Karan Arjun


I will start by saying that I am a huge fan of SRKajol, not so much a fan of Sallu, but was eager to see what all the fuss was over this historic-now-history bromance. With faith and reincarnation being the central themes I thought, okay, let's check it out, and like most other films out there it had it's moments that made me cry out in both delight and despair.

The plot is a garish comic book, of course, in which the bad guys strut, bluster, and can't shoot straight even with the latest smuggled machine guns, and don't even get me started on the goddess Kali's statue! Yikes - that's enough to give me nightmares for weeks. You've got to know anytime you pray to something as scary as Maa Kali, as depicted in this movie, the results aren't going to be sunshine and roses.


Though the acting department is filled with average performances, Shah Rukh and Salman share a great deal of chemistry as a male duo. Their characters are clearly individuals shaped by their environment. Shah Rukh (Arjun Singh/Vijay) who is brought up in a happy, simple, loving environment is a lot more extroverted and willing to trust the reincarnation story. A brooding Salman (Karan Singh/Ajay)is brought up on the streets by an alcoholic and is reluctant to except the concept. Kajol (Sonia Saxena) and Mamta Kulkarni(Bindiya) are included almost simply to fill the female quota as neither of them distinguish their acts - their roles will probably be appreciated most by their hardcore fans.


That being said, one of the things I liked best in the movie was how liberated the women actually were. Raakhee, as Durga Singh, consistently maintains her Independence and fearlessly stands up to Thakur Durjan Singh on every occasion. Sonia frolics in the hay with Vijay, picks him for her husband and never gives in to her father. Even Bindiya gets in on the "you go girl" bandwagon by openly chasing Ajay (though this one's a stretch as any girl power nearly evaporates when she quickly switches from tomboy to miss femina in the blink of an eye).


Then we have the classic bad guy, Amrish Puri, bullet headed and fierce, a villain epic enough to make you believe that he would assassinate his associates in a heartbeat, but then howl like an animal in the dust when vengeance touches his own family. Though at one point I honestly thought his eyes would pop right out of his head - classic Amrish Puri. Maybe that's his secret weapon: "Don't piss me off or I will shoot my eyeballs at you."

Though the film is not a spectacular piece of art (could we get worse special effects?), Roshan’s direction is well done for its genre. The mindless revenge sequences and action portions are well worked out and placed. The songs are melodic mostly add to the flow of the film. One has to take the reincarnation plot with a grain of salt though. If we are brought back as exact duplicates of the people we used to be, then my personal theory of once being Indian is seriously askew.

6 Response to "Karan Arjun"

  1. ajnabi says:
    June 6, 2009 at 6:54 PM

    OMG, this movie made me laugh sooo hard. (I reviewed it here.) It was just so many levels of bad. But it was a good kind of WTF, right? Right? ;-)

  2. Shellie says:
    June 7, 2009 at 8:41 AM

    I watched it on the recommendation of a friend. It certainly had it's fair share of "moments" shall we say. Your review is HILARIOUS! I love the screen caps with your clever commentary on them. My fav is the white out lightening. Watching this film makes me eternally greatful at all of the advanced the industry has made. But definitely worth the watch for this die hard SRK fanatic.

  3. Daddy's Girl says:
    June 9, 2009 at 3:49 AM

    I watched this after reading about Salman and SRK's infamous bust-up (around the time of 'Chalte Chalte') and I remember thinking that Sallu and SRK had such great chemistry in this, and that it was a shame about their personal differences... it would be great to see them together again onscreen (in a better film - apart from Karan Arjun, they've also done the absolutely horrendous Hum Hain Tumhare Sanam together, I'm not sure but I don't think there are any other films with the two of them), but that's probably as likely as a snowstorm in hell, right? 'Karan Arjun' is a weird, mostly bad movie, but I remember really enjoying it... and Rakhee always does a really good crazy! And LOL and your last line about reincarnation... I wholeheartedly agree!

  4. Shellie says:
    June 9, 2009 at 6:24 AM

    I've tried to to watch Hum Hain Tumhare Sanam and couldn't get past a half hour. The entire opening sequence with Sallu on stage was almost unbearable. Bad dancing, bad outfits. It was funny though. I thought I read just yesterday that Salman wanted to reconcile. Who knows what will happen with those two.

  5. yves says:
    June 29, 2009 at 12:45 PM

    Hello,
    Yes DG, there's at least Kuch kuch hota hai with SRK and Salman together! But everybody's right, HHTS is rather hard to watch!

    Shell: have you seen many other Kajol movies? In my time, I use to buy them and watch them, so silly was I with her charm and tricks. But If I remember well, there are a number that are rather inept (I can remember good one too, of course!)
    cheers

  6. Shellie says:
    June 29, 2009 at 1:06 PM

    Namaste Yves,
    Lol, sounds like I am with SRK what you were with Kajol. I've even rented movies like Shakti and I See You just to see him in a special appearance. As for more Kajol movies, I think I've seen her in all the ones she was in with Shah Rukh, plus Fanaa and waiting in the wings is Ishq and U, Me Aur Hum. She's definitely one of my fav Bollywood actresses.