MOVIE REVIEW - Aaja Nachle ****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8CCJTez-yI

This morning being a Saturday meant no BMR, so I rose at 8.30 as opposed to the usual 6.30 and after the morning chai and methi routine went in to wake up the kids. Roshni mumbled bleary eyed, "Mama, I want to see Aaja Nachle" "Yo lets go darling but for that you have to get up and check the timings of the show ... you never know with all the bad publicity the film has got ... I wonder if it is still running ki pit ke utar gayi hai!?" I said. Breakfast shekfast was happening while Roshni was trying to find out the timings of the show ... there was no listing in the papers, the automated pre-recorded answering machine at Fame Adlabs kept droning on and on and on ... "Papa, you will be walking past Fame on your way to office will you please check the timings and call us?" While the kids gorged on paranthas and chocolate horlicks milk the phone rang, it was Fruki saying that the only show is at 10.30 in the morning... It was 9.45 already!!! "Roshni Raunaq please finish your breakfast WE'LL BE LATE!!!" Raunaq looked up puzzled, "Why am I being chased Mama ... I'm not going - lets go for Air Buddies instead" Roshni and I looked at him, "Raunaq its a family plan and Roshni suggested first that we go for Aaja Nachle so we are going for it and youre coming along ... besides we would like you to come along" I said -- Raunaq reluctantly gave in :) Breakfast was gobbled and we raced around the house getting ready, left the keys with the neighbours as the great Jayshree had not yet arrived and rushed out excited about the film!

It was 10.20, so Rosh raced ahead to the theatre to buy the tickets, while Rock and I briskly followed... Screen 5 Fame Adlabs -- UNBELIEVABLE it was a private screening -- Well ... not really ... it just seemd like it because when we walked in there were precisely 4 people scattered in the hall ... 5 others walked in just as the film certificate of Aaja Nachale was on the screen and that is it ... an 11 people audience!!

Well what can I say, we gripped our seats with positive anticipation as the titles began and and there she was in all her glory -- Madhuri tapped onto the screen as a dance instructor teaching adult students in the US to dance to the tunes of "Dance with me"... so fitting after being away for so many years!

Id like to first start with Anil Mehta, cinematographer of several films like Veer Zara and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, who turned Director for the first time with Aaja Nachale and all I'd like to say is WHAT A WONDERFUL JOB he has done!! Kudos to you Anil and the depiction of your dream idea ... the film actually did flow like silk from start to finish :)

Ajanta Theatre was where her Dada introduced her to music, dance and life ... and now he was dead and the marriage she ran away for was finished ... Diya (Madhuri) and her phirang accent daughter Radha arrive in the fictional small town of Shamli to resurrect a lost dream that she had lived 11 years before she ran away... from Ajanta, her parents and home, her best pal and dance mate Najma (Divya Dutta) and the pining tea stall owner Mohan (Ranvir Shorey) with a cup and plate in his hand; to be the wife of Steve the attractive looking national geographic photographer in New York. On her return the ruins of Ajanta and her gurus recorded dying message on a projection screen make her decide to convince the people of Shamli, who have ever since her being a run-away bride written her off, to save Ajanta from the perils of commercialisation and consumerism! She fights her daughters persistent pleas of going back to their air-conditioned mosquito free confortable home in the US and the abuse, outcry, aggression and timelines of the people of Shamli to conserve the beautiful music and dance heritage of their town which is being threatened to being raised to the ground to build a MALL -- she makes a challenging deal with the unasuming suave, pizza making MP Raja Sahib (Akshaye Khanna) to do a show of Laila Majnu with the people of Ajanta within 2 months!

The herculean task of auditioning commences for all the key characters of Laila Majnu ... the musical. Each of the characters have done a wonderful job -- From Daaktar Sahib (Raghubir Yadav) the caretaker of Ajanta cycle rickshawing down the streets of Shamli making announcements on a loud speaker about the return of Diya and being her undying support thru start to finish; to Mrs. Chojar (Sushmita Mukherji) who is the eager to act land-lady disillussioned because her husband believes that if she acts "meri izzat ghategi"; She goes into an amazing outburt of how she feels like another FILE that is opened and closed as per her husbands desire and says that there are 2 people who live in their house -- "Ek Mr.Chojar aur doosra unki izzat". She finds her Govt servant husband Mr. Chojar (Vinay Pathak) "Boring" -- He, in turn is shocked at the outburst of emotion by his wife and the stigma of being a BORE in her eyes haunts him enough to pucker up the courage to apply for a "post" in the theatrical Laila Majnu only to win back the love of his wife. Mr & Mrs Chojar now live in the same house that Madhuri' parents owned and rent out a room to her daughter and her on the condition that she signs an affidavit that she will make no claims on their house on a Rs.20 stamp paper. Yashpal Sharma in his protrayal of the SHO Singh is fantastic in the drunken scenes where he calls Ranvir Shorey "oye yaar tu to jalebi hai" and how by the end of the film hugs him saying he is a true Majnu because Mohan forgets his broken pride and decides to work with Diya only because she is fighting for the heritage of Shamli and serves chai to the crew and cast while also enacting the husband of Laila. On the other hand is the scheming Farooque (Irfan Khan) who is Najmas husband and whose portrayal of his love for none other than his business of building Malls comes through very convincingly when he connives and gets his wife to talk about the bad character of Diya before marraige so that people stay away from Laila Majnu ALL because he wants to raise Ajanta and build yet another Mall. He also convinces the local politician Choudhary Om Singh (Akhilendra Singh) to pull back his support from Laila Majnu with a kickback of Rs.50 Lakh. Originally Diya had convinced him to give his support to preserving the heritage of Ajanta as a strong election "Mudda" without which it is very likely that he will lose against the suave Akshaye Khanna. He agrees and also gets Irfan (the heartbreaker -- Kunal Kapoor) who was one of his touts to portray Majnu and lends his expertiese(!?) in portraying Laila' father! Initially the reluctant Irfan participates in the act only because of Choudhrys insistence and is constantly irritated with his role as he hates dancing and even more irritated with the perpetual nose cleaning Anokhi (Konkana Sen) who is chosen to play Laila and is all over him pledging undying love for him in her jhalla-looking clothes and hair ... the way their hatred for each other turns into love is beautiful with the old trick that Madhuri teaches her ... "spruce up and make an effort to look good, and dont run after Irfan so much... instead keep away from him for a while and he will eventually follow you" ... the way the whole change is shown in their relationship is so beautiful! When Choudhary decides to withdraw support and wants Kunal too to quit Kunal decides not to ditch Diya as it was unfair to do this with the show just a few days away, he too gets beaten up by Choudharys men and when Anokhi jumps in to save him and gets very badly hurt Irfan realises how much she loves him... the highlight is when Ranvir Shorey says to him while serving him a cup of tea ... "Bol de yaar nahin to tu bhi cup plate haath mein dhare reh jayega" Irfan gawkily declares his love for Anokhi by saying "yaar agli baar na tu Laila nahin banegi ... kyonki main tujhe baar baar marte nahin dekh sakta" Sigh so darned cute!! With the chaos thanks to Choudhary, Najma (without her husband knowing) aplogises for the damage done and volunteers to play Lailas mother and Yashpal is pulled in to play Lailas father. In the middle of all this is an eager LIC agent wanting ti insure Irfan as he is going to die playing Majnu; being played by none other than Jugal Hansraj (looking really good) who renders the role of Tabrez ... Lailas brother!

All in all a totally mixed bag of left feet that eventually end up creatring a fantastic rendition of the old saga of Laila Majnu in the finale showing the childhood friendship of Laila and Majnu in a Madrassa that dvelops into undying love as they grow up and how Tabrez finds out and is killed bu Majnu in a sword fight and is condemned to death by stoning as per the law of the land and how Laila vows to marry another provided they let Majnu go ... they do let him go but her husband can never have her sould and as she is taken by Majnu ... he swears to take Majnus life and when he does take Majnus life Laila dies too ... they are united ... but in heaven ... the climax had all the people of Shamli broken to tears and all 3 of us including Raunaq totally transfixed ... "Mom did this really happen?" said Rock

Unlike popular comment that the film was only centered on Madhuri and that every body else got sidelined ... I would like to submit that each of the characters I have mentioned above came thru very convincingly and each of them had an important role in building the film.

The pace of the film too unlike popular critic comment is perfect... the music is finger tapping and peppy ... each of the dances have been protrayed with amazing color and finesse and finally the sets are unbelievable and beautiful ... Diya wins and Raja Sahib gives up the idea of a Mall forever ... Diya fulfills her role of making Shamli realise the importance of Ajanta in their lives and goes back to being an instructor in the US leaving behind a trail of love, dance and music at Shamli... and all of us (including Raunaq) wondering WHY such a lovely film was a so called FLOP!?