Monday blues...

Hello Monday! :)

Back in office after the eventful (NOT!) weekend. I did see a movie though - Jaane tu ya jaane na. Hindi - romance/comedy. I think you should know this about me (if you don't already, you should talk to me more.... really!) - I am a huge movie buff. Movies for me is an experience. Not for me your dvds/cds/online versions (you pirates!). I love going to the theater and watching it with real people around me. People who watch movies at home, or wait for it to 'premier' on television, are escapists. Me? I need the challenge of making it to the movie on time (hey, it's difficult! ok?), I need to see the opening credits rolling over my head, feel every thump of the music (digital surround sound, hurray), I need the intermission to contemplate on how the movie is 'so far', I need the popcorn, the coffee/pepsi, I need to smile at the couple with the cute baby, need to observe people, note their reactions to the movie, have a 'SRK rocks, Aamir sucks' kinda conversation. 

So, here's my take on 'Jaane tu ya jaane na.' - youthful, breezy, and real. 

The story is nothing new. Haven't we seen this before? Two friends - inseparable.. they fight, they make up, they laugh, they cry. The whole world, including all the cats and mice in it, know they are perfect each other except the protagonists themselves. And we have the indispensable other girlfriend, other boyfriend (for symmetry), the 'omg, i love her/him moment' and the ubiquitous 'airport scene' in the end. (OMG, guess what the airports should ACTUALLY place tax on?.. the next gudda-guddi in love who disrupt the procedures)

Anyway, I liked the movie because of the way the director has handled it. He didn't have much to work with, but he did well with what he had. Here's what to watch out for: 

• Imran Khan and Genelia - The chemistry crackles. QSQT revisited (almost). Genelia is a little measured with the diction but she manages to pack a punch. Imran Khan is cute (does he shave yet?) and thankfully, does NOT shamelessly imitate Aamir Khan. He actually does a very restrained and original job. Observe especially his interactions with his mother, Ratna Pathak Shah and with Genelia of course.
• The talking Ranjod ke Rathod portrait (Naseeruddin Shah)
• Jai has just neglected to attend Aditi's birthday in favor of going to his girlfriend's house. He comes to wish her and meets her brother instead. The story could have segued into a 'ah! now you come' lecture. But the director instead makes the hero and brother run around after a tiny mouse. 
• The treatment of heavy-duty stuff. For example, when Jai visits his girlfriend's house and senses the tension between her parents. His expressions are priceless. 
  
• The songs, especially 'Kahin tho hogi'. You have to listen to it a couple of times to like it. But then, all AR Rahman songs are like that. This one's a gem and succeeds in building a melancholy imagery of unreachable love.

Also, here's the official review of the movie. My rating is 'Go watch it!'