Kal Ho Naa Ho

Kal Ho Naa Ho

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Nikhil Advani
Produced by Yash Johar
Karan Johar
Written by Niranjan Iyengar
Screenplay by Karan Johar
Story by Karan Johar
Starring Shahrukh Khan
Saif Ali Khan
Preity Zinta
Narrated by Preity Zinta
Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Cinematography Anil Mehta
Edited by Sanjay Sankla
Production
company
Distributed by Yash Raj Films
Release dates
28 November 2003
Running time
188 minutes
Country India
Language Hindi
English
Budget INR300 million (US$4.8 million)[1]
Box office INR1.3 billion (US$21 million)[2]

Kal Ho Naa Ho (English: There May Or May Not Be A Tomorrow), abbreviated as KHNH, is a 2003 Indian romantic comedy-drama film, directed by debutante director Nikhil Advani. The film was written by Niranjan Iyengar and Karan Johar and produced by Yash Johar and Karan Johar under the Dharma Productions banner. The music of the film was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, with lyrics written by Javed Akhtar.

The film features, Shahrukh Khan as Aman Mathur, Saif Ali Khan as Rohit Patel, and Preity Zinta as Naina Catherine Kapur. It also features Jaya Bachchan , Lilette Dubey, Reema Lagoo, Sushma Seth, Wyatt Button and Delnaaz Paul in supporting roles. The film narrates the story of an pessimistic uptight student, Naina Kapur, who falls in love with her neighbour, Aman Mathur, a terminally ill patient who tries to play matchmaker for Naina and her friend, Rohit Patel.

Kal Ho Naa Ho was promoted with the tag-line - A Story Of A Lifetime.... In A Heartbeat. Made on a budget of INR300 million, Kal Ho Naa Ho released on 28 November 2003 to positive critical reviews. Additionally, it was screened at the Valenciennes, Era New Horizons, Marrakech International and Helsinki Film Festival.

Kal Ho Naa Ho was declared a Blockbuster in India and an All-Time Blockbuster overseas by Box Office India. The film was a commercial success, with a lifetime gross of INR829.5 million (US$13 million) and emerged as the second highest grossing film domestically and the highest grossing film in the overseas market that year.[3][4] When adjusted for inflation its total worldwide gross is INR1.3 billion (US$21 million).[5] The following year, Kal Ho Naa Ho won two National Film Awards and seven Filmfare Awards. The film was paid homage by the German Embassy in India by releasing a short 8 minute video named Lebe jetzt.

Plot

Naina Catherine Kapur (Preity Zinta) is a bespectacled 23-year-old Punjabi MBA student who is quite pessimistic and cynical towards her life and relationships. The movie opens up to Naina visiting Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City. She relates how whenever she misses her father, she comes to the park. Upon returning home, we see Jenny (Jaya Bachchan), Naina's widowed mother who is on the phone discussing a loan extension for their centrally situated restaurant which isn't doing so well. Upon Naina's father's passing, all the house's responsibilities have fallen on her. Naina begins looking through the mail to find another private and confidential letter addressed to her mother, among many others she periodically receives. She also finds a letter from a Punjabi matrimonial service, Kunwari Kudi (meaning: Single Girl) that her grandmother and her aunts have enlisted in hopes of marrying off Naina to a Sikh sardar man. Naina's grandmother Lajjo (Sushma Seth), and Naina's aunts Kammo (Shoma Anand) and Vimmo (Kamini Khanna) are religious aspiring musicians who often perform for their neighbor, Chadda (Dara Singh) and to the horror and inconvenience of many of their other neighbors. There are also Naina's younger siblings in the home, including Shiv (Athit Naik), Naina's disabled biological brother and Gia (Jhanak Shukla), Naina's adoptive sister. There is much tension in the Kapur household as Lajjo is resentful towards Gia and Jenny as she believes Jenny's decision to adopt Gia is what led to her husband's suicide and the failing financial condition of their family, thus causing her to be affectionate with Naina and Shiv, while being cold to Gia. She thinks that Gia is the main problem in the house. She believes that the problems in the house started after Gia is adopted. There is also much religious tension in the house as Jenny practices Christianity while Lajjo practices Sikhism.

