Here I will comment on the content rather than the filmmaking techniques or acting: I'm not of Indian decent and don't understand any Hindi, except what I have learned from watching subtitled Bollywood... Yes, I'm a big fan. I used to like Shahrukh Khan and watched KANK just because he was in it. I assumed it would be a great film. I was VERY DISAPPOINTED :( Talking to many Indian friends, they seemed to share my feeling that Shahrukh lost many fans after this movie.
I just read some of the positive reviews and to me it seems as though many people consider anything unconventional or defiant as "artsy" and therefore valuable. Especially in Europe, many so-called educated people still confuse "immoral" with "open-minded". According to these people, if you cheat on your spouse, you are no longer bound by the traditional, maybe even religion-based, institution of marriage. For many Indians who have felt the pressures of culture, religion and society, this film may feel like a whiff of fresh air just because it seems to break free from those strings... and indeed it does. This reminds me of those repressed youngsters whose parents force religion on them, only to see them revolting with sometimes becoming delinquent once they become independent.
To break free from the negative aspects of tradition (i.e. even arranged or forced marriage), one doesn't need to lie and cheat or to do the opposite of ALL that's traditional or religious. One can question tradition and religion and take what's valuable and throw away what's not fair (sexism, homophobia, etc.) I am personally not affiliated with any religion. Nevertheless, I believe that morality is needed to make the wheels of a society run. Otherwise, there would be total anarchy. Trust is needed so people can get along peacefully. Everyone has the right to the truth, especially when it involves someone that they have trusted their life, love, emotions and body with. A person with a good social understanding realizes that if everyone acts selfishly, the society falls apart and there won't be anything anymore to hang on to.
Cheating on someone, deceiving, lying to, hiding from someone, especially a spouse, is not being progressive, open-minded and modern. A successful modern society survives on basic human values such as empathy, trust and a sense of morality in its laws as well as among its people. Deceit is simply immoral and unfair. Do onto others what you like done to you. Problems arise in almost every marriage, but should first be solved by good communication. If both parties reach a solution where it seems the only way out is a divorce (so sad), so be it. At least it gives both people the respect of their time and knowing the truth and having the freedom to live their life however they want without deceiving someone else to do it.
KANK may have wanted to hint at some things that may cause marital problems... or maybe not. It doesn't even vilify the spouses that were cheated on and doesn't make the viewer hate them (even if it did, I'd still stick to what I said above about cheating).
KANK pretends to be a "realistic" film about things that can happen in everyday life. Well, do they? No, unless your average Joe is a sociopath. Someone who can carry on an affair must be a sociopath, someone with no feelings, no guilt, no remorse, no empathy, no respect for other people's rights and no sense of fairness.
Then there are those who claim that one should not be offended as this is just a (realistic) story. It's not. Then why glorify an extra-marital relationship? Even if this happened with a couple, this film could have turned it on its head and use it as a teachable moment... show that actually people who cheat once, are capable on cheating again (no empathy, remember?!!), so they are very likely to cheat on that new person with someone else, and again, and again, and again...
Instead, the ending romanticises this extra-marital affair and gives it a seemingly happy ending (that may have been the intention but I felt reallky appalled). Have the makers of this film not looked at any statistics? Don't they know that "once a cheater, always a cheater" is true (because someone with no soul, empathy or morality doesn't suddenly achieve them!)? Have they no values, no respect for integrity? Maybe one of them had an affair and this film was made to justify it, to no avail. In any case, this huge mistake was made at the expense of millions of Bollywood viewers. I found the ending disgusting and not at all romantic. I couldn't help feeling sorry for the duped spouses and thinking they deserved better than having been married to such low scums. The filmmaker's attempt to make these two cheaters likable totally fails... miserably.
I'm happily married and I met my spouse myself. Even if I had had an arranged marriage like some traditional Indian people, I would still treat that spouse with respect and honesty and would either try to work things out or separate with dignity.
p.s. As for being someone's soul mate, if you give yourself the right and the permission to look outside your marriage, you would find a potential soul mate with many people, as you will have things in common with many people. What makes you think the next person will be any different? THE IMPORTANT CHALLENGE IS TO KEEP THE ONE SOULMATE THAT YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE.
I just read some of the positive reviews and to me it seems as though many people consider anything unconventional or defiant as "artsy" and therefore valuable. Especially in Europe, many so-called educated people still confuse "immoral" with "open-minded". According to these people, if you cheat on your spouse, you are no longer bound by the traditional, maybe even religion-based, institution of marriage. For many Indians who have felt the pressures of culture, religion and society, this film may feel like a whiff of fresh air just because it seems to break free from those strings... and indeed it does. This reminds me of those repressed youngsters whose parents force religion on them, only to see them revolting with sometimes becoming delinquent once they become independent.
To break free from the negative aspects of tradition (i.e. even arranged or forced marriage), one doesn't need to lie and cheat or to do the opposite of ALL that's traditional or religious. One can question tradition and religion and take what's valuable and throw away what's not fair (sexism, homophobia, etc.) I am personally not affiliated with any religion. Nevertheless, I believe that morality is needed to make the wheels of a society run. Otherwise, there would be total anarchy. Trust is needed so people can get along peacefully. Everyone has the right to the truth, especially when it involves someone that they have trusted their life, love, emotions and body with. A person with a good social understanding realizes that if everyone acts selfishly, the society falls apart and there won't be anything anymore to hang on to.
Cheating on someone, deceiving, lying to, hiding from someone, especially a spouse, is not being progressive, open-minded and modern. A successful modern society survives on basic human values such as empathy, trust and a sense of morality in its laws as well as among its people. Deceit is simply immoral and unfair. Do onto others what you like done to you. Problems arise in almost every marriage, but should first be solved by good communication. If both parties reach a solution where it seems the only way out is a divorce (so sad), so be it. At least it gives both people the respect of their time and knowing the truth and having the freedom to live their life however they want without deceiving someone else to do it.
KANK may have wanted to hint at some things that may cause marital problems... or maybe not. It doesn't even vilify the spouses that were cheated on and doesn't make the viewer hate them (even if it did, I'd still stick to what I said above about cheating).
KANK pretends to be a "realistic" film about things that can happen in everyday life. Well, do they? No, unless your average Joe is a sociopath. Someone who can carry on an affair must be a sociopath, someone with no feelings, no guilt, no remorse, no empathy, no respect for other people's rights and no sense of fairness.
Then there are those who claim that one should not be offended as this is just a (realistic) story. It's not. Then why glorify an extra-marital relationship? Even if this happened with a couple, this film could have turned it on its head and use it as a teachable moment... show that actually people who cheat once, are capable on cheating again (no empathy, remember?!!), so they are very likely to cheat on that new person with someone else, and again, and again, and again...
Instead, the ending romanticises this extra-marital affair and gives it a seemingly happy ending (that may have been the intention but I felt reallky appalled). Have the makers of this film not looked at any statistics? Don't they know that "once a cheater, always a cheater" is true (because someone with no soul, empathy or morality doesn't suddenly achieve them!)? Have they no values, no respect for integrity? Maybe one of them had an affair and this film was made to justify it, to no avail. In any case, this huge mistake was made at the expense of millions of Bollywood viewers. I found the ending disgusting and not at all romantic. I couldn't help feeling sorry for the duped spouses and thinking they deserved better than having been married to such low scums. The filmmaker's attempt to make these two cheaters likable totally fails... miserably.
I'm happily married and I met my spouse myself. Even if I had had an arranged marriage like some traditional Indian people, I would still treat that spouse with respect and honesty and would either try to work things out or separate with dignity.
p.s. As for being someone's soul mate, if you give yourself the right and the permission to look outside your marriage, you would find a potential soul mate with many people, as you will have things in common with many people. What makes you think the next person will be any different? THE IMPORTANT CHALLENGE IS TO KEEP THE ONE SOULMATE THAT YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE.