I believe that Karan Johar and Nikhil Advani have tried to do a cross between drama and parody. Mind you, it'd have been a hoot if they lampooned the serious Bollywood tearjerkers that are churned out dime a dozen. But they want the cake and eat it too. They want to parody the Bollywood tearjerker and still cater to the section of audience that wants to believe it to be real. I ended up getting a bit disoriented because at times they were showing serious stuff but were laughing behind the scenes and at other times, they took their own script too seriously. It all seems confusing and disastrous. But the end product is not too bad and that is due to the tremendous talent of the crew and cast.<br /><br />Too many movies have been shown where the old ones in US adhere to Indian traditions more ritualistically than those in India and the young ones conveniently go between being the ultra modern (whatever that means!) and ultra traditional as the script demands. They also have the poor girl married off and going to India (Some traditional family from India will ask for her hand) which doesn't make much sense because it seems to defeat the very purpose of uprooting the entire family from India. Kal Ho Naa Ho takes every one of these supposedly serious stuff (including Karan Johar's own DDLJ) and pokes fun at them. The uppity Naina (Priety), the confused Rohit (Saif), the serious grandmother and I must make bold to say, the ultimate do-gooder Aman (none other than Shah Rukh) - everyone of them is a caricature. And they have done these roles before. It is hard to take them very seriously because you get the feeling that the director and the writer are chuckling behind the cameras even as they are filming these scenes.<br /><br />And then there is the pretty funny, long comedy track of a mistaken homosexual relationship between Saif and Shah Rukh. That "O ... Kantabhen" just puts it way over the top. I laughed like crazy. Is there an inside joke there Karan and Nikhil?<br /><br />I don't know if I should say the casting is perfect or the performance is perfect for the parody. Every time I think nobody can ever act more theatrical than Shah Rukh, he out does himself. His performances are so unnatural and stilted that they are actually funny. With all the parodying going on, I am wondering if Karan and Nikhil decided to milk Shah Rukh for all he is worth and make him ham it up even more! Saif Ali Khan acts brilliantly in his repeat performance of Dil Chahta Hai and so does Priety Zinta of a number of her own roles.<br /><br />Then, the writer-director duo decide to take things seriously and the problem is I still can't stop laughing. That makes it uneasy. They take every dramatic scene, blow it out of proportion - as is the convention of Bollywood standards - and keep showing it long after it has exhausted all its dramatic potential. This makes the second half of the movie a bit uneasy to watch. Particularly when Shah Rukh leaves the hospital to go convince Saif and Priety, I was very uneasy. Then they show Saif Ali Khan in that I'm-20-years-older-so-I-need-gray-hairs wig that is just too much!<br /><br />Overall, it was an interesting movie. Somehow I feel that the filmmakers had more fun making it than we have watching it. Makes me wish I was involved in the process! 7 out of 10.<br /><br />PS: The only issue I have with the gay joke is this - India is one of the few countries where men are not as inhibited and uptight as those from Europe or US. After this movie, I am afraid that Indian guys are going to become a lot more self-conscious about non-sexual intimacy between each other. It is a pity!