Naina's best friend, Jaspreet Kapoor, nicknamed Sweetu (Delnaaz Paul) is an overweight bubbly hopeless romantic who often voices the details to her love life to Naina, who often offers blunt and cynical advice to her. Sweetu lives next door to Naina, thus often causing a confusion to mailmen who confuse their surnames as Naina is a Kapur with a 'U' and Sweetu is a Kapoor with a 'OO'. Sweetu also has an older sister Jaswinder, nicknamed Jazz (Lilette Dubey) who is quite a flirtatious woman going through insecurities of old age and a midlife crisis. Jazz is business partners with Jenny in their restaurant venture, so the two households are quite close to one another. Naina's other best friend, Rohit Patel (Saif Ali Khan) is then introduced. Rohit is a 28-year-old Gujurati living in Manhattan. His family is quite wealthy, as his parents, Karsanbhai (Satish Shah) and Sarlaben (Ketaki Dave) Patel who live in Connecticut are owners of a popular food chain - Dial-A-Dhokla. Rohit is currently working in advertising and also attends MBA classes with Naina. He is also quite the hopeless romantic as during an MBA class, he spots a woman, Geeta Parekh (Anaita Shroff Adajania) who is a new entry student as well as a divorcee. As she approaches near Rohit's aisle, Rohit asks her to sit behind him in class. However, before she can sit, an elderly woman reaches the seat before her, unknown to Rohit. As class starts, he writes "Dinner at 8" on a slip of paper and passes it to her thinking she is Geeta. The woman accepts and Rohit turns to find her instead of Geeta in shock. Naina narrates this as showing how at first, she did not like Rohit at all. But she began to like him as he is truly a good man, as he did not cancel his date that night. She begins to explain how having Rohit around helps her forget all her troubles at home. She slowly gets close to him.

Meanwhile, Aman Mathur (Shahrukh Khan) and his mother shift to Naina's neighbourhood to live with his uncle, Chadda. Noticing the gloom and sadness of his new neighbors, and the beauty of Naina, he intervenes and tries to know Naina better. His well-meaning interference in their activities, his help in reviving their financial standing, and his general positive attitude towards everything soon change their lives for the better. Meanwhile, Aman is seen speaking with a woman, Priya (Sonali Bendre) discussing important things although it is not known what this might be. Naina is initially reluctant to enjoy Aman's presence, as he has helped her family so much, taught her how to accept happiness in life, and even given her the confidence to dress brightly and even lose her glasses. She grows to like him and eventually falls in love with him. Also, Rohit, has begun to notice Naina's new outlook and optimism on life, and he too begins to fall in love with her. Afraid to admit his feelings, he seeks Aman's advice while Naina also seeks Sweetu's. As Sweetu is encouraging her, Naina decides to call Rohit instead to tell him of her feelings towards Aman, so as to seek further advice on this. Thinking that she might admit her feelings towards him, Rohit agrees to meet with Naina to tell her he loves her. Upon reaching, Naina reveals that she is in love with Aman. Heartbroken, Rohit tells Naina to be honest about her feelings towards Aman and later informs Aman about this. Naina goes to Aman's house in hopes of telling him about her feelings towards him where she sees a picture of a woman in a bridal costume hugging Aman. Asking about the woman, Aman explains that he is married to the woman for the last three years, Priya who we had seen earlier. He explained how they had had a disagreement back home in India and she had fled to New York where her parents are. Aman explains that he and his mother have come here to fix their problems and bring her back home. Naina, being heartbroken leaves his home on the verge of tears, only to break down outside and run to Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Inside, Aman's mother asks what has happened. It is revealed that Priya is not Aman's wife, but in fact a close friend, who is a physician practicing in the States. He is suffering from a fatal cardiac disease in which he needs a transplant in order to survive, however, the chances of finding a transplant and surviving are quite low and he has come to accept this. He tells his mother that he does love Naina deeply and has lied to save Naina from a life of loneliness once he passes and how he intends to help her find love with Rohit, who genuinely loves her and will be able to take care of her. Upon learning what Aman had told Naina, Rohit realizes that Naina will never be able to forget Aman and he decides to move on by temporarily dating another woman, Camilla (Simone Singh) who is only out to marry Rohit for his money. Naina's family also tries to set her up with another Sardar guy, but Naina leaves the house in fury and ends up in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Here, Jennifer, seeing Naina in tears, tells her that she always knew that Naina loved Aman and now that she learns that Aman is already married, she fear that Naina might end up sad and alone like her in life. Naina too admits her love for Aman to her mother and Jennifer convinces her that she will surely find love and happiness again in life and also convinces her to return home with her. Unknown to both of them, Aman overhears their entire conversation and now wishes Naina to see Rohit's love for her.

