Dec 03, 2007 12:07 AM
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Madhuri – You confuse me
It was with great trepidation that I volunteered to go watch Aaja Nachle. The promos failed to excite me beyond a point. And initial reviews were not glowing exactly.
But Yash Raj and Madhuri Dixit Nene are not generally a combination that can be easily dismissed. And so I ventured out a week after an extremely disappointing tryst with Saawariya.
For those who came in late, they say if you ain’t experienced Madhuri, you ain’t experienced anything…Old Jungle saying. Madhuri had captured the imagination of our generation in a way perhaps like no other goddesses of the silver screen of yester years.
If there was a female actor who came close to commanding respect at the box office perhaps as much as Mr.Bachchan had done, there could not be a stronger contender. Besides being the darling of those born in the sixties and seventies decades she had that rare charisma that continued to hold interest of the latter generations that watched replays of a DTPH or even the more recent Devdas.
The Dhak Dhak routine seemed fresh from the oven still. So when Adi talked of a comeback for the Diva, eyebrows were raised. Yet we were thrilled.
The promos were thoroughly discouraging and the big drag that Sawariya turned out to be had dented our daring do. But I guess the first snapshot of Madhuri on the screen in a body hugging dance suit teaching Yankees the grooves releases your doubts a bit.
The story, not that there is much of it, seems to be revolve around a very unbelievable plot of saving a traditional theatre premise in a Village Shamli from the exploiting hands of the business men politico combine who want to convert it into a mall. Madhuri who is a divorcee settled in New York comes back to salvage tradition and culture and put theatre back on the map of Shamli and take cudgels with a number of opponents and train novices in the process . All in the tradition of what Rang De Basanti and Lagaan .
It’s an interesting premise if you do not question why a village that looks like it could urgently do with some good roads, building infrastructures a better economy would want a shopping mall. Secondly the whole theatre, that the whole plot revolves around actually is a round platform with five pillars looking like the ruins of Nalanda University.
The film for most parts is unfortunately a big drag and one feels let down primarily from what was expected to be the best. The cinematography by Ashok Mehta the director who is one of the stalwarts of the Indian film industry. Unless the multiplex had something to do with the projection, the badly lit faces of the actors seemed annoying.
Konkana surprisingly is way below what she is superbly capable of. Kunal Kapoor repeats most of his act from his recent films. It is Vinay Pathak who excels in a small role. The whole setup is very unbelievable and the impracticability of the climax shocks you.
The Story also required a good music score to hold it together and its absence is sorely felt.
Mentally you end up giving 2 stars till Madhuri fetches up every time on the screen and a jig here and there and you add the third star just for her.
She truly deserves a better platform. Not of the Ajanta variety
