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KANK opens, and how?
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The first day first show of "KANK" in the city saw a packed hall. But what did the audience feel about it?
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PHOTO: R. SHIVAJI RAO
STARSTRUCK Fans posing in front of "KANK" poster
Ten a.m. on August 11 was the moment many Shah Rukh Khan fans had been waiting for. King Khan hadn't been seen in a mainstream masala film since 2004, the last one being Veer Zara. It was not the regular SRK in Paheli and Swades after all. If you add to that, the hype of a Karan Johar film and the line-up of stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji and Preity Zinta, the chartbusters from Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (KANK) had to be the most-awaited movie of the year. Hundreds of fans cut through peak hour city traffic to make sure they were inside the cinema hall before Amitabh, Abhishek and Preity boogeyed to "Where's the party tonight?" on Friday morning. Tickets priced between Rs.100 and Rs.150 were sold out in the biggest movie hall in this part of the world: Sathyam Cinemas.
Predictably, those who "fell sick" and bunked work were hoping their bosses or professors weren't down with the same sickness.
KANK began with much fanfare, whistles and catcalls, like most SRK movies do, especially with a soccer-match intro for the superstar. As the guy in the red jersey that read `Saran' hit the match-winning goal, it was not just the stadium that celebrated.
Abhishek Bachchan's entry was met with equal enthusiasm as Bollywood's current heart-throb wakes up to find out he's late for his wedding.
A few minutes into the movie, almost all girls in the hall seemed to have developed a crush on Abhishek, who plays the lovesick Mr. Perfect.
Though the crowd was in the mood to make noise and cheer, KANK was not that kind of movie. The revelry soon died down and the mood turned sober, with the theme of infidelity setting in.
The split-screen before the interval had people talk about the distinct Kal Ho Na Ho hangover and the trappings of the Karan Johar film. While some speculated that it was time to bring the hankies out, some discussed how a couple of scenes reminded them of the Jude Law-Natalie Portman-Julia Roberts-Clive Owen film, Closer.
SRK or no SRK, whether they liked the movie or not, the crowd clearly seemed to have been drawn into the issue of relationships and infidelity. Normally, when Preity Zinta slaps SRK, you do not expect the audience to applaud. But on Friday morning, it did.
After nearly four hours in the movie hall, a visibly exhausted section of movie-goers walked out in disappointment. Post-movie conversations seemed to indicate that the movie was surely going to be among the most-talked about films this year, no matter how good or bad people found it.
There were the Karan Johar faithfuls defending the filmmaker and his kind of cinema and there were those who believed that a man blessed with the opportunity to afford and work with the finest actors and technicians in the country could certainly do better.
The weekend saw house full shows too in spite of many news channels ripping apart the film and early reviewers sending out negative reports.
SUDHISH KAMATH
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