Masand's verdict: Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

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Keywords: Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Masand\'s Verdict

Of the cast, Preity Zinta fits her role to the tee, reflecting just that slight hint of cold detachment that the part requires from her. Amitabh Bachchan nails it with a performance that carefully treads the fine line between old perv and naughty senior. It is to his credit as an actor that he can switch from playful to prophetic as he offers those words of wisdom that eventually become the direction that the cheating couple take in the story.

Shah Rukh Khan turns in an inspired performance as a resentful family man who's covered with issues from head to toe. He conveys his inner turmoil by losing his cool one time too many, but in the process he creates a character you can instantly empathise with.

The consistently competent Rani Mukherjee takes on the film's toughest role - a part that may be hard to sympathise with - but she injects it with tenderness and believability. It's really she who conveys the film's central message - great friends don't necessarily make great lovers, it's real passion, real love that makes a great marriage.

Rani looks a million bucks and she dives under the skin of her character to make that part one that we will remember for a long time. And it's Abhishek Bachchan, delivering what is easily his best performance to date, who's the film's surprise packet.

He conveys both vulnerability and bratty boyishness with such ease that he wins you over from the word go. The film's ensemble cast plays off each other comfortably, and never once slips out of character in a bid to outdo the other.

In the end, the real star of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is the film's director himself who takes big strides as a storyteller. Distancing himself from the kind of melodrama he's subjected us to in the past, Johar goes for more subtle emotions this time. His characters may still wear designer tags but they're all grey and they've messed up their lives.

If cinema is entertainment, then Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna succeeds, and how! At three hours and ten minutes it's a tad long, but Johar's been guilty of that crime in the past too. Then that's both thumbs up for Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, a wholesome entertainer that proves that when done well, there's nothing quite like the masala Bollywood film.

Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)