Lagey Raho !!!

Last weekend one of the many Hindi Film awards were declared.....that reminds me of some movie reviews I'd written last year, for the Office Mag Darpan. Reproducing them here -

Dor

Nagesh Kukonoor has the knack for story telling and he proves it again with Dor. It's a story about how a single incident drastically affects the lives of people around, how two women from altogether different background are impacted and 'tied' by the event. It's about optimism in face of adversities and the triumph of human spirit.

Kukonoor has done a good job at taking us through the lives of the two lead protagonists and how circumstances bring them face to face with each other. Very complex emotions have been portrayed effectively without being too loud.

The film has is brilliant at places, some scenes which impress you a lot - e.g. a impromptu dance in the middle of a desert, or the one where Meera's character just wants to be an ordinary human-being who can be selfish and ask for revenge. Both the leading ladies Gul Panag and Ayesha Takia impress with their histrionics. Shreyas Talpade demonstrates that and he has the ability to tickle your funny bone. The music and background score perfectly gel with the theme of the movie.

Dor might not be as good as some of the earlier movies by Nagesh, but its definitely worth a watch, for it's different .


Lagey Raho MunnaBhai

Big star-cast, huge elaborate sets, flashy designer wear ....seem to be the pattern for most hindi movies these days !As one of the legends of the Hindi film industry Hrishikesh Mukherjee passed away, there were discussions on how straightforward movies with middle class values are no longer made. It's rarely that you come across a simple movie, which provides good entertainment .
Lagey Raho Munnabhai is one of those. ....although not exactly from the Hrishida genre, its a welcome change from the usual grin.

It's said that Cinema is a director's medium and this movie proves it. Takes a lot of courage to handle a potentially volatile/controversial subject and even more talent to pull it off very well. There could have been a lot of places where the story could have gone astray ....say a 5 min speech on the state of affairs...or a long melodramatic scene....But all credit to the director Rajkumar Hirani, he has shown a lot of restraint, not got carried away and maintained a very good flow.

Must dekko !!!