Kuch kuch hota hai (1998)

कुछ कुछ होता है

When I sat down to watch Kuch kuch hota hai ("something happens"), although I had seen nearly 100 Indian films, I was a Karan Johar virgin.  "K-Jo," as the filmmaker Johar is sometimes called - both affectionately and contemptuously - is a polarizing figure  among Bollywood fans.  He has created a number of massive hits, but some dismiss his work as "candyfloss" - emotionally manipulative, saccharine fluff.  Others adore it in spite of - or perhaps because of - the very characteristics that engender those criticisms. 

There was no particular reason that I'd missed the K-Jo boat; I hadn't deliberately avoided his films.  For a while I was under a self-imposed moratorium on Shah Rukh Khan (who stars in every one of Johar's films), but if a friend had invited to me to watch a K-Jo movie I would not have refused.  I just never got around to it.   When I decided it was time to take the plunge, I chose Kuch kuch hota hai, because it is the beloved favorite of several people who I think are really, really smart.  What I found in Kuch kuch hota hai is a film that is cheesy, sentimental, and manipulative - in all the right ways. 

Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) and Anjali (Kajol) are college students, best friends, and friendly rivals.  The tomboyish Kajol is forever challenging Rahul to games of pick-up basketball - and winning - while Rahul, for his part, teases her mercilessly.  Enter Tina (Rani Mukherjee), the glamorous foreign-educated daughter of the school's principal (Anupam Kher).  She brings out the gentleman buried beneath Rahul's rough-and-tumble, boys-will-be-boys exterior.  Inevitably, they fall in love, leaving poor Anjali out in the cold, as she realizes that she is in love with Rahul as well. 

We know from the film's opening sequence - the college story is told in flashback - that Tina died shortly after giving birth to a daughter, whom she instructed Rahul to name "Anjali" after their college friend.  On her deathbed Tina wrote eight letters to be given to little Anjali on each of her first eight birthdays.  Now eight years old, little Anjali receives the final letter, setting forth her mother's dying wish: that Rahul be reunited with the elder Anjali.  Little Anjali hatches a scheme to fulfill Tina's request, with her spunky grandmother (Farida Jalal) as her partner-in-crime.  The conspirators have their work cut out for them; while it doesn't take much for Rahul to realize what he could have had in grown-up Anjali, in the meantime she has become engaged to a gentle sweet fellow named Aman (Salman Khan). 

The story may not sound like much, and its resolution holds no surprises, but the film's message is a bit refreshing.  Rather than supporting the romantic but depressing notion that there is just one perfect match, one true love, for everyone, Kuch kuch hota hai acknowledges that even romantic love can come in different forms, and losing one's true love doesn't necessarily mean never having true love again.  Rahul recites the old saw a couple of times, insisting that love is a once-in-a-lifetime venture - but he's proven gloriously wrong.  (The bloom comes off this rose somewhat when it is considered that the mature Anjali has shed her track suits and tomboyish ways for a sari and a job as an instructor of Indian classical dance; Rahul never noticed her until she transformed into a girl who couldn't beat him at basketball.) 

For me - as neither Shah Rukh Khan nor straight-up romance is really my cup of tea - Kuch kuch hota hai is not more than a solid timepass.  Still, I appreciate some of what sets it apart from other films of its ilk.  It has the standard college film conceits - the college is a place for basketball, track meets, cheerleaders, and dance competitions, but not much in the way of classes or studying.  There's also a comically bumbling principal and an overly flirtatious sexy teacher (who even gets her own leering sound-effect every time she takes the screen).   And it seems that every stop is pulled out in achieving the apex of Bollywood bombast - ominous thunderclaps to signal significant moments, swelling music playing out the characters emotions, glorious and lush wedding preparations, even divine intervention when needed.  Somehow, though, the film maintains a sense of humor, a tone of self-awareness.  It's over-the-top, but it's over-the-top with a wink at the audience.  Combine that with the sweetness of the story, and the result is that it's very easy to play along. 

(For a terrific analysis of Kuch kuch hota hai through the lens of postmodern theory, have a look at Meredith's post on the board she runs, the BollyWHAT? forum.) 

Comments

[Stephen]

Glad to see you got around to checking KKHH out Carla, and that you enjoyed it a little more than the average SRK film :)

I'm interested to know what you thought in particular of Khan's character in the film since I feel it's a departure from his usual macho man antics which I know rub you the wrong way. By contrast, Rahul seemed startlingly vulnerable - acting tough and arrogant, but always making a fool of himself revealing his true bumbling, sweet self. Since he's essentially a child in a man's body, the subsequent devastating events that change his life (the abandonment by his best friend and the loss of wife) force him to grow up in the second half. But he’s not quite able to – and were this not a comedy, the scenario of him carrying such pain while trying to be a stern father yet still being that clueless little boy inside would be quite heartbreaking, if it isn’t already. I think Khan does a superb job of subtly emoting all of this – the look on his face when Anjali fades off into the distance at the train station in particular feels very genuine. Even though this is undoubtedly Kajol’s film and a largely female-dominated narrative, I feel Shah Rukh as Rahul makes for an interesting and often overlooked performance.

