Two in a row

A night-out after a loooong time!! The last one was during my college days for an "arattai" session with my hostel mates :D Yeah! Watched 2 movies last nite.

Started with Mangal Pandey at 10.30 pm. Hmmm the movie was ok. May be I didn't like it much because pure history has never been my favourite subject and I always skipped the long answer on Sepoy Mutiny in my school days. But loved the way in which Gordon and Mangal's friendship has been portrayed beautifully and believably irrespective of their ranks in the East India Company. ARR's music is simply superb and gels with the situations. Rani Mukherjee looked beautiful and had nothing more to offer than a glamour doll with her "kara kara" voice. Amisha Patel (I'd never liked her) sucked big time with her emotion-less face. Gordon could have been paired with someone better. Aamir Khan suits the role perfectly with his long hair but the big mousch looks out of place. And the narration (it sounded like Om Puri's voice to me, but the title slide said Nasrudeen Shah *confused*) is clean with appropriate voice modulations.

It was so different to watch a Hindi movie with English subtitles. And I was surprised with my brain's multitasking abilities. I could clearly follow the Hindi dialogues and at the same time read and register the English subtitles too :) God is great!!!

The movie ended at around 1 pm and I was already feeling too sleepy. I was about to close the NeroSmart window when I found out that it was a 2 in 1 DVD. Lagaan's title card started and "thookam poye pochu" :) After Alaipayudhey, Mouna Raagam, Anjali, HAHK, Mounam Sammadham, Andaaz Apna Apna, MMKR (lemme stop here for the list is too loooong) Lagaan is one the movies for which I've lost count of how many times I'd watched. First time it was in my college auditorium (chellamaa audi) with more than 2000 fellow college-mates. Our Students' Union was (is??) generous in screening 12 Hindi and 12 English movies a semester at a much much much cheaper cost. We need to buy the stubs for all 12 in the beginning of the sem. Year - 2001, 1st semester, I did not buy these stubs, for I was watching each and every kuppai movie screened and was feeling guilty that I wasn't studying. October 1, 2001 - a day before Gandhi Jayanthi, I was crossing the notice board near our Central Library (Cent Lee...haven't used these slangs for more than 3 yrs now) when Lagaan team's poster with the hilly background, stuck there caught my attention. Man!!! I wanted to watch the movie. There started the stub hunting process in the 8 am common hour. Even the fundoos and studoos wanted to come for the movie coz Oct 2nd was anyways a holiday. I-dont-know-Hindi category was also ready to come, backed by their Hindi knowing wingies and hence the stubs became hot cakes. Atlast, after a 12 hr desperate hunt by me and my wingies, I got the stub from one of the day scholars who was going to attend a family function and had already watched the movie :D

We didn't get a seat in the audi, so chose the balcony steps instead and enjoyed each and every second of the movie cheering Bhuvan and team :) On our way back at 11.30 in the nite, the Gandhi statue which usually is the pigeons's favourite haunt to s**t, was washed/bathed and the students of the nearby school had decorated the place with rangoli. It was altogether a different unforgettable experience of watching Lagaan, something that Sathyam Multiplex can't provide. In those 3 and half years, I never even thought that I would ever miss my college campus this much!! *Sigh*

Even after 4 years, on January 2, 2006, I feel exactly the same way about the movie, not even a bit different from that of my first time.

- Aamir Khan has actually lived the role of Bhuvan and I wanted his team to win the match by all means
- Gracy Sigh has a zip vaai
- I like Paul Blackthorne a damn lot :) and loved his British accent
- Couldn't even think about fast forwarding the songs, to cut short the length of the movie. ARR rocks!!!
- Could feel goose pimples while watching/listening to "Kaale megha kaale megha paani tho barsaao"
- Madhubhan mein jo kanaiah still stays my best pick in the album
- Felt that the king of the province could open his mouth and speak, rather than murmur to himself
- Prayed that the wickets shouldn't fall too often and that they should reach the target
- Had a nail-biting sensation in the last but one ball, inspite of knowing that it will turn out to be a "No Ball"
- Felt a bit, say 0.00000001% sorry for Paul Blackthorne when he claims "Howzatt" for the last ball
- Was reminded of Dance Workshop on seeing the Ball dance scene
- Bhuj and the earthquake too :(

And many more!! The movie got over by 4.50 am. I went to bed after the loud speaker "Suprabhatham" in a temple near my house got over :D
Slept for just 2 and half hrs. Now feeling toooooo sleepyyyyyyyyyyy

PS : I've written in one flow...so the tense mite keep changing throughout the post. So, kaNdukaadheenga :)