A week after the release the verdict was out… People walking out the theater had sleepy faces and called it rubbish. Reviews weren’t kind but were innovative! Everything logical told me I should not waste my money and my time… Yet
After the movie I wished i had watched it on the very first show… Why? Not because I loved it or something! (My general opinion was that the movie was not bad) but coz this movie is ‘special’!
You have heard it before but I will point out the bad parts before I go to the good parts:
* Lead actors: Sorry kids… it was pretty bad. It wasn’t a total lack of skill/talent or something but rather an absence of experience to handle either character. Ranbir Kapoor who played ‘Raj’ needed something like like amazing performance of Ewan McGergor in ‘Moulin Rouge’ and when ever he would go into a frenzy of funny faces I had half a mind to punch him! Sonam Kapoor was at best decent… I did not find her unbelievably attractive like most other people did, I loved her costumes though. There were some moments where she was perfect but far too many where she was simply fake.
* Story: I came back and read the synopsis of White Nights the short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky on which the movie was based. The short story I felt had substance… It left me with a feeling of what could have been made of this. Its almost depressing that the adapted parts were the ones that should have possibly been left alone and the retained parts the ones that should have been adapted.
Now to the parts I loved about this movie:
* Sets: This movie has without a doubt the most beautiful sets I have ever laid my eyes on. If you have to watch it for one reason it has to be the sets! If you are a photographer/painter watch this movie coz it is some sort of a creative orgasm. The concentration to detail left me dumb folded… everything from the light poles to the pot holes were artistically created and I was in absolute awe as the movie rolled.
* Direction: This movie has to be watched by budding film makers to learn how to create magic in a moment, for how to let actors blend into a scene and for how to every frame a painting! There are hints of the gradeour scenes from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam… like the moment when Imaan is leaving and she sprints to see him and collapses in his shoulders, the scene where she is waiting for Eid and is informed that she was lied to that Imaan was seen in the neighboring town and she lies down on the red carpet on a beautiful blue setting… How bout the scene where Sakina is with her grandmother and Aaya, the scene unfolds with the grandmother talking and we see the other two characters on the mirrors on the wall… Pure genius
I can go on and on…
* First 15 min: I think Sanjay Leela Bhansali should have made it a full fledged musical (akin to Moulin Rouge) The first 15 min of the movie has all the makings of a perfect musical and then he blew it :( The songs are all winners and excellently executed… Even though its been termed as a musical as long as there are more dialogs than lyrics its not one for me :P
* Rani Mukherjee – Zohra Sehgal: The performances of the movie… probably of the year! Rani bought this amazing class to her very unclassy role as a whore. Her acting is beyond words and there is so much magic just in her eyes that it was worth it all. Zohra Sehgal provided the beautiful balance right thru the movie… her presence was powerful and that scene with Rani was as perfect as scenes could get! (The dialog for that scene inspired an applause and rightly so)
Bottom Line: 10-20 years down the line people would forget a “Chak De! India” or a “Om Shanti Om” but this movie is a stuff of legends. It might not be perfect but things in it were and that is what will be a benchmark for future flim makers. This movie is not for everybody but for the select few that would enjoy it, its worth its weight in gold.
Ps: I will be purchasing a personal copy of the DVD when it is released :)