Aman convinces Rohit to leave Camilla and work on a strategy that will make Naina fall for Rohit in six days. This eventually works by the end of the sixth day, but after overhearing a conversation between Aman and Rohit, Naina finds out that Rohit sought Aman's help to attain her love. She leaves his house in anger, stating Rohit was her true friend but Aman even stole him too, where Aman and Rohit chase her to a train station. Rohit confesses his love for her, but Naina believes that he does not truly love her, and this is only a ploy on Aman's part to help her move on from him. But Aman, desperate to make Naina realize how much Rohit loves her, pulls out Rohit's diary from his pocket and reads a fraction of it. Finding a blank page, he decides to confess his own feelings for Naina, pretending they were Rohit's words. Also, Jenny later convinces Naina of Rohit's love towards her. Naina, realizing her misconceptions decides to meet Rohit, leaving her entire family and friends including Aman to wait at home to hear what will happen. Rohit proposes to her in an elaborate and beautiful way to show his love for her. Naina, realizing how much Rohit loves her, accepts the proposal and there is a huge celebration at the Kapur household when Rohit later calls Aman to tell him what had happened. Aman sheds a few tears in the comfort of his mother but still assists everyone in the preparations for the wedding.

The tension within Naina's family also come to an end when Aman, after accidentally intercepting a personal letter addressed to Jenny, reveals to Lajjo that Gia is Naina's half-sister through their father's extramarital affair. Jennifer's acceptance of her husband's infidelity and towards Gia is what led to his suicide. Lajjo now accepts Gia, and the now-united family begin the preparations for Rohit and Naina's wedding. After attending the engagement ceremony, Aman gets a heart attack at the engaement ceremony and he has a stint in the hospital . Naina, in a chance-encounter meets Priya and Abhay (Sanjay Kapoor), her husband at a jewellery store and learns the truth about Aman's health condition and his 'marriage' to Priya. Shocked and heartbroken, Naina leaves in a hurry. Priya calls Aman to inform him of what has just happened and Aman escapes the hospital, in an already weak condition to find both Rohit and Naina. He visits Rohit and asks him to fulfill his dying wish of marrying Naina. He then visits Brooklyn Bridge Park to find Naina there in tears. When she approaches and accuses Aman of lying, he tells her he does not love her although the tears in his eyes and their embrace says otherwise. Rohit and Naina get married. After their marriage, Aman hugs them both and then breaks down in tears.

Some days later, he wakes up in hospital. Aman's loved ones visit him saying their final goodbyes. Naina is unable to be near him out of grief and leaves the room in tears. He then makes Rohit promise that "In the next life, and every life to follow, Naina will be his." Aman dies in the hospital with Rohit by his side and Naina looking through the window.

Twenty years later, an older Naina relates the story to a grown-up Gia, telling her how she will never be able to forget Aman, her first love, for he had taught her to love life, herself, and Rohit. It is revealed that Naina and Rohit have a daughter of their own, Rhea, and are living happily.