[carla]

Stephen ji, what a great comment - insightful analysis of the Rahul character and Shah Rukh Khan's performance.

I hadn't thought much about whether I liked Shah Rukh in this film, and on reflection I think that is a good sign. It means that here the character wasn't overwhelmed by Shah Rukh Kahn, Superstar (TM) as his characters so often are.

The only time I remember feeling Shah Rukh'ed out was in the famous gazebo scene, so beloved by his fans - I think it was utterly out of character for Rahul to turn on the smarmy Shah Rukh-isms there; it would have been much more charming and real to me had be been nervous and bashful about returning to romance for the first time in many years. Happily Kajol played the scene very well, with the right blend of hesistancy and passion.

[yves]

Very nice, Carla, very nice. I quite agree with you. Only I saw K2H2 at the beginning of my BW period, and that has made all the difference. It's one of the fimms which has, for good or bad reasons, swept me off my feet! Amazing, huh? Because I do realize now, exactly like you say, that all this cheesiness was there, but I just didn't pay attention. What struck me, and what corresponded to a real need within me was this "new" way of dealing with love, along with the song-dimension the colours, the magic worked 100% for me.

[--Sunrise--]

Hi Carla,

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, to put it simply, is a refreshing movie... it's like giving your mind a refreshing shower in an open pool on a hot summer's day... puts a smile on your face, leaves you with fond memories, thoughts and ideas... but doesn't play too significant a role in your life as to change it... a beautifully pleasant movie that tugs at your heartstrings... and yes, as Meredith correctly says, it is because you are allowing it to - you find yourself giving in to the cheesiness of the movie, and just going with the crazy flow. :)

Thank you for the link to Meredith's post - I loved reading it. A very interesting way of looking at it, and also about the red chunni and the colours and what they symbolise... an interesting analysis!

Sunrise.

[mohan]

no comments.but in this film salmankhan's acting is quit boring i mean not like as realastic thanks. byeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Andromache]

I just saw this movie for the second time a few days ago, and was curious to see if you'd ever reviewed it. I really like this line:

"The bloom comes off this rose somewhat when it is considered that the mature Anjali has shed her track suits and tomboyish ways for a sari and a job as an instructor of Indian classical dance; Rahul never noticed her until she transformed into a girl who couldn't beat him at basketball."

(It also bothers me that SRK's character is allowed to love twice, but Anjali is not. But that's a rant for another day.)

[carla]

Andromache, to me the point you've highlighted is the major flaw in this film, and the more time passes since I saw it, the less everything else fades and the more that stands out. I'd be less positive toward to the movie today than I was when I wrote this review, because I just remembered it as "the one where the tomboy had to go all girly-girl in order win over her man."

I'll never love KKHH because SRK's romantic shtick doesn't work on me, but if Anjali had been permitted to retain some of the character she was in the first half, instead of undergoing some miraculous transformation into K-Jo's fantasy of ideal femininity, it might be a film I'd be willing to see again.

[Noutchka]

I really enjoy your blog for several reasons : the presentation is very clear, the pictures quality is perfect, and your comments are very interesting. I have a blog about Bollywood myself (in French). I'll put your site in my links list if you don't mind !

[Vee]

You actually liked this movie Carla?? Hmmmm, don't know what to say!

I personally dislike this entire category of rubber-band like story lines with synthetic emotions, over the top acting and very poor humor. And to top it, Kajol had to drop her pallu (front end of the saree) for SRK to notice that she is a woman! Ewwwww! It would be like Hermione becoming like Lavender Brown to gain Ron's affections in Harry Potter (assuming you read HP)! 8 letters till she is 8 that no one else is supposed to open? How did she read the first one when she was 1? KJo ain't my kind of a film maker and SRK can really do better.

Sorry, have a bad pain in my hip today, blame foul mood for this comment!

[carla]

Vee, your comment made me smile. (Not the part about the hip pain though - I hope you feel better soon!)

I was kinder to this movie in my review than I am in my mind when I remember it now. The point you raise - the changes Kajol's character had to make in order to get the guy to notice her - really stick in my craw. And SRK's character is pretty much everything that irritates me about him. It's not a movie that gets better the more I think about it, and I doubt I'll ever see it again.

I think I am kind to it, though, because so many people I respect and admire do think very highly of it - which leads me to wonder, a little, if there's not something wrong with me for not appreciating it. I don't always have the courage of my convictions!

[Ali]

Very good movie .. Shahrukh Khan well done. Kajol well done. Rani Mukerji well done.. But i think the biggest thanks should go to Salman Khan, who was a so big star that time,(bigger then Shahrukh Khan),and took the role in a supporting role. Thank you very much Salman Khan, you was so good in it. You made kuch kuch hota hai, to be the big hit as it was in 1998.

[Deepti]

This film has been most commonly criticized for the so-called 'transformation' in Kajol's character. Actually, I think it is only natural. Come to think of it, so many of us look drastically different in our late 20s than when we were in college. This transformation is a lot less cheesy than the usual 'makeovers' that our poor tomboyish girls usually have to endure.
Not defending the film, though. Anyway, I don't even need to defend it. Nothing wrong with being an escapist comfort-watch.