Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)

Director:

Nikhil Advani

Writers:

Niranjan Iyengar (dialogue)
Karan Johar (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 November 2003 (India)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A Story Of A Lifetime.......In A Heartbeat

Plot:

Life of a very serious girl Naina, changes on the arrival of her new neighbour, Aman, who teaches her a new way to live.

Plot Keywords:

Reverse Footage | Meaning Of Life | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Tragic Ending | Fast Motion Sequence

Awards:

16 wins & 27 nominations

Cast

Jaya Bhaduri	...	Jennifer Kapur (as Jaya Bachchan)
Shahrukh Khan	...	Aman Mathur
Saif Ali Khan	...	Rohit Patel
Preity Zinta	...	Naina Catherine Kapur Patel
Sushma Seth	...	Lajjo Kapur
Reema Lagoo	...	Aman's Mother
Lillete Dubey	...	Jaswinder "Jazz" Kapoor
Delnaaz Paul	...	Jasprit "Sweetu" Kapoor
Rani Mukherjee	...	Special Appearance (as Rani Mukerji)
Sonali Bendre	...	Dr. Priya
Sanjay Kapoor	...	Abhay
Sulabha Arya	...	Kanta Bhen (as Sulbha Arya)
Athit Naik	...	Shiv Kapur
Princey Shukla	...	Gia Kapur (as Jhanak Shukla)
Simone Singh	...	Camilla

Also Known As:

Tomorrow May Never Come (USA) (informal literal English title)
Tomorrow May Not Be (USA) (DVD box title)

Runtime:

186 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi | English | Gujarati | Punjabi

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:U | UK:12 | Germany:6 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | France:U | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva)

Filming Locations:

India

Company:

Dharma Productions

Trivia:

The man shown at the beginning of the movie playing with young Nana is actually the cinematographer of the movie, Anil Mehta.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Naina returns home from Central Park, her lips say, "St Paul's Cathedral."

Quotes:

Aman Mathur: [to Naina] Listen... live... be happy... smile... Who knows? Tomorrow may not be...

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Jism (2003)

Soundtrack:

Kal Ho Naa Ho

Live a lifetime.in every heartbeat (..and in every scene)

Being one of the first person to watch Kal Ho Naa Ho in my group, I was constantly battered by the same questions: is it worth it? what would you compare it to? whats it about? etc.

To answer these and other questions:

Was it worth it: well depending on your perspective of what an entertaining movie should be like, then the answer would either be: 'yes definitely' or 'you will be mad to miss it'. It is so worth watching and with it Karan Johar has confirmed the he is indeed a milestone in Hindi Cinema history. The movie is definitely directed by a another (Nikhil Advani), but it is a Johar camp movie. With the Johar camp you associate a good story, good production, good songs and the 'King Khan'.

What would you compare it to? Well to be honest .nothing. It has the originality of `Kuch Kuch', the splendour of `K3G' and the freshness of `Dil Chaata Hai'; but it cannot be compared to any of these or other movies. It is in a league of its own. The story may start as the run-of-the-mill hindi-cinema story, but just when we begin to get comfortable with it, it takes a turn down another path. Don't get me wrong, it is not a complex story at all - but it is unique and compelling.

Would you watch it again? Well to be honest, I am writing this after having watched it a second time. What is so rare about this movie is that even the second time round I laughed at the jokes, tapped at the music and got emotional in the sad scenes.

What's it about? Well it will not be fair to tell you about it, as it's an experience you should have first hand. But it has its plus points: the comedy is great (both in the gujju digs as well as the 'kantabein' scenes); the music grows on you (maahi ve being the best); the guest appearances of 'charmed' actresses; the acting - excellent all round from SRK to Zinta to Saif to Jaya; along with good direction and production. It also has its negative points - but then so do other movies and I would rather not get into those.

It may not be the DDLJ or Lagaan of hindi cinema, but it's the best movie of the year and definitely a movie that will entertain me for years to come.