Nearing the end of the movie, Rohit tells Naina he loves her and they walk towards their house following Gia and Rhea in each other's arms. Naina ends her story by narrating that while every wife dreams of finding a friend in her husband, she was lucky to find a husband in her friend.

Cast

Production

The film was written by Karan Johar with dialogue from Niranjan Iyengar and directed by debutane director Nikhil Advani. It was the last film to be produced by Yash Johar before his death on 26 June 2004. The choreography was by Farah Khan. Manish Malhotra designed the costumes of the three lead actors.

Pre-production of the film began in 2003. Kareena Kapoor was initially the first choice for Naina, but due to differences over her fees, she refused the role.[6] Preity Zinta was the immediate next choice.

Shooting began in January 2003 in New York City. A major portion of the movie was shot in Toronto due to production costs in New York City.[7]

Release

The film was released in India on 28 November 2003.

This film is the second Bollywood film to attain wide release in Germany in early 2005 (the first was Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham).[8] Since the film's release, Bollywood movies have become increasingly popular in Germany, and other Indian films have also been shown on prime time television and have sold well on DVD.[9] The movie was released in Poland in May 2006 as Gdyby jutra nie bylo (If Tomorrow Never Comes),[10] and in France in 2005 as New-York Masala.[8]

Reception

Critical reception

Kal Ho Naa Ho was well received by critics.

Taran Adarsh gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and said: "Yes, Kal Ho Naa Ho does live up to the expectations. Yes, the SRK-Karan Johar magic does cast a spell the third time around. The film works, courtesy SRK's incredible performance and Karan's deft writing."[11] Archana Vohra from NDTV gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, stating, "Advani ... seems to have come up with an innovative way to present a done-to-death plot," later adding that "irrespective of the frills, fancy clothes and well-dressed stars, the film does strike a chord and is a brilliant debut by Nikhil Advani."[12] Rediff.com, in a positive review, wrote, "The film is fresh in treatment and storytelling. Shah Rukh excels as the supercool Aman. You understand why it is difficult for Karan to work with any other actor, because SRK steals the show with a designer-made role. Given SRK's performance, it is all the more important to take note of Saif, whose Rohit Patel will be remembered just as much as his Sameer in Dil Chahta Hai. Saif is first-rate, and your heart goes out to this under-rated actor. Preity Zinta slips into character beautifully. Right from the preppy spectacles to her no-nonsense demeanor, Preity captures the spirit of Naina Kapur. She has never looked so pretty. Kal Ho Naa Ho will carry you with its exuberance."[13] Mayank Shekhar in his review for Mid-Day gave it 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Yes, this is soft-focus, sweet background score, life is simplistic escapist cinema. But the bottom line: at the end of the day, it works and is worth your entertainment bucks. And that's saying a lot."[14] In a positive review, Dave Kehr from The New York Times concluded, "This is a rich meal that may best be reserved for stomachs accustomed to such bountiful fare."[15] Komal Nahta from Outlook, in a 4-star review, remarked, "[writer] Johar has packaged the drama so very contemporarily that the final product holds its own. Undoubtedly, [the film] is one of the cleverest love triangles in Hindi cinema."[16] Ziya Us Salam wrote for The Hindu, "Watch Kal Ho Naa Ho. It is like life. It gives you reason to be disappointed, just as it gives you reason to hope."[17] In a four-star review, Jitesh Pillai of Filmfare wrote, "Anyone (which means almost everyone) who has loved and lost will recognize that Kal Ho Naa Ho is a bittersweet valentine to unrequited love. Nikhil Advani makes the sensational debut that other directors only dream of."[18] Anupama Chopra, in a positive review, wrote, "Advani, who learned family film formula with masters Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar, emerges as a distinctive voice with his first film. Written by Johar, the film revisits old ground-NRIs, wedding song, snazzy club number and Shah Rukh-but also evolves the formula. It has technical pizzazz (split screens, in-camera dialogue) and an urbane wit despite snags like sub-plots with pat endings or a lame pre-interval portion. The dialogue by Niranjan Iyengar is perfectly pitched and the performances uniformly good."[19] Chopra included the film in her list of "Top Ten Movies of The Year", ranked fifth.[20]

The film also received some mixed reviews.

