Alvida hi kehna

Rona-dhona becomes the second name for Kabhi Alvida na Kehna, the jolly good fella bits seem to be in short supply and the aam janata ends up feeling gypped. Primarily because it doesn’t know why Rani relentlessly sobs and Shah Rukh goes gruff-gruff and all those designer marriages suck... Okay, we know that Shah Rukh’s angry because he's got a perpetual limp, he can’t play football, his wife’s (Preity Zinta) more successful than him. But is that reason enough to fall in love with a wannabe bride (Rani) he meets on a bench one New Yorky afternoon as she ruminates on this whole marriage business and the grand mohabbat myths? And is that reason enough to pout permanently in the film as he goes through the entire gamut of incompatibility, infidelity, separation and reunion, barking down on anybody who happens to cross his path. Even his bechara beta! Unconvincing again are the reasons (which are still beyond my understanding) behind Rani’s drift. All that hubby Abhishek demands from her is a bit of passion in bed, some rock-and-roll in dad’s (Amitabh) rocking party and a bit of camaraderie in their day-to-day life. Is that asking for too much from a fridgid Miss whose G spot could obviously be identifies by another morose SRK in that one night only...?So, on the one hand you have a weak foundation to the extra-marital affair between Shah Rukh and Rani, and on the other, you have a weird reason that brings them together. The duo befriend each other to play marriage counsellor to each other, discussing books and techniques on ‘how to save your shaadi and stay happy forever’. And guess what? They end up breaking their marriages and biting into cold TV dinners by themselves. If the film holds, it’s because of the few dramatic moments that manage to touch you, a pretty New York backdrop and some fine chemistry between that father-son duo again. Amitabh and Abhishek once again create magic when they are together, even as the big daddy of Bollywood creates one of the most flamboyant playboys on the desi screen. Unfortunately, its a karan johar movie and SRK steels footage and they have very little screen time together. All in all I felt I was sitting through one one of Ekta Kapoors "K" serials and not a Karan Johar's "k" movie a sad let down.