We Are Family

I appreciate that 'We Are Family' is an official remake and not a rip-off (which has become the traditional Bollywood thing to do). More than a decade ago, when I first saw 'Stepmom', I knew Bollywood was going to copy this. 'Am only surprised it took them this long.

'We Are Family' is pretty much a melodramatic tearjerker. The scenes that were directly copied from 'Stepmom' were quite laughable. I preferred the more original sequences, like when Maya and Shreya go shopping with Aaliyah, Shreya chooses a dress for Aaliyah who is thrilled while Maya feels some resentment.

'We Are Family' has the look of a typical Yashraj film. It's shot in Australia. Really, why couldn't they have made the movie in India? Are the makers really that ashamed of their own country? The movie, not surprisingly, revolves around very rich people. The story is told in a melodramatic and sugarcoated fashion. The sets are quite lavish. Cinematography is flat and music is horrendous. The 'Jailhouse Rock' remake is one of the worst songs and the way it was visualized made me cringe.

It's good to see Kajol not pair up with someone who's not a Khan or a Devgan. Her pairing with Arjun Rampal was quite refreshing and both actors have good chemistry. However, Rampal is underused as the film is more about Shreya and Maya. Kareena Kapoor tries his best but she's completely overshadowed by Kajol. 'We Are Family' belongs to Kajol who yet again delivers an excellent performance. If there is anything watchable about 'We Are Family' then it's her.

Such a boring movie, with unlikeable characters, cliched situations and bad dialogue. Nothing to redeem the movie at all. Performances are so average, it's like the actors sleep walked their way through the film. Certainly worth a miss.

"We Are Family" is Karan Johar's adaptation of Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts starrer "Step mom," a family drama on the rivalry between the two female protagonists on motherhood, played by Kajol and Kareena Kapoor. Indeed the performances of both make it an enjoyable yarn with amiable performances from the three kids. Despite its glibness or a lackluster epilogue, the film is able to impart emotions and grips you most of the times.

Rating: 2 stars out of 4

A remake of the 1998 Hollywood-hit 'Stepmom', 'We Are Family' is a decent film, but, it caters to Women mainly, lacking universal appeal. Debutant-Director Siddharth Malhotra, pays homage to it's original... but again, the emotion what 'Stepmom' offered, this film lacks in that department.

'We Are Family' is about a divorced couple, played by Arjun Rampal & Kajol respectively, their 3 kids and their would-be Stepmom, played by Kareena Kapoor.

'We Are Family' has it's share of wonderful moments, and to be honest, the first hour is power-packed. The problem begins in the Second Hour, the Screenplay goes for a toss. The culmination in the original, was a pure genius. Whereas, the culmination of this remake is out of emotions. It doesn't leave the impact, as per expectations. Another sore point is its soundtrack by Shankar-Eshaan-Loy. None of the songs are memorable.

Production Values, as expected from Karan Johar, are first-rate. Siddharth Malhotra makes a fine debut as a filmmaker. The adapted Screenplay drags itself in the second hour. Mohanan's Cinematography is passable. Editing by Deepa Bhatia is good.

In the acting department, Arjun Rampal is superb. He plays his part with control and patience. Kajol is believable, as always. Kareena Kapoor is good. All the kids, are highly efficient.

On the whole, 'We Are Family' is a decent film, that has some potential working on it's advantage. Watch it if you must!

I haven't watched Stepmom, so cant compare this with the original… Anyway, this itself is a very good movie you can watch with your family or your spouse. This is not a kind of full entertainment movie, of course, the movie has its light moments, but the main task is far more than brainless entertainment…

Siddharth Malhotra, the debutant did a very good job as the director. Performance wise, Kareena and Kajol were equally good, both of them acted very very well… Arjun Rampal was also good, he did complete justice to the character.. In fact, he is one of the very few actors in Indian film industry, who can portray this role… The kids were very good, especially, the eldest girl. Some of her expressions were just WoWWW!!! The youngest girl was so cute, she was like a doll in Bumm Bumm Bole also… The other child, the boy was also good, don't know why, he did not get that much role as of the other two.

Music department, not so great… I saw many people praising a song Hamesha & Forever, I didn't feel anything for the song… In fact, the other songs like Aankhon Mein Neendein, Reham O Karam and Let's Rock were nice…

A good movie, on the whole..