The Holy Trinity of Early 2000s Bollywood: Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

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 Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna [2006]

Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan

Directed by Karan Johar

Language: Hindi 


Joh hai ankahee, joh hai ansunee, voh baat kya hai bata. Mitwa! Kahe dharkane tujhse kya? Mitwa! Yeh khud se toh na tu chupa.

A thing unsaid, a thing unheard, what is it? Beloved! What does your heartbeat tell you? Beloved! Don't hide it from yourself.

Welcome to the second installment of the Holy Trinity series! This movie is definitely the most different to other Bollywood movies that have come before it. This was a movie that I had grown up hearing about, but had never watched until I was hit with a chronic wave of insomnia one night, where I decided to catch up on all the Bollywood watching that I had missed out on. 

This movie was iconic in many ways, but it was downright depressing to watch. From the start to the finish, the plotline consisted of fights and strong undercurrents of tension, with very rare points were there was a song or perhaps a humorous comment to lighten the mood. I watch Bollywood as a form of escapism; if I wanted to watch a depressing movie worthy of critical acclaim, I would watch something in English! I rely on Bollywood to provide me with a lighthearted plot, but that was unfortunately not the case. 

I will say this much, though. This movie was actually quite explicit in not only the themes that were explored through dialogue, but also in what was actually shown. I won't get into the gory details: you'll just have to see for yourself.

One key theme that it worth noting is that love is sacrifice. The whole trope of unrequited love comes to fruition in this movie: this very Bollywood cliché of there being a happy ending is comforting to me, and I was left longing for some kind of resolution. I don't know whether Karan Johar was trying to say something about the sanctity of marriage that those having an affair were punished in a very obvious way, but when I tell you I've sobbed more for this movie than any other Bollywood one I've watched, I'm not lying! 

Both actresses, Zinta and Mukerji, were both excellent. Zinta's character's duality between protecting her children whilst having to live with her husband's infidelity was so strong! I watched her in complete awe. Additionally, I would say that the most underrated actress in the whole Hindi-language industry is Rani Mukerji: she is always the strongest link of any production she's in, regardless of how small her role is. 

Songs were pretty good, and the plotline was decent if not incredibly saddening to watch. 

6.5/10

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