongly in the United States and the United Kingdom with first weekend grosses of $1.3 million in the U.S. (from 64 prints) and $1.4 million (£750,000) in the U.K respectively [6] In total Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna collected $3,275,444 USD in United States (as of 25 September 2006)[7] while in UK it netted over $8,000,000. In the US, one factor contributing to its success was the fact it debuted in 64 theatres, unusually high for a Bollywood film in cities with lower Indian populations such as Miami, Tampa, and Raleigh as well.[citation needed]
According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) originally gave the film an R rating because of language and some sexual content. It was re-rated PG-13 on appeal.
On its release the film received a number of positive reviews although the general critical response to the film was mixed. Film critic Taran Adarsh described the subject matter of the film as a delicate one which could have easily been disastrous, and praised the way in which director Karan's boldly constructed the film, citing it has his finest work to date.[8] Adarsh approved in particular of the script and the devices the director incorporated to contrast emotions between scenes, remarking that, "the screenplay balances the two extremes; light moments and dollops of emotions with amazing ease".[8] The individual cast performances were also praised by Adarsh, who commented on the effectiveness of the casting and the interaction of the actors.[8]
Derek Elley of Variety also praised the diversity of emotions displayed by the cast, remarking that, "scripter Shibani Bathija never lets her characters inhabit a secure emotional place for very long, and impediments to happiness come from their own weaknesses rather than social constraints or plot-generated misunderstandings".[9] Elley noted Amitabh Bacchan's performance as an ageing lothario and praised Preity Zinta as "stepping far beyond her makeup".[9]
Critics such as Rachel Fernandes of Bollywoodmantra.com also praised the soundness of the script and the cinematography of the film and the way in which Anil Mehta took full advantage of the location in New York City and uses the skyscrapers and parks in various points in the film to accommodate the changing emotional balance in the dialogue.[10] Fernandes described the music and the choreography in the film as refreshing but criticised the length of the film and certain scenes which she believed were not very convincing to the audience.[10] She highlighted the scene where Shahrukh and Rani meet each other after their initial meeting in particular, commenting that, "there's too much of weird drama of the black beast which doesn’t quite fit in".[10]
Raja Sen of rediff.com was particularly critical of the film, also expressing dissatisfaction with the length of the film. Sen, after viewing the film, remarked, "I feel older. A showing of Karan Johar's mammoth 22-reel Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna has left me unbelievably exhausted. I walked out of the hall feeling my cheeks for stubble, wondering if my clothes are suddenly dated and my hair's grey. I've lost a sizeable chunk of my life, and you will too".[11] Unlike other critics he identified flaws in the script and criticized the strength of characters in the film saying "The characters are cardboard, the setting is glitzy, the songs are tiresome, and the story oscillates between high melodrama and slapstick hilarity, going nowhere. Rarely has a weak script relied so completely on pretty people with big names to carry every line through".[11]
In the United States the film received a number of generally positive reviews. Critics such as Neil Genzlinger of the New York Times emphasised the larger than life nature of the film, remarking that, "It is full of big Bollywood stars and outsized everything: the rainstorms are a little rainier than real life; the wind machines are cranked up an extra notch; the close-ups get closer and linger longer than usual; the coincidences that drive the plot are a little more numerous and unlikely than normal screenwriting allows".[12] He praised the humor in the script and the director's comic timing in certain scenes such as the children's soccer match, the bed store, and at the opera.[12]
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna received a number of awards and a high number of nominations. At the Filmfare Awards in 2007, Abhishek Bachchan won the Best Supporting Actor award. The film was nominated for 10 other awards, including Filmfare Best Film Award, Best Director (Karan Johar), Best Actor (Shahrukh Khan), Best Actress (Rani Mukerji), Best Supporting Actor (Amitabh Bachchan), Best Supporting Actress (Preity Zinta), Best Music Director (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy), Best Lyrics (Javed Akhtar for "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna") Best Male Playback (Sonu Nigam for "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna") and Best Female Playback (Alka Yagnik for "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna")
At the Global Indian Film Awards in 2006, the film won two awards, with Abhishek Bachchan garnering an award for Best Supporting Actor and Alka Yagnik winning Best Female Playback for the song "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna". The film was nominated for 9 other awards including Best Film, Best Actor (Shahrukh Khan), Best Actress (Rani Mukerji), Best Supporting Actor (Amitabh Bachchan),Best Supporting Actress (Preity Zinta), Best Music Director (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) Best Male Playback (Shafqat Amanat Ali for "Mitwa" and Sonu Nigam for "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna") and Best Choreographer (Farah Khan for "Where's The Party Tonight")
At the IIFA Awards in 2007, Rani Mukerji won the IIFA Best Actress Award.[13] The film was nominated for 8 other awards including Best Movie, Best Director (Karan Johar), Best Actor (Shahrukh Khan), Best Supporting Actor (Abhishek Bachchan), Best Music Director (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy), Best Lyricist (Javed Akhtar for "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna"), Best Male Playback (Sonu Nigam for "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna") and Best Female Playback (Alka Yagnik for "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna")
At the Stardust Awards in 2007, Abhishek Bachchan won a further award for Best Supporting Actor[14] and the film was nominated for four other awards including the Stardust Dream Director Award (Karan Johar), Star of the Year - Male (Shahrukh Khan), Star of the Year - Female (Rani Mukerji) and Preity Zinta receiving a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Zinta won the award in this category at the AIFA Awards, with Abhishek Bachan scooping another award for Best Supporting Actor and Javed Akhtar winning the award for Best Lyricist for Mitwa'. At the Star Screen Awards in 2007, Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukerji won the Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 whilst Amitabh Bachchan received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor[15]
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   | boxofficemojo.com - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) |
| | Indiafm.com - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna : Movie Review by Taran Adarsh |
| | indiafm.com - Max Stardust Awards Nominations |
| | altfg.com - Indian Film Academy Awards 2007 |
| | indiafm.com - Just Another Library |
| | starplus.indya.com - STAR Plus - Official website |
| | Official website of Dharma Productions - KANK - Official Website |
| | Rediff.com - Review: KANK is an exhausting watch |
| | Variety - Kabhi alvida naa kehna Review - Read Variety's Analysis Of The Movie Kabhi alvida naa kehna |
| | Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna Review - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna Movie Reviews, News, Trailers - AllBollywood.com |
| | Article On Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - Spectrum: Indian Newspaper featuring Indian Business News, Technology News, Entertainment News & Sports News |
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