Film review:

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (KANK) questions relationships and commitments

by Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga Chandrarathne

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (KANK), a Hindi movie that questions the age- old definitions of relationships and commitment, and explore them in the backdrop of a rapidly changing world, was released on August 11, simultaneously in its international release, in six cinemas, including Liberty and Sigiri in Katugastota,Sri Lanka.

The film is produced by Karan Johar, the director of the films Kuch Kuch Hota He and Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gam. This is the first time that a Hindi film is released in Sri Lanka on the same day it is released worldwide. The film is distributed in Sri Lanka by EAP Films and will be screened in EAP circuit.

The story is woven around Dev and Maya, both married to different persons, and quite contended with their marriages. Dev (Sha Rukh Khan) a professional football player, whose promising career was brought to a grinding halt as a result of an accident. He is married to Rhea (Pretty Zinta) who has a bright career. They have a son, Arjun, and Dev's mother Kamaljit (Kirron Kher) lives with them.

Maya (Rani Mukherji) teaches at a nursery and has married her close friend Rishi (Abhishek Bachchan), a PR consultant. Rishi's father, Samarjit Singh Aka Sam (Amitabh Bachchan) is a flamboyant, fun-loving man whose life revolves around the happiness of his son and daughter-in-law.

The two couples seemingly lead happy and contented married lives, albeit dissatisfactions underneath their relationships and commitments. These dissatisfactions start to surface when Dev and Maya were thrown together by a chance encounter. There is a strange connection between them which blossoms into a friendship. Their time together causes implications. The new-found friendship between Dev and Maya compel them to look into their marriages with a new perspective and face up to the issues that they hadn't before.

According to the Director, the idea for the film was born out of increasing failing marriages in India, against the backdrop of a changing world. The changes cause many upheavals in people's lives, forcing them to question the age old definition of relationships and commitments. Karan Johar in his quest to find answers for this complex scenario comes out with an artistic film that raises these issues.

****

Superman Returns

by Indeewara Thilakarathne

A blockbuster movie "Superman Returns" is now being screened at the Majestic Cinema. The character of Superman that had been living in the hearts and minds of the young and old generations would certainly like to see that it comes to life, in the film.

The audience will remember the breathtaking feats performed by superman and the film stresses that the world needs a Superman more than ever before, in the face of mounting gigantic challenges.

Superman has been raised by adoptive parents on Kent Farm in Kansas. The young boy Kal-EI is named Clark Kent. Though he lives among the humans, he is not one of them and he could perform amazing feats that humans could only dream of. However, in order to mingle with the humans, he adopts a dual life as a mild, unassuming Clark Kent, and turns into a Man of steel when the world cries out to him.

However, since his absence for seven years, the world has grown without superman, and crimes have increased, and Lex Luthor who returns from prison dreams of using superman's technological secrets to achieve undisputed super power and to become the ruler of the world.

Loise Lane, Pulitzer Prize winner, star reporter for the Daily Planet and love of Superman's life and also Superman's sweetheart, now used to live in a world without superman since he took French leave. Loise Lane won the Pulitzer Prize for her essay "Why the world doesn't need a Superman". By now she is engaged to the editor's nephew and has a young son to look after.

However, Superman's search for his place in the universe ends in Kent Farm where his adopted family lives. So, his destiny lies in the Metropolis among the flawed but good people of the Earth.

When Lex Luthor's plans come to life, the world will realize the need for a Superman. Warner Brothers unfold an exciting chapter of a saga of the most loved and admired hero and with breathtaking visual effect coupled with Dolby Digital sound system at the Majestic, which offers high quality sounds, synchronized with unfolding scenes.

"Superman Returns" tells a story of one man's unattainable love and struggle to adapt into the complex lifestyle of the metropolis, against heavy odds. It takes the audience from deep sea beds to the outer space and highlights man's greed for wealth and power.

The cast comprises Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth (Beyond the Sea, Blue Crush), James Marsden (X2: X-Men United, The notebook), Frank Langella (HBO's Unscripted), Academy Award winner Eva Marie Saint (North by Northwest), Parker Posey (Best in Show), Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar go to White Castle), Sam Huntington (Detroit Rock City) and Oscar winner Kavin Spacey (Beyond the Sea, American Beauty, The Unusual Suspects).