Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa

I still very distinctly remember the day I watched this movie for the first time. No, it was not in any cinema but on Cable TV. I was euphoric for 2 reasons: Firstly. I liked SRK since his Fauji days and secondly my bro gave a thumbs up to this movie (happens 5% fo the time) after watching it first day first show.

Though the film has a story of its own we get to see the other characters through SRK’s eyes. This unique angle of view is what makes Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa a different and better love triangle. . The main character of Sunil, a small town guy of Goa, is played to perfection by SRK. He has only two passions - music and Anna, his childhood crush. Though it could not be implemented in the movie, but the protgonist (Sunil) is supposed to be fat, ugly, wearing thick glasses and braces (though Kundan Shah didn't go to this extreme with SRK). He is the guy who lies at the drop of the hat, has flunked his exams four times in a row. No wonder his dad (Anjan Srivastava of Wagle ki duniya fame) wants him to help in the garage only to be bailed out by his mother. He plays the saxophone with his band (Deepak Tijori, Suchitra Krishnamurthy, Ashutosh Gowariker (Lagaan's & Swades's Director), Aditya Lakhia (Lagaan's Kachra) and Kurush Debookhia (Munnabhai MBBS's Dr Rustom). No one takes Sunil seriously. His band tends to ignore his talent & charm. His folks are against him spending time with his saxophone than his college books. In short, he is a loser and a below average guy. But what stands out in this character is the optmism and a sense of purpose for his desires that keeps him cheerful every morning only to go depressed every night.
Conventionally, in Bollywood movies, the underdog would ultimately get the girl as seen in Saajan and Rangeela. But in KHKN, no such thing happens. In the end, it is Anna and Chris who live happily ever after because Sunil bows out gracefully.

Plot Summary: Now the fun begins when Sunil gets to know that Anna loves Chis, who is a sort of an allrounder (topper in college, conventionally good looking, son of a millionaire). To win back his lady love, Sunil brainwashes Chris by telling him lies about Anna over a plateful of cream rolls and succeeds in creating a misunderstanding between them. Sunil eventually manages to spend one evening with Anna only to be caught red handed by Chris who tells everything to Anna. As a result of that, Anna, Chris and the rest of the band dump him, Sunil continues to be an optimist ably goaded by Father Braganza (Naseerudin Shah) and his sister Chutki. When his band gets booed at the local nightclub, Chinatown, he comes to their rescue. His performance finds an ardent admirer in The Don, Anthony Gomes (Goga Kapoor).
Ultimately, he gets a chance to marry Anna, his most desired fantasy. but he sacrifices his love for Anna in the end so she and Chris can marry and become happy. Depressed, after leaving the couple, he meets a young, lost woman. They are instantly attracted to each other and it is implied that he will finally find happiness with her. Like the Don sums it in the end: nothing can keep Sunil down for long.

There is something really refreshing about films that cast actors who have not yet been tagged with an image. Amitabh Bachchan didn't have an 'angry young man' image when Zanjeer released. He got it only after playing the raging rebel over a series of films like Deewar, Kaala Patthar, Shakti etc. But that raw appeal he showed in Zanjeer could never be repeated. The same rawness was seen in SRK's performance in Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. When the film came out in 1993, SRK had just about begun as an actor. He was playing oddball characters (in films like Deewana, Chamatkar, King Uncle, Maya Memsaab, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Dil Aashna Hai), instead of going through the conventional hero routine. He hadn't established an image. He wasn't a cool dude. He wasn't a bad boy as he became post Darr, Anjaam. He wasn't obsessed. He wasn't a star. At the time of release of Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, he was normal or rather below normal star.

What makes Kundan Shah's second classic after Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron great is that he makes his characters and situations entirely believable. The humour is subtle and circumstantial.
Any film that succeeds in making you identify with it stays in your memory for a long, long time. If you aren't Sunil, you must have encountered a Sunil somewhere, some place. Rich in emotion, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa had some beautifully executed scenes:
* When Anna returns from a trip and shows Sunil the gifts she has got for everyone. When she shows him a pair of sunglasses, Sunil assumes they is for him and begins to admire them excitedly. The moment she says it is for Chris, he tosses them aside indifferently. The emotion he displays when she tells her money got exhausted, so she could not buy anything for him. The smile comes back to his face when she shows him his present, a mouth organ.
*When their band is rejected by the local club, Chris saying "Pata nahi Anna aisa hamare saath ki kyon hota hai" and Anna consoles Chris by massaging her hand over Chris's hair. Sunil tries to repeat the same, only to be consoled by Yezdi (Kurush Debookhia)

*Sunil's dad fight with Anna's bro over his old car and Imran (Ashutosh) commenting "Isko bech kar, thode aur paise mila kar, 1 second hand cycle kyon nahi le lete"

*Sunil's dad is a picture of disbelief and pride as he reads out his son's fake report card which has him receiving 99 in Economics.

*When a dejected Sunil cries his heart out by playing the saxophone at the seaside. Hearing the sad music, Goga Kapoor tells his assistant Makrand Deshpande (of Swades fame) that someone is very sad tonight. As DEshpande starts taking a note of that, Gomes asks him "Note mat karo, feel karo, feel it". This is incidently the punchline of the movie.

*Sunil taking permission from Anna's parents for their marriage in the end "Mr. Gonzalves, Mrs Gonzalves, Mr & Mrs Gonzalves, uncle, aunty, mere liye is duniya ki sabse keemti cheez aapki beti Anna hai. Main jaanta hoon sab log mujhe nikamma aur bekaar samajhte hai. Lekin main usse hamesha khush rakhoonga aur kabhi tang nahi karoonga kyonki uncle, aunty main usske bahut bahut bahut bahut pyar karta hoon". The most touching scene for me.

* When Chris drops the wedding ring at the church. Even though Sunil can see it, he doesn't pick it up because secretly he still hopes Anna will marry him. The height of optimism.

The soundtrack of the movie is excellent with all the six songs: Deewana dil deewana, Aye kaash ke hum, Aana mere pyaar ko na tum, Sachi yeh kahani hai, Woh to hai albela and Kyun na hum milke pyaar karein revealed so much about the film's main protagonist and keeps the storyline going.

When KHKN came out, Suchitra received flak for her tacky look and wardrobe. But the actress said in interviews to various publications that her director wanted her to sport a non-makeup plain Jane look.
KHKN is one of the films Deepak Tijori did when he was trying to establish himself as a second lead hero with films like Sadak and Khiladi.

To me, this is SRK's best performance so far. He was spontaneous, vulnerable, boyish, mischievous and acting straight from the heart.
He went about his 'I love Anna very much' very matter-of-factly. Kundan Shah used SRK's freshness to Sunil's advantage. That was the last time Shah Rukh didn't play himself onscreen. There was no pressure of playing to an audience who knew what to expect from him. He wasn't a superstar then. None of the hamming, lip quivering, forehead frowning, the works.

KHKN won two filmfare awards- Best Film and Critics' best actor award. SRK was also nominated as the Best Actor in a leading role.

A masterpiece!!