Devil's Advocate

The said lines made an entire movie hall gasp into a helpless 'awww' and a few seconds later, applauds erupted out of nowhere. As someone ready to step into the teens, I watched the movie with excitement. Each scene presenting an extravaganza of emotions which though sublime made girls coo for SRK (Damn it! He scores every-time.). The grandeur of sartorial excesses (casuals only) made kids and teens alike crave for a certain Polo t-shirt brand. Yes, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is a case study in itself. The film is an institution. Its landmark cinema at its best. And not because any of the actors were able to pull a la Al Pachino. Even the director did something which in common parlance is attributed as a formula-film. No, Karan Johar did not pull off a signature Subhash Ghai. The story was a run off the mill love triangle (and the vox-populi dictated that Aman played by Salman-the-shirtless-khan as the one making the sacrifice. Touchy.). Screenplay, narration, cinematography- sufficient. So what makes this film an institution???

Aspirations. Yes, the aspirations of a middle class, waking up from a slumber of a don't-know-how-many-years. The film made a strong comment on the sartorial senses of how we'd wanted to dress all along. It gave us a sense of style. The C-O-O-L necklace went on to become a best seller within days. Friendship bands became a rage. The glares sported by SRK were nice. Skateboards. And the college life portrayed by Rahul and Anjali was simply awesome. Everyone now wanted to play basketball. Heck, I wanted my school to finish asap so that I could attend college which was..... cool!!! Yeah, and how can I not mention summer camp. Every demanding kid worth his/her salt wanted to go to a summer camp. Gah.

So how does all this make sense?? Well for one, the timing of the movie couldn't have been better. It had been 7 odd years since our markets had opened. We had finally started to appreciate the idea of a free market. Everything phoren was cool. It was a marketing blitzkrieg when KKHH released. I remember getting a box of Kellogs Chocos just because they gave away the music cassette of KKHH. And parents were shelling money on their kids (spoiling them :P) because their disposable income had risen. Sure Yashraj Films had already started with all such things, but KKHH proved to be the last straw to break the camel's neck!!! KKHH proved to be a tipping point of all sorts. And kudos to Karan Johar for that.

Here's to one of the greatest movies in Indian cinema in the words of Barney Stinson- It's Legendary!!!