Thursday, December 25, 2008

Movie Madness... really...

I guess the title of my blog (To Blog or Not to Blog) says it all!! What do I blog about when there's not a whole lot interesting happening in my life. Of course, it is sometimes a good thing when life isn't all that interesting, but you do get my point, don't you? I could blog about the state of the US economy, my favorite despot Robert Mugabe or about the latest episode of corporate greed and subsequent grief, but you could get that from just about anywhere else. Besides, after a particularly heavy lunch, I don't quite feel up to the task of penning a serious post. So, this post, out of sheer necessity, is going to have a slow, easy and rambling feel to it.

I have been watching a lot of movies lately. That's what people do when they don't have a whole lot else interesting to do. I like movies. They usually don't demand a whole lot of concentration (something that I'm increasingly finding myself incapable of) and provide a reasonable amount of entertainment for one's meager investments. However, most of the movies I've had the misfortune of viewing lately have been, to put it very mildly, total crap. I mean, what kind of manure are film makers churning out these days? Dostana, Lucky Oye, Dil kabaddi, Maharathi, Yuvraaj, Fashion and the undisputed king of this pile of trash, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi!!! My God, a movie collection from hell if ever there was one. The last Hindi movie I can claim to be reasonably entertained by was Golmaal Returns, which is really quite revealing. Either I have suddenly turned into a movie connoisseur cum critic, or the Indian film industry has reached rock bottom and started digging in earnest. I'm inclined to believe the latter to be true, since I was mildly amused by Golmaal Returns, which I doubt is going to be labelled a masterpiece anytime soon.

Let's dissect "Rab Ne" for a bit. I'm assuming here that you have seen the movie, or at least heard/read about it, since writing a short review here would be too painful for me to go through. And yeah, I need to issue a customary spoiler alert at this point for those of you who would (incredible as that would be) like to watch the movie even after I have denounced it to hell. Anyways, here goes... Suri (SRK) shaves his moustache, presents himself as Raj (surprise, SRK again!!!) and his wife has not the slightest doubt it is the same person. And amazing as it is, I didn't think this was even the most ludicrous aspect of the entire film. Suri is a dull, shy and socially inept nerd. One haircut and shave later he is Raj, a loud, gregarious and flirtatious epitome of masculinity. I mean come on... if he can just as easily be Raj as he can be Suri, why the f*** would he want to be Suri? Just imagine: [dull, wimpy] vs [popular, macho]. Given a choice, what would you rather be? Duh... And to think that I paid $10 to watch this tripe at the multiplex causes much heartburn.

Anyways, I guess one can always hope for a better year ahead!! Here's wishing everyone a very happy 2009... Ya, even SRK and Aditya Chopra. But one more such movie, you guys, and those wishes will swiftly be replaced by voodoo spells. Until later, cheers... 8-)