Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa And Why Shah Rukh Khan Has Never Looked More Endearing

Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na opens with Sunil (Shah Rukh Khan) dreaming of marrying the love of his life which is eventually crushed, in real life too. He wakes up realising that it was just a dream, though he is sure that one day Anna would surely acknowledge his love and fall for him. Sunil is an easy-going and carefree troublemaker who is not whatsoever interested in his studies, and instead spends most of the time in music. This often annoys his father, Vinayak, who wants him to study well and get a job, though he too has given up on him, like everyone else. Father Braganza (Naseeruddin Shah), though, appreciates him for his pure heart.

The only ambition in Sunil's life is to marry Anna, the only girl in his music band, whom he is head over heels in love with. In their 6-person music band, there is a guy Chris who too is in love with Anna, making him Sunil's rival. Sunil makes every possible effort to create a rift between Anna and Chris, and win over Anna's love, but eventually loses when Anna and Chris fall for each other and get married, leaving him shattered.

It is very rare of the mainstream cinema to portray the hero as a loser, but that's what makes Sunil different from the other characters played by Shah Rukh Khan, where he is more heroic and is, obviously, the achiever. It is the charm about him, and his childlike innocence in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa that makes him look so much cuter than he has ever looked in any of his films. He is a failure; he fails the fourth time in his education institution, he fails Anna, he fails his parents. He is not fearless and is vulnerable. Even the film, as a whole, has introduced us to the more vulnerable side of masculinity, through Anna's father who is a diabetic patient but unable to control his urges to have sweets; the Don Anthony Gomez, who we perceive as powerful and secure, also has vulnerabilities and weaknesses- his love life sucks!

This we come to realise later, through Father Braganza, that though Sunil is a failure in everyone's eyes, he's actually a talented musician who's got a pure heart. The final message, though, is given in the end of the film. Go watch for yourself; I'm not here to spoil it for you.

If you're looking forward to watching a heart-warming musical romantic-comedy, go stream Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa on Netflix or Voot. It's touching and fresh.