Tis' the season for big Bollywood blockbusters: May brought us Kunal Kohli's Fanaa, and on June 23d, Rakesh Roshan's Krrish will make its global premier. Coming up in August, after much anticipation, is Karan Johar's new film, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, or "KANK" to Bollywood insiders. Audiences got their first glimpse of the film during the screenings of Fanaa, where KANK's three-minute plus trailer debuted.

As usual, Johar has the best of Bollywood at his fingertips. The biggest stars clamor to work with him, and this time is no exception. KANK will feature Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan (a Johar staple - he has yet to make a film without SRK), Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta. Musically, Johar has Javed Akhtar doing the lyrics, and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy as composers.

In this film Johar ventures into new filmi terrain, straying away from the goody-two-shoes characters he usually portrays. Here, he confronts the issues of marital woes among young couples, and the temptation of infidelity that confronts the married folk in his film. The plot revolves around two of the characters, Dev (SRK) and Maya (Rani Mukherjee), who find comfort in each other, while married to others (Bachchan and Zinta).

In the Director's Note about the film, found on KANK's website, www.kankthefilm.com, Johar writes that the seed for the film was planted when he began to contemplate the institution of marriage in contemporary society. He states:

"Human relationships have always perplexed me. These seemingly simple bonds between people can amount to so much and cause such upheaval that lives change drastically with a minute change in these equations. Especially in a fast changing world of today, such changes seem magnified hundred fold forcing us to question our age old definitions of relationships and commitment."

KANK was filmed mostly in the United States, with some scenes shot in Mumbai. Shooting of the film was halted temporarily by Amitabh Bachchan's illness last winter. Johar has refuted claims that KANK has been inspired by Yash Chopra's Silsila or Mike Nichols' Closer. This is Johar's first venture after the passing of his father, Yash Johar, a legendary Bollywood filmmaker whose films included Duplicate, Dostana and Agneepath.

Johar's latest film is eagerly anticipated among Bollywood fans. His past films, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kal Ho Naa Ho and Kaal have been huge hits in India and abroad, and their soundtracks routinely find their way to number one. These films, along with countless other Bollywood hits can be found at Zip.ca, where Bollywood and Hollywood is available in your mailbox.