Some
films
are
good
to
look
at.
Some
feel
good
at
heart.
Very
few
mainstream
films
manage
to
look
as
good
on
the
surface
and
also
attain
a
beauty
of
the
heart.
We
Are
Family
is
equally
appealing
from
the
outside
and
at
heart.
It
doesn't
take
us
long
into
the
narration
to
realize
that
the
debutant
director
has
his
own
ideas
on
how
urban
man-woman
relationships
work.
Siddharth
Malhotra
brings
the
traditional
compassion
and
large-heartedness
of
Sooraj
Barjatya's
films
into
the
same
line
of
vision
as
the
urban
fables
about
the
man-woman
relationship
of
Gulzar's
Ijaazat
and
Govind
Nihalani's
Drishti.
The
brew
is
invigorating
and
often
very,
very
moving
in
the
way
movies
stopped
moving
us
a
long
time
ago.
The
basic
premise
and
even
chunks
of
sequences
and
dialogues
are
taken
from
Chris
Columbus'
Stepmom.
Are
Kajol
and
Kareena
Kapoor
as
powerful
in
portraying
the
wife
and
the
other
woman
as
Susan
Sarandon
and
Julia
Roberts
in
the
original?
What
if
one
says
the
two
divas
in
the
desi
Stepmom
are
far
more
empathetic
in
their
understanding
of
the
complexities
of
a
marriage
that
has
not
quite
terminated
and
the
alternative
relationship
which
doesn't
know
where
to
go
without
disrespecting
the
earlier
relationship?
Kajol
and
Kareena
share
a
compelling
partnership
in
portraying
a
household
that's
run
by
two
women?
The
intricacies
of
the
triangle
are
worked
out
with
heart
warming
delicacy,
so
much
so
that
you
wonder
why
the
director
needed
to
keep
any
of
elements
from
the
Hollywood
film.
We
Are
Family
takes
the
Stepmom
saga
to
another
level.
It's
an
urban
fable
told
with
subtlety
and
a
softness
of
touch
which
completely
avoid
excesses
of
emotions
until
the
last
ostensibly
gut-wrenching
finale
when
the
narration
gets
excessively
melodramatic.
The
rest
of
the
film
is
remarkably
devoid
of
extravagant
emotions
even
though
the
situation
described
and
defined
by
the
plot
is
susceptible
to
acute
bouts
of
overt
emotion.
Having
three
actors,
who
know
how
to
play
down
the
pitch
without
taking
away
the
edge
in
the
narration,
surely
helps
the
situation.
Kajol
needs
absolutely
no
recommendation.
Her
transformation
from
physically
healthy
but
restless
in
soul,
to
a
dying
but
spiritually
healed
entity
happens
right
in
front
of
our
eyes.
The
little-little
things
she
does
with
her
eyes
and
lips
just
rip
a
hole
in
our
soul.
Yup,
she
is
one
of
our
all-time
greats...without
trying.
Moments
when
she
watches
Shreya
(Kareena)
take
charge
of
her
children
and
husband
find
Kajol
expressing
a
mixture
of
envy
and
resignation
the
way
only
she
can.
But
it
is
Kareena
Kapoor
who
is
an
utter
revelation.
Never
before
has
she
demonstrated
such
a
complete
understanding
of
her
character's
inner
life.
To
the
role
of
Kajol's
husband's
girlfriend
Kareena
brings
a
rare
and
reined-in
passion.
Everything
that
she
has
done
so
far
on
screen
is
undone
as
Kareena
redefines
the
role
of
the
Other
Woman
in
Hindi
cinema.
Admirably
the
6
screenplay
writers
have
worked
overtime
on
Kareena's
part.
She
could
easily
have
been
the
bitch
who
steals
Kajol's
husband
away.
As
written
in
the
script
Kareena
comes
across
as
flesh
blood
tears...and
yes,
as
a
woman
of
great
beauty.
Arjun
Rampal
has
been
constantly
evolving
as
an
actor.
Here
he
balances
out
the
powerhouse
performers
on
both
his
sides
with
a
deeply
felt
emotional
binding
presence.
And
by
the
way
he
dances
better
than
Kajol
and
Kareena
in
the
disappointing
'Jailhouse
Rock'
number.
Sensibly
Siddharth
Malhotra
has
avoided
the
temptation
of
too
many
confrontational
moments
between
Kajol
and
Kareena.
We
wouldn't
have
wanted
this
tender-sweet
look
at
a
shattered
family's
attempts
to
hold
the
fabric
of
their
togetherness
in
place
to
end
up
looking
like
one
of
those
T.
Rama
Rao
mera-pati-sirf-mera-hai
kitsch-kitsch-hota-hai
stale-tales
from
the
1980s.
We
Are
Family
takes
the
story
of
a
broken
marriage
to
an
area
of
poignancy
where
the
outer
edges
remain
as
strong
as
the
inner
fabric
of
the
three
characters
who
find
themselves
trapped
in
a
tragedy
not
of
their
making.
From
the
opening
birthday
sequence
where
Arjun
introduces
girlfriend
Kareena
to
his
wife
and
children,
with
disastrous
consequences,
the
film
exercises
a
high
cool-and-calm
quotient
in
its
structuring.
At
the
end
when
Siddharth
Malhotra
has
taken
the
family
fable
beyond
Stepmom
you
suddenly
realize
it's
been
a
while
since
we
saw
a
film
about
Man,
Wife
and
Other
Woman
tackle
the
layers
of
painful
separation
and
reconciliation
with
such
fluency
and
care.
Go
for
this
one.
Story first published: Friday, September 3, 2010, 12:58 [IST]