Best Medicine...

Last weekend I saw three movies, all three comedies, all three I liked. Here's why...

Lage Raho Munna Bhai

Sequels are disappointing. The original movie is usually brilliant (which is why they considered making a sequel) and sets the expectations very high for the sequel. So you go for the movie expecting something at least as good as the original, but what you see is not even a patch on it.

Now consider the case where our viewer is a rational being and is informed that sequels are usually not as good as the original. He adjusts his expectation accordingly, but still goes for the movie. Imagine his surprise when the sequel turns out to be way better than the original. Even though his belief system is shattered (a sequel that's actually better.... what's happening to the world?), it doesn't take away from the enjoyment. That's what happened to me when I saw LRMB first day for $8.00 and it was sooo worth it.

From the word go, with the kidnapping scene, I just never stopped laughing. The quiz show, the Gandhigiri, the humor in the most emotional scene, Boman Irani at his usual, Arshad Warsi at his best.

The icing on the cake of course was Vidya Balan, oooh la la....!!!! I hear she's a Mallu, but doesn't look like it. Seems like I need to plan a trip to Kerala very soon ;).

This movie is a must watch if you haven't seen it yet. If you have, go watch it again!

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Pyar Ke Side Effects

I had written off this movie at the first mention of the name "Mallika Sherawat". I was forced to reconsider by the strong recommendations I received and I was pleasantly surprised.

The movie is a showcase of one of the biggest strengths of Indian Cinema, reuse of content. Don't get me wrong, I mean this in a good way. If there is good content out there, which a large part of your audience may not have seen, you adapt it to local tastes, throw in some other relevant content and Voila! You actually have something interesting.

PKSE is an interesting mix of the TV series Coupling, parts of Meet the Parents, knit together into a decently interesting story. The humour is cheesy at times, but fits the context for the most part. There was one part where Rahul Bose gets the exact same sarcy tone as Steve from Coupling when they're out shopping for furniture.

Decent watch but only if you're with friends. Alone, I think it might get onto one's nerves. On the other hand, if you haven't seen Coupling, that is a must must see.

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Khosla ka Ghosla

If you've lived in Delhi and have lived elsewhere, you'll love this movie.

The characters are brilliantly sketched, with the typical Pitampura middle-class family down to their accents, the 'mata-ka-bhakt' builder, the software engineer who just doesn't associate with the culture at home anymore and has commitment issues inspite of an oh-so-cute girlfriend. The typical dehaati Jaat, the cops... all very life-like and so Dilli!

The movie weaves an engrossing plot and on the whole a good way of spending a couple of hours.

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Next week is Don - The Chase Begins Again. Not expecting too much from a boringly monotonous SRK, but I loved the purana Don, so let's see...