We Are Family - A Review

The review of the film We Are Family in an issue of the Outlook magazine made me wonder why the writer did not like the movie. She gave it only a single star rating it as 'Avoidable'. But I simply loved the movie.

In the reviewer's opinion the movie is 'regressive'...simply because of the "you can't be a good woman unless you are a good mom" ideology that she noticed somewhere. C'mon who says the movie is regressive? It is just as progressive as today's India. I guess she would have been happy with a "mera pati sirf mera hai" kind of movie. This movie isn't that and surely it's more real than saying, "We are divorced and I am so glad to meet your girlfriend. She is most welcome into our household". In reality a relationship that's as strong as a marriage does not completely change overnight with a divorce. At least not Indian marriages.

'We Are Family' is what contemporary Indians can identify with. It talks about how urban man-woman relationships work. It is a Hindi remake of the film Stepmom. Let's give Karan Johar some credit for having bought the rights of the movie and openly crediting the story. We have seen too many remakes of Hollywood movies without actually any acknowledgment whatsoever. If somebody is making a remake and actually buying the rights to make such a movie, let's learn to appreciate his move.

The movie is about a doting father (played by Arjun Rampal) who introduces his girlfriend (Kareena) to his ex-wife (Kajol) and their children. It's about the process of accepting a stepmom... from initial denial to rejection to finally accepting the relationship.

The film is set in Australia. The reviewer isn't too amused about this and writes, "It could not have been based in India anyhow. Simply because  it's hard to imagine that there would be no support structure and help available to a dying single mom in our country...". Take a breather. What's wrong with having the movie set in another country when we have so many Indians living abroad? There are enough movies that deal with Indians in India. What's wrong with having some movies that talk about the lives of Indians outside India? Even in India, there are single parents who are bringing up their children without any support from others.

"You see, there's practically no one else in this film other than the six members of this silly family...", she writes. Yes, there's practically no one else. But this film revolves round these six characters and each one essays his or her role to near perfection.

Kajol and Kareena play two very strong ladies. Arjun has a smaller role in comparison. Debut director Siddharth Malhotra has been wise enough in choosing Arjun and not SRK (Karan's other lucky charm) to play the role. He probably did not want SRK's star presence to overshadow the deep emotions played by the two leading ladies.

Though Arjun's role is small, he does make an impact. Arjun has always been evolving as an actor. He brings out the emotions very convincingly, playing the role of a 'strong, silent man' who finds himself caught between a woman he now loves and a woman who is the mother of his children.

I simply love the way Siddharth has handled this movie with so much maturity. There is not too much of melodrama. The ex-husband is not portrayed as a evil man who brings home another woman. He is a nice young man who wants his children and his ex-wife to understand and accept his girlfriend. He knows it is going to be tough for the family but he still wants them to know. Obviously, the children do not accept her immediately when they are introduced to her.

Kajol's transformation from a physically healthy woman to a woman who now has to deal with cancer is aptly portrayed. A special mention to the makeup artists for bringing out the transformations gradually and so realistically.

The subtle way the topic has been handled shows Siddharth's mature and clear understanding of the family relationships. The revolting teenager, the caring dad, the over-indulging mother, the career woman who knows what discipline means, the little baby of the house who believes in fairies, the boy who likes his father's girlfriend because she understands his subdued desire to sport gelled hair ... all of them are so real.

I wonder what made the reviewer write such a review. I would love to go watch the movie yet again. Maybe we have different tastes. I wonder how she could label movies as nice as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and We Are Family as orthodox and conventional. Did she have something against Karan Johar? Okay okay...she is entitled to have a different view. If you are wondering whether you should go and watch this one, just go ahead. It's not a big waste of money. It is not a thorough entertainer like 3 Idiots. It's somewhere in middle. Certainly more entertaining than some other movies that make no sense at all.