Review: Khushi
Baradwaj Rangan
KHUSHI
Baradwaj Rangan
Innumerable meet-cute situations have dotted the boy-meet-girl formula
variants that constitute some 93.7 percent of our cinema, but I'll
wager you've never seen anything like the first meeting of the
protagonists in Khushi, which establishes not only the theme that some
people are simply destined to be together, but also the
let's-be-different approach of writer-director S J Suryah. Whether you
find this scene touching or manufactured will probably dictate your
enjoyment of the film.
Khushi is essentially a series of incidents woven around boy (Fardeen
Khan) and girl (Kareena Kapoor) who become friends and have a spat,
after which they fight and fight, then fight some more, and reevaluate
their feelings for each other while helping a couple of college mates
in love. Nothing much by way of story here, but the destiny angle --
she is betrothed to someone else, he plans to leave for higher studies
abroad -- makes the goings-on interestingly off-kilter.
Plus, there’s the usual masala. A comedy track with Johny Lever
(a rare misfire, despite his wicked impersonation of the latter-day
Asha Bhosle). A slick action sequence shot in bursts of freeze frames
as in Mission: Kashmir. A college hottie who sets off a chain of
events more vulgar than sexy. The eye-poppingly shot (by KV Guhan)
music sequences built around Anu Malik's foot-tapping numbers. And the
railway station climax without which no love story is complete.
It's easy to accept these distractions as box-office insurance for the
unusual storyline, as it is to handle parts of a second half that
drags a bit. Not so easy to overlook is the so-so Fardeen-Kareena
chemistry when what's needed is for them to generate megawatt sparks.
His easygoing blandness contrasts with her over-ebullient,
silent-film-worthy expressions and gesticulations. You wish for a
little more from him, a little less from her.
Fortunately, they are surrounded by smart, funny incidents that,
though understandably exaggerated for movie purposes, underline the
caprices of human nature. When, for instance, a perennially
navel-baring Kareena suddenly coys up and rails at Fardeen for eyeing
her midriff, you see how the best of friends can get swept up in
illogical, spiteful tiffs. And it’s interesting that this
hotheadedness is tempered with a touching naiveté -- after declaring
war on him, she still expects him to honour his earlier promise of
quitting cigarettes.
These vignettes make a strong impression, as do the colourful
supporting roles played by Amrish Puri (in a nice-guy role as
Kareena’s father) and Beena (as Fardeen’s over-emotional
mother), and contribute to the readily-identifiable quality of this
stylish, enjoyable film. Not for nothing has Khushi retained the name
of its originals (the Tamil/Telugu versions, both called Khushi), for
at its heart are themes that are as universal as the title.