MUMBAI: The story of We Are Family is adapted from the Hollywood film, Step Mom. One wonders why borrow from there since the theme is a part of Indian folklore as well as tradition!
It is a tradition which has been used in film stories in both cases such as, when a married woman with a husband and kids is dying it is usually her sister who takes her place. Same is the case when such married women can’t beget an offspring. The tradition works other way round too, in case of a male demise as has been depicted in films like Ek Chadar Maili Si (Hindi) or Diyar Vatu (Gujarati) to name two.
So what is different about We Are Family? We Are Family feign to be contemporary. In that the Indian family lives in a foreign land (for no apparent reason). The couple (Kajol and Arjun Rampal) with three kids is divorced but both care very much for the kids. This situation makes it convenient for the man to fall for another woman (Kareena Kapoor) and, since he cares a lot for his kids, also attempts to make his kids accept the new woman in his life. Arjun’s efforts to make his kids accept Kareena fail as the children revolt.
The rest of the story is as predictable too. The divorced wife, Kajol, is diagnosed with Cervical Cancer and given three months to live. So now it is her wanting Kareena to enter her family and her children to accept her before her time runs out!
With the story being so predictable, screenplay follows suit. There are no twists and turns, no surprises, nothing that would make an Indian movie lover stir! While the first half is boring, the second half adds some interest but not enough to stop the tedium setting in. The narrative is as interesting as a school kid’s zoo visit report!
The story requires mainly Kajol to perform, rest needed to just be their real selves. Sadly, Kajol is one-dimensional here. Her chirpy, charming self is not a part of the story; her hyper, insecure sad self runs through the film, which may be good enough for critics but not her fans.
What is more, she looks jaded. Kareena Kapoor is okay. Arjun Rampal is a miscast; his performance is fair. Kids are cute, endearing, defiant, pests in turns, as has been seen in a hundred films. The music is noisy and wonders how many would identify with the Elvis Presley’s Jail House Rock! The film comes up with just one funny dialogue when the father-son talks. The photography is good.
We Are Family has a sob story counting on Kajol to carry it off. She can‘t, it is just not there in the script! Prospects look below par.
