But if he gets Preity married to Saif, that gives her the security and forever home she wants. If Shahrukh were to marry Preity, she would be left in an even more precarious position afterwards. They are in such a fragile position, Preity and Saif, they have family now but they won’t have it forever, they are the first anchors holding on to a new shore.
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Only then his Fresh Start ended up interacting with Preity and Saif’s need to found a lasting home. He had no guilt for his choice, no hope of building a future, nothing but that Fresh Start dream. He wanted to be in a place where no one knew he was dying, where he could have one last time of freedom. He came to America for a fresh start, not to find a new life but a new death. If there are no children’s children, that cheapens the sacrifice.Īnd then of course there’s Shahrukh. If they don’t marry, and don’t have children, then what was it all for? Their parents worked hard and founded a new life for their children, and also their children’s children. Saif and Preity’s parents don’t care who they marry, they just want them to marry and have children and give a sense of continuity to their sacrifice.
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The pressure on them is the third point, “founding a lasting home”. They go to school, they flirt, they make friends, the Indian family and community is there, but it is something they casually balance in their lives through a lifetime of practice. For them, there is no “guilt” around their heritage exactly, there is responsibility to their parents of course, but they live in an American world. Saif’s parents are loud and over the top and joyful, it’s easy to see how their big blustery joy at life (including strip clubs and struggling to understand and accept their gay son) would make it hard for them to fit in in India.Īnd then that leaves their children, Preity and Saif, firmly established within America and no going back. Preity’s parents had an interreligious marriage, something that is not an issue in the Indian American community but which was clearly a big deal back in India since her grandmother is still complaining about it. The “fresh start” in this film was primarily in the previous generation, while the current young folks are more dealing with the consequences. Where Karan gets interesting is how be builds on that basic structure in each of his films. That’s a pretty good summary of what America means to most people who come here. Balancing the freedom to be yourself with the guilt of betraying your heritage.Not a full understanding by any means, but somewhere farther along towards it than the usual “America is muggers and malls” concept.Īmerica in Karan Johar’s films means three things:
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Karan’s American movies (and I am including Dostana since he was so closely involved in both script and production) reflect a greater understanding of America than most Indian filmmakers share. It frees a part of himself that he can’t quite unlock anywhere else. In his memoir he talks about having kind of writing retreats when he goes there, he wanders the streets and writes movies in his head. Not just “the West” in a general terms, but specifically those two countries and especially those two cities. It’s not his home, he would never choose to leave India, but there is a part of himself that is happier and freer in America and England. I think the way Karan Johar feels about New York and London is the way some of you (not me, because I hate travel) feel about India. But should still be interesting, even if I just skim the surface of the topic.