A generation awakens. Heck. About time.
Yup, its time to write about what everyone else is writing about.
Earlier I would try and avoid this, cause I thought it was like jumping on the band wagon... but this is one wagon that i wouldn't wanna miss.
And anyways, I thought I should indulge in some pretentious stuff... like writing reviews, which few people read. And fewer care about.
I can't remember the last time a movie impressed me so much.
Oh well, actually I can - but hey maybe I'm just young and impressionable ok?! And that kinda dilutes the plot, so moving along swiftly...lemme just say that never before has a film seemed so absolutely in sync with my thoughts on a myriad variety of issues. And yes, I'd like to believe that my opinions matter. I paid for the tickets.
And for a change, this too, is a film that's not afraid to have an opinion. About family. About friends. Patriotism. Attitude. Responsibility. Even death.
Cliched as it may seem, what this film did, was not just 'strike a chord with my heart', but it actually belted out the entire symphony that was playing in my head.
Albeit a little slowly at times.
Aamir Khan and does give a crackerjack performance, but the rest of the ladies & gentlemen are routinely outstanding as well.
Soha Ali Khan is solid, thought she could do with less of a statuesque nose. Kunal Kapoor has what it takes to make the women squeal & squirm. Sharman Joshi has his moments, quite a few of them. Siddharth as the uber cool Karan Singhania (the right here, right now version of 'Singhania group of companies ka eklauta waaris') is simply superb. Alice Patten as the gori hottie gives an effortless performance. Atul Kulkarni, to many may seem refreshing, but let's just say that you can take the boy out of Pune, but you can't take Pune out of the boy. His inherent Maharashtrian-ness crops up at the most inopportune moments (check him out saying 'Sorry' and you'll know what I'm talking about!) - and the moustache stops short of screaming out Jai Maharashtra - not quite the saffron hued Laxman Pandey he's meant to be....
And surprise, surprise, the performances are not limited to the boys in the poster - the supporting cast (another surprise - not as many as you'd expect in a film this long!) are superb too. Kiron Kher finally gets rid of her usual aging kothewaali look to play Aamir's Sardarni mother - totally hard Kaur. Anupam Kher as Mr.Singania with little time for his son and none whatsoever for any scruples is convincing. Om Puri as the quintessential mian complete with checked lungi is excellent, but the man to watch out for is Mohan Agashe as the corrupt politician, a role so cliched & brief yet delivered with astonishing aplomb.
Yeah, ok so the film's a trifle too long, the plot's a little far fetched and the conclusion may seem extreme, but here's a film that doesn't baulk at anything. A director that's not afraid to tell a story searingly original and a bunch of actors giving flawless performances. And A R Rehman redeems himself with a satisfactory score.
Having said that though, the real test of a would-be cult film (which this one might well be!) is how it lends itself to subtle subplots - whether it lets people mull over random and often inconsequential questions. Like in this one, does Karan somewhere have the hots for Sonia? Everyone has a family but where's Sonia's? You get my drift. Or maybe you don't. Doesn't matter.
Go on and watch the film.
As the tagline says - A generation awakens.
Heck, about bloody time.
Earlier I would try and avoid this, cause I thought it was like jumping on the band wagon... but this is one wagon that i wouldn't wanna miss.
And anyways, I thought I should indulge in some pretentious stuff... like writing reviews, which few people read. And fewer care about.
I can't remember the last time a movie impressed me so much.
Oh well, actually I can - but hey maybe I'm just young and impressionable ok?! And that kinda dilutes the plot, so moving along swiftly...lemme just say that never before has a film seemed so absolutely in sync with my thoughts on a myriad variety of issues. And yes, I'd like to believe that my opinions matter. I paid for the tickets.
And for a change, this too, is a film that's not afraid to have an opinion. About family. About friends. Patriotism. Attitude. Responsibility. Even death.
Cliched as it may seem, what this film did, was not just 'strike a chord with my heart', but it actually belted out the entire symphony that was playing in my head.
Albeit a little slowly at times.
Aamir Khan and does give a crackerjack performance, but the rest of the ladies & gentlemen are routinely outstanding as well.
Soha Ali Khan is solid, thought she could do with less of a statuesque nose. Kunal Kapoor has what it takes to make the women squeal & squirm. Sharman Joshi has his moments, quite a few of them. Siddharth as the uber cool Karan Singhania (the right here, right now version of 'Singhania group of companies ka eklauta waaris') is simply superb. Alice Patten as the gori hottie gives an effortless performance. Atul Kulkarni, to many may seem refreshing, but let's just say that you can take the boy out of Pune, but you can't take Pune out of the boy. His inherent Maharashtrian-ness crops up at the most inopportune moments (check him out saying 'Sorry' and you'll know what I'm talking about!) - and the moustache stops short of screaming out Jai Maharashtra - not quite the saffron hued Laxman Pandey he's meant to be....
And surprise, surprise, the performances are not limited to the boys in the poster - the supporting cast (another surprise - not as many as you'd expect in a film this long!) are superb too. Kiron Kher finally gets rid of her usual aging kothewaali look to play Aamir's Sardarni mother - totally hard Kaur. Anupam Kher as Mr.Singania with little time for his son and none whatsoever for any scruples is convincing. Om Puri as the quintessential mian complete with checked lungi is excellent, but the man to watch out for is Mohan Agashe as the corrupt politician, a role so cliched & brief yet delivered with astonishing aplomb.
Yeah, ok so the film's a trifle too long, the plot's a little far fetched and the conclusion may seem extreme, but here's a film that doesn't baulk at anything. A director that's not afraid to tell a story searingly original and a bunch of actors giving flawless performances. And A R Rehman redeems himself with a satisfactory score.
Having said that though, the real test of a would-be cult film (which this one might well be!) is how it lends itself to subtle subplots - whether it lets people mull over random and often inconsequential questions. Like in this one, does Karan somewhere have the hots for Sonia? Everyone has a family but where's Sonia's? You get my drift. Or maybe you don't. Doesn't matter.
Go on and watch the film.
As the tagline says - A generation awakens.
Heck, about bloody time.
posted by Da Flamingo at
2:38 AM
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