MemsaabStory

This is a refreshingly mature film about life, love, disappointment, responsibility and all those things that make us happy and sad. And, unlike most attempts at this before it, the movie manages to juggle a large cast of characters AND give them dimension and substance so that you actually care about what happens to them (see Salaam-E-Ishq for contrast).

Konkona Sen Sharma and Irfan Khan showed their comedy chops, and their story unfolded with a lot of sweetness and humor. A great scene had Irrfan teaching the buttoned-up Konkona some primal scream therapy. I would love to see them paired up again. Sharman Joshi was a revelation to me; I had never seen him before* and found myself rooting for his geeky entrepreneurial character. I would bet that he becomes a very versatile actor. In fact, I found myself rooting for almost everyone in this movie — the notable exception being Kay Kay Menon’s cheating, hypocritical husband (which only means that Kay Kay’s acting was v.v. good). Shilpa Shetty was very good as his long-suffering wife**. I hope she continues to get good roles like this and Phir Milenge. I imagine that not many people could NOT find at least one of these characters to relate to.

It was also a joy to see Dharmendra and the gorgeous Nafisa Ali, in a sweet twilight-years love story. Dharmendra’s entrance was like seeing an old familiar friend in an unexpected place. His presence added more warmth to an already heart-warming film.

The other great character in this movie was Mumbai itself during the monsoons. Beautifully photographed and atmospheric, perfectly suited to the tone of the movie: I wished I were there standing on a terrace overlooking the city drenched in rain. The musical interludes jarred me a little as they appeared out of nowhere suddenly and felt like an interruption, although the soundtrack is very nice listening on its own.

I would show this movie even to my most stubbornly “anti-Bollywood” friends.

*Well, actually, I discover that I have, in “Rang De Basanti” which maybe validates my next sentence, because I don’t remember him in it
**Although long-suffering self-sacrificing Indian wives have long gotten on my last good nerve