But ok, seriously. Where do I begin with this movie?
How about I'll preface this by saying I don't by any means condone adultery. Now, I've never been married, but I've had enough friends and seen enough marriages fall apart to know this: People change as they grow, and you both need to be willing to give 100% to a marriage in order to stay connected. Its something you have to work at every day.
The last thing you need in the midst of a marriage problem is a relationship with the opposite sex distracting you, making the grass appear greener on the other side. I'm not saying you can't have a platonic friendship with a co-worker or whatever, but I am saying there comes a certain point that is too close for comfort...and once you get to that point, I believe anyone has the potential to fall if they land in the wrong situation.
Ok, enough preachy talk--I bring this all up because I think Karan Johar actually did a pretty accurate job in telling a story where this could really happen--in fact, I was really impressed by the way he handled this --up until the last twenty minutes of the movie.
But we'll get to that.
Ok, so here's what Johar got so right-Yes, Maya had a loving husband (I was shouting,"is she crazy?!" during the scene where Abhishek has a candlelit dinner waiting for her when she comes home), but let's face it--Some people(myself included,before I wised up) just don't appreciate the things we have until they are gone. And yes, Shahrukh was kind of a jerk in this film, but he had such a sweet spot when it came to Maya. I have to admit, I found this unhealthily attractive. So in some weird way I guess I could see how Maya did what she did. I'm not saying it was right, and she was dumber than a brick to do it, but it was something I could see happening to someone like her.
Shahrukh's Dev really didn't have as much of an excuse(if you can call it that--there was really no excuse for Maya either), but again, fit with his character. Remember, he's pretty selfish. Can't handle a woman like Rhea(his wife), so he looks for someone who doesn't hurt his ego quite so much. Sadly, this happens every day in the real world.
I loved Abhishek Bachchan's character and for those who say he can't act, I say, "????"--He left me breathless in some of his scenes when he was arguing with Maya!
I also have to mention how much I absolutely loved the song, "Tumhi dekho na"--I was lost in Dev and Maya's world too and quickly forgot they were both married(I'm ashamed to admit-lol-But see how easy it is to stray?)
And is anybody else rooting for a romantic comedy starring Amitabh Bachchan and Kirron Kher? I sure am!! (Or does one already exist and I don't know about it?).
The thing that disturbs me most about the ending is I find it gives the wrong message. No, it didn't ruin the movie for me, I still like it alot, but this would rarely happen in the real world. A movie about infidelity that ends with the two guilty parties riding off into the sunset together(if this describes your current relationship and you think I'm off base, remember I said rarely)? What happens when Dev gets tired of Maya and cheats on her too? Oh well, I guess this is Bollywood and it is Karan Johar. But in the words of my friend Ceci, "Something good usually doesn't come out of something bad." Enough said.
Text (c) 2007 Nida Nazir Bitten By Bollywood
