Okay guys, here's the good news - I've just come home after watching SRK's 'Rub -a- dub-dub..." and..... and ....and - I LOVED IT!! Well..... most of it. Which is saying a lot. It was a sunday evening - tickets were easily available, and as usual ADLABS (Metro), started the film 20 mins late. This has become something of a routine here, and is completely not on. A late start also means the theatre is not cleaned. I stepped over tubs of spilled popcorn to get to my seat. The ushers grinned instead of apologising and cheerfully said the previous show had also started late!! Wow! What an amazing consolation!
Srk claims he likes me (thanks, darling!). Well.... I like him ,too. But as an actor . I expect nothing less than excellence from the man, since he is capable of delivering superb performances, when he chooses to - or more accurately, when an intelligent script , combined with a good director, extract the best out of him. I still don't care what the critics say about OMO, or even that it grossed indecent amounts of money world wide. I didn't like it . It was a mediocre film. Period. 'Rab...' is a far better product, mainly because it has a better written role and a superior script for SRK to interpret - which he has. The two biggest flaws in an otherwise charming movie were the forced item songs featuring the same tired bunch of heroines doing some badly choreographed retro tribute. And there was also that utterly pointless, boring sumo wrestler sequence.Though that bit looks suspiciously like some serious 'setting' has taken place between Japan Tourism Board and the producers. It could also be SRK's brainwave to move into Rajnikant's monopolistic territory. Whatever. But the second half dragged on and on..... and I did the unthinkable - reached for my mobile phone to text away rather than watch the movie collapsing into itself after that brilliant beginning.
Why does 'Rab...' work in the first place? Because it touches ones 'cynical' heart - I even shed a few tears. Simpleton Shah Rukh was adorable and credible, minus his predictable SRK mannerisms. As Raj the rocker, he was good , too, without becoming a broad caricature. The new lassie (what's-her-face?) has a great bod, and a butt as finely sculpted as John's, but the face is far from attractive. Which makes the casting perfect - she looks like any pretty Amritsari kuddi. And frankly, I'd much rather watch a fresh face over all those over-made up creatures in the top bracket. The movie's premise is appealing if not terribly original (Simple Simon gets the girl), but the trick lies in its telling. The dialogues were wonderfully apt, and since SRK WAS MEANT TO RELY HEAVILY ON HIS EMOTIVE EYES rather than his six pack, his fans once again got to swoon over 'those' moments that made him such a huge star in the first place.After 'Chak De', this is his most accomplished recent performance yet.
And awwwww..... all you guys reacting like kids to our silly pot shots - it's okay. Really.Most movie stars can't tell the difference between informed criticism and unadulterated chamchagiri. They ,of course, prefer the latter - no dearth of that in Bollywood. So.... calm down . I do my job honestly.... and would like to believe he does his in the same spirit. He is free to call me a joke, just as I am free to call him a ham - when he hams. In 'Rab...' he was wonderful, and I'm the first person to say so - no issues.At 43, SRK is still a petulant bachcha, unable and unwilling to handle a line of criticism.Theek hai..... I liked the movie.... and him in it. End of the story.
P.S. the saree offer still stands!!