Ram Kamal Mukherjee from Stardust praised the film's performances, technical aspects and its entertainment value, but noted several flaws in its "logistic part".[21] Rama Sharma from The Tribune concluded, "Kal Ho Na Ho is a usual filmi love web with a cosmopolitan appeal and a lot of comedy packed in the first half."[22] Jami Bernard from New York Daily News wrote, "Bollywood musicals, those big, loud, colorful extravaganzas from India, are an acquired taste and much of "Kal Ho Naa Ho" doesn't translate easily," though he further noted, "All three leads grow on you."[23]

Box office

Kal Ho Naa Ho was the second highest-grossing movie of the year. It had a total gross of INR628 million (US$10 million) in India and was declared a Blockbuster in India by Box Office India.[24] It also made an additional INR120 million (US$1.9 million) in the USA and INR90 million (US$1.4 million) in the UK and thus collecting a total of INR270 million (US$4.3 million) from the overseas market, where it was declared an All-Time Blockbuster. The film became the top-grossing Bollywood film abroad that year. Kal Ho Naa Ho made a total of INR892 million (US$14 million) worldwide.[3][4] When adjusted for inflation its total gross worldwide is INR1.3 billion (US$21 million).[5]

Soundtrack

Kal Ho Naa Ho
Soundtrack album by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Released
27 September 2003 (India)
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length 39:10
Label Sony BMG
Producer Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy chronology

Kuch Naa Kaho
(2003)
Kal Ho Naa Ho
(2003)
Rudraksh
(2004)

The soundtrack of the film was released on 27 September 2003 by Sony Music at Mumbai's Taj Lands End's banquet hall, Salcette[25] in various formats and consists of seven tracks. The music is conducted by award-winning trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, with lyrics authored by Javed Akhtar.[26] The music went on to do extremely well at the charts, and became the most successful music album of the year.[27] Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy won their first Filmfare Best Music Director Award for this soundtrack, as well as the National Film Award for Best Music Direction.

Unlike with many other Hindi productions, the film's makers also complied with international copyright laws and obtained the license to use Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" for an extended musical sequence taking place in the streets in New York.[28]

Post its release, the album was met with high critical and commercial success, with sales of over 2.3 million copies and was the highest-selling album that year.[29] The title song was featured in Outlook's list of Bollywood's Timeless Melodies, making it the only contemporary selection on the list.[30] The soundtrack was also listed in the top five of BBC Asian Network's Top 40 Soundtracks of all time.[31]

Background

Karan Johar decided to end the association with the composer duo Jatin-Lalit since they publicly stated that they were upset with his decision to use other music directors for Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.[32] This marked the beginning of the collaboration of Shankar Ehsaan Loy with Karan Johar, which continues to date.

Development

The theme of the title song "Kal Ho Naa Ho" is composed by Loy,[33] and Shankar arranged the groove.[34] The song "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison was reused in the film, and the rights were acquired.[35]

Track listing

No. TitleArtist(s) Length
1. "Kal Ho Naa Ho"  Sonu Nigam 5:27
2. "Kuch To Hua Hai"  Shaan, Alka Yagnik 5:22
3. "It's The Time To Disco"  KK, Shaan, Vasundhara Das, Loy Mendonsa 5:35
4. "Maahi Ve"  Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Sadhana Sargam, Shankar Mahadevan, Madhushree 6:09
5. "Pretty Woman"  Shankar Mahadevan, Ravi "Rags" Khote, Loy Mendonsa 5:55
6. "Kal Ho Naa Ho – Sad Version"  Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik, Richa Sharma 5:38
7. "Heartbeat"  Instrumental 4:28

Awards

Kal Ho Naa Ho received many awards and nominations. The awards it won are highlighted in bold:

IIFA Awards

Zee Cine Awards

National Film Awards

Filmfare Awards

Star Screen Awards

  • Best Film - Kal Ho Naa Ho
  • Best Director - Nikhil Advani
  • Best Actress - Preity Zinta
  • Best Supporting Actor – Saif Ali Khan
  • Best Supporting Actress – Jaya Bachchan
  • Best Screenplay – Karan Johar
  • Best Editing – Sanjay Sankla
  • Best Cinematography – Anil Mehta
  • Best Choreography – Farah Khan
  • Best Art Direction – Sharmishta Roy
  • Best Sound Recording – Anuj Mathur
  • Best Dialogue – Niranjan Iyengar

See also

References

  1. "Kal Ho Na Ho". Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  2. "Top Lifetime Grossers Worldwide". Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Box Office 2003". BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Overseas Earnings (Figures in Ind Rs)". BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Adjusted Earnings (Figures in Ind Rs)". BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  6. "SRK, Preity, Saif's love song". Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  7. Bhandari, Aparita (6 January 2004). "Bollywood extends its reach". Toronto Star. pp. CO7.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Release dates for Kal Ho Naa Ho". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 27 July 2008.
  9. Jaffer, Mehru (February 2006). "Adding some spice: Bollywood is proving to be a big hit in Europe". Hardnews. Retrieved 27 July 2008.
  10. Gdyby jutra nie było on filmweb.pl
  11. "review of Kal Ho Naa Ho". bollywoodhungama.com. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  12. Vohra, Archana (5 December 2001). "Kal Ho Naa Ho". NDTV. Archived from the original on 5 December 2001. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  13. "Kal Ho Naa Ho review". rediff.com. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  14. Shekhar, Mayank (28 November 2003). "You must watch this : Kal Ho Naa Ho". Mid-Day. Archived from the original on 17 December 2003.
  15. Kehr, Dave (27 November 2003). "FILM REVIEW; Romance, Comedy, Bathos: All Blended by Bollywood". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  16. Nahta, Komal (8 December 2003). "Kal Ho Naa Ho". Outlook. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  17. Us Salam, Ziya (1 December 2003). "Fall in love now... Kal Ho Naa Ho". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  18. Pillai, Jitesh (28 November 2003). "Kal Ho Naa Ho". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 3 June 2004. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  19. Chopra, Anupama (8 December 2003). "Beyond Formula". India Today. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  20. Chopra, Anupama (5 January 2004). "ANUPAMA CHOPRA'S TOP TEN MOVIES OF THE YEAR". India Today. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  21. Mukherjee, Ram Kamal (28 November 2003). "Kal Ho Naa Ho". Stardust. Archived from the original on 26 December 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  22. Sharma, Rama (30 November 2003). "Present is the only moment". The Tribune. Tribune News Service. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  23. Bernard, Jami (28 November 2003). "Kal Ho Naa Ho". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 27 December 2005. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  24. http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=209&catName=MjAwMw==
  25. "The Karan Johar show!". Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  26. "Soundtracks for Kal Ho Naa Ho". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  27. "Music Hits 2000–2009 (Figures in Units)". BoxOffice India.Com. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  28. "Top Music Sales in Bollywood – Last 60 years". BoxofficeKings. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  29. "Shankar Ehsaan Loy still making waves for Kal Ho Naa Ho". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 1 July 2006.
  30. "Top 40 soundtracks of all time". BBC Asian Network. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  31. "Cut to Cut". Rediff.com.
  32. "I have to compliment Himesh. If we have 2 hits a year, he has 20". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 24 March 2006.
  33. Rajeev, Masand. "To Catch a Star: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy on music, masti". CNN IBN. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  34. "Interview with Karan Johar". Glamsham. Retrieved 18 June 2011.

External links

Online Watch on YouTube