Saturday, September 01, 2007

RGV ki Aag - a review

If you have been living in Amarbayasgalant Monastery in Mongolia you would be forgiven for thinking that Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag is a porn flick about a small town guy's sexual misadventures in the big city... but anyway, I wouldn't want this post to have any autobiographical nuances.

You, being smart (since you are reading my  blog) would obviously know that this movie is RGV's tribute to Sholay. And I had the ***fortune of watching the first screening in Hyderabad yesterday.

The last time, RGV and AB came together, the result was Nishabd.And I knew that it would be a tough act for Ramu to follow.

Let me stick my neck out once more and say it

RGV ki AAG lived up to my expectations

The unfortunate part for me, and the poor bastards in the audience, is that I expected a dreary, torturous experience.

Ramu is adept at producing a torturous experience right from the word go. You gotta hand it to the guy. I believe his Shiva (the newer one) was his testing ground for this. It uses a patented technique for ensuring that the audience cannot doze off (Amar Mohile succeeds) while the director ensures you rue the waking hours. Reminded me of the old 'loin joke. ("Robert, isko liquid oxygen mein daal do; liquid isko jeene nahin dega aur oxygen isko marne nahin dega.")

There an overdose of the rotating camera angles (which I loved in Nishabd) which might cause nausea. Oh, and the secret ingredient, Nisha Kothari, to add the special feeling of someone trailing rat guts on your back.

AB can breath a sigh of relief though. It's over. He doesn't have to worry about people's sky high expectations anymore. Not after this.

I especially feel sorry for the hordes in Kerala, who will go to watch their favourite star. They have not undergone such torture since.... Dhartiputra.

The only entertainment this movie will offer is in the form of scathing reviews about it. Let's hope our critics don't let us down.

Oh, and btw, the Amarