There are many things in Sarah’s article that I found I agreed with. First of all I loved that she included that it has been called “fourteen songs and a funeral,” because I find this to be very true. Yes the songs did take a large majority of the film over, but at the same time, I agree that each song was crucial to the film (unlike the Grey’s Anatomy clip we watched in class) and it was an opportunity of expression. I enjoyed that when the characters could not find the words to say or thought that it would be stupid to say them, that they did not give up on the thought and instead sang about it. At least they expressed what they wanted even if it did have to be through fourteen songs.
I also agree with the discussion of the families portrayed. Both a very wealthy indian families that live in somewhat of a bubble world. The girls are highly educated and the boys are taking over the family business. The viewer can see the wealth of these families if not only through the houses, but also the material objects each family has. Although I enjoyed the two love stories and was upset when Pooja died, I wish that maybe the two families would not have been so similar. After I finished “Hum Aapke Hain Kuan,” I was sucked into another Bollywood movie of the same type (“Maine Pyar Kiya”) in which the two lovers are from different social classes even though their fathers had been long time friends. It did not seem like either of them owed each other anything and it was interesting to see a family film where the families are rather different. I agree that although it is somewhat flashy and show-offish, it is important to remember the audience that is viewing the film and the experience they expect from a trip to the movies. Like Sarah said, masala films are created for people to experience things they do not in everyday life, which is true for this movie and the majority of the population in india.
I too enjoyed the Lallu scene because of the trust Pooja had with him. She treats him as a brother and so does the rest of the family, which is nice to see, especially since Bindu was so mean. I thought it was interesting to see this side of indian culture and the thought that scams occur like this. I feel like this was a chance for the director to add a little twist into the movie, seeing as the entire movie to that point had been pretty much love stories and the growth of them. Although it did add just a bit of conflict to the film, I think the main purpose was to show another love story and that is the one Pooja had for everyone in that family. They used this as another way to show just how good and loving she was towards everyone (even mean Bindu).
Although some people may have found this film boring a the same old thing, I rather enjoyed it. I thought the dances and song numbers were exciting and vibrant and also enjoyed an upbeat love story compared to such a sad one (“Devdas”) last week. I was excited to see how these two families became one. One question that still remains is if there was still something between the father of the boys and the mother of the girls, because the entire film there was a constant attraction between the two. In the long run, although there was a ridiculous number of songs and little drama, this movie still captured the masala spirit and represented Bollywood films fairly. I would love to watch other family films after seeing this one to see how they compare and differ. It is not exactly what you expect when you hear a family film, but it does have you leaving with a sense of joy and happiness.
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