Bollywood Friday

I saw Dil Chahata Hai (2001) last evening. I had gone to see it in 2001, when the Indian Students Association at my university had screened the film for all the desi students. It was held in one of the large lecture halls in the Engineering school. At that time I was a graduate student and was far more interested in writing my paper than any Bollywood movie, so half-way through the movie I was completely overcome by stress and the prospect that I might not get an A, which at that time seemed far important than some stupid movie! I did not sit through the movie and I could not remember anything about it. Anyway so I saw it again last night and loved it.

I loved the pace of the movie, subtle emoting and a very contemporary story. These guys could be your buddies from school. Saif and Akshay held their own opposite Aamir Khan, who from what I hear is apparently a very selfish actor. Farhan Akhtar has maintained the tempo and you are hooked on to how the story unfolds throughout the movie. Normally I hate song sequences but in this case, not once did I not want to sit through the songs. I enjoyed the movie thoroughly.

Farhan Akhtar will be doing a remake of “Don” with Shah Rukh Khan. I have absolutely no doubt that his remake would hold its own against the original, which was such a super-hit film. From the description in Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_-_The_Chase_Begins_Again) it appears that he will be adapting the movie to the contemporary times.

My generation has grown up with Amitabh Bachchan’s films. I guess Farhan’s film would be our generation's homage to the legend. I do have serious doubts though about SRK holding his own against his predecessor, the Big B. Those comparisons would be inevitable and I feel that it would be an uphill task for the King of Hamming to literally fill the big boots of the Big B. Perhaps Aamir or Abhishek could have been a more appropriate choice, but one never knows.

It is scheduled to be released during Diwali, which is next week. I can’t wait to see it or perhaps I should wait and see what the reviews are like first. :-D