Celebrate Munna Jayanti asap

Every once in a while a movie comes along that makes you think long after the empty soda glasses and popcorn bags have been trashed and refuses to fade away after the credits do. These movies do turn out to be the subject of widespread debates and water cooler conversations and the characters get taken home along with the movie audiences as popular lines from the movie get thrown about in regular chitchats. However these movies require original script backed by crisp editing and an air tight screen play. That is why these movies are few and far between and that is why 2006 has been such a great year for all Bollywood buffs. It began with Omprakash Mehra's very very original and fresh Rang De basanti, was followed up by Vishal Bharadwaj's Shakespearean’s adaptation Omkara and has been recently jazzed up again by Lage Raho Munnabhai. Three films which in terms of style and content could not be more different from each other but all of which have become cult classics and all of which I have enjoyed equally.

However this post has been triggered by the latest of the three movies. Sequels have an odd way of going down slope after people follow up on their wonderful first time efforts. The people making them get drunk with their own success at the same time remaining fearful of a follow up failure. So most sequels are not made from the heart and always with an intention of pleasing a particular target audience and often lack the soul which is buried under tones of gloss and style over substance cinema. And that is exactly why Lage Raho... comes across as such a shining star in this year that is already crowded with sequels from the Bollywood stable. The movie blends humor with a message without ever getting too in your face or preachy. It brings back two very lovable characters from the first part while changing the setup around them and keeping them away from their mannerisms and afflictions. As RDB brought back very relevant messages about India and Indianness LRB does the same but from a very different and fresh Gandhian perspective. There is a constant thread of humor running through the movie which tugs at your every muscle and gut till you can laugh no harder. The humor is also very situational and natural without having to resort to loud gags and getups. I watched the movie over the weekend and I can’t wait to catch it again asap so all you people who haven’t done so I have just one piece of advice 'Jaldi dekh ke aa naa Mamu, ekdum mast picture hai'.