I remember rather distinctly, I was all of five, when I watched a Karan Johar movie for the first time. “Oh, wow!” I thought to myself. And when I recently saw his short film for Netflix’s Ghost Stories, the same words escaped my mouth, yet again. Only back then I was amazed, and this time, I was amused. And sadly, underwhelmed.
Karan Johar’s attempt at spooky is an ‘A for effort’ at best. A ‘ghost story’ is probably as off-brand he’s ever gone and well, it shows. But, if anybody could make a horror movie look glamorous, with the whole big fat Indian wedding where the bride is styled in a stunning Manish Malhotra lehenga, it’s gotta be THIS man.
Trust Karan Johar to not spare adding a wedding sequence even when he’s trying to literally give us the chills. And trust me, the only thing that truly scared me was how perfect everyone looked. EVERYONE. And what followed, was a look-back at every KJo movie wedding ever. If there is one thing I’m absolutely certain of, it is that a Karan Johar film is not a Karan Johar film without a fancy wedding, and that is the gospel truth.
From his Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham days, where it was all about loving your high school best friend and your family to his more serious directorial endeavours such as Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and My Name Is Khan, what didn’t leave his mind or his script was a beautifully designed wedding.
One would assume that a film like Student of the Year would be about classrooms but for Karan Johar it’s also about an extravagant destination wedding in Thailand. The wedding trope has prevailed in films like Ae Dil hai Mushkil and even in Lust Stories.
For those who endorse that the only constant is change, we give you a Karan Johar film. Everything can be changed, but not a KJo film – it’s giving you all a wedding. You’ll always see it coming, it’ll always be there to comfort you and it will always be bigger and better than the last one.
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