Aaja Nachle; A Timeless Tale

It so happens that I’ve been obsession over this movie for a long time now! It’s stuck with me and I thought I might as well blog about it! So here goes:

I believe that one of the most difficult genres of movies to pull off is a Musical. It doesn’t just require a good story, it also needs some really hard work on the music. The music has to be in tandem with the story. For a long time, Indian Cinema has been looked at as song and dance affairs that last for hours. We’re used to watching films where the hero can break into dance in the middle of a crowded street, the main duo can suddenly teleport to some snow capped mountain like location for a romantic sequence. Almost always, the music and choreography is so out of sync with what’s happening in the story that its quite comical!

But Aaja Nachle was an exception. It is by far the most under rated movie ever! I must have seen the movie at least a dozen times start to end. Well, it does have aspects of typical hindi cinema but it still is a fine make!

To begin with, the story is a slight and pleasant deviation from the cliches. Its an interesting tale of going back to one’s roots and sticking on to your guns when the going gets tough. Well told, well written, its a story with something for the audience to take away from it.

The cast. WHAT do I say? First off, Madhuri Dixit as usual, is so amazing, it is just impossible to take your eyes off of her! Dance has always been her strong point and the grace with which she’s done her job in this movie is amazing! As you watch her dance on screen, you can practically feel your limbs twitching to follow her lead! The rest of them, Kunal Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Irrfan Khan.. the team! It all works! Not one person looked out of character. Very apt casting and brilliant execution.

Being a musical make, it must have been a tough task to put together the music on this one. But what a job they’ve done! Hats off to anyone and everyone involved! The music blends in so well with the movie, it doesn’t jerk the story or halter the momentum of the film in anyway. On the other hand, it enhances the plot as and when required. Beautiful music pieces that you’d want to hum and have on your phones and iPods. And all of them diverse. One cannot say enough about the opera at the end but I am dedicating a separate paragraph for that.

There is some interesting camerawork and editing. None of it too harsh or overly dramatic. The entire feel of the film was very natural other than at the obvious drama points.

The off screen team must have put in one hell of an effort to put this thing together, I’m sure. This is that sort of a film that the maker makes then sits back and smiles, content that the product was good, irrespective of the profits and the box office and all those things; content that they’d made a work of art so screw the world if they don’t want to see it! Unfortunate that this isnt something I can say about too many films these days. This make shows that there is more to a film than jazzy special effects and slutty dance numbers.

And last but not the least, the opera. I mean, I have never seen anything that wonderful on the Hindi movie screen in ages!!  That bit, which is the climax of the film is by far the best use of film making raw material ever made! Once the opera starts, you don’t want to move from your seat! The choreography, the camera and editing work, the direction, the opera itself, Madhuri’s narration, the music strung together, it is ALL so awesome, I don’t know how to describe it! Trust me, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, at least see the opera bit. I must have seen that bit about a thousand times over by now! And I STILL get goose flesh through it. I have yet to hear a better narration of the LAila Majnu story in this short a time.

I know this review is kinda late (duh! the movie was out almost half a decade ago) but I just HAD to write it! There are very few movies I rant and rave about and this is one I just had to recommend to anyone who has the slightest inclination to watch good film making. Its honestly a pity that we don’t have more of such movies.

That’s probably all. And once again, if you haven’t seen the movie, you’re missing something really good! WATCH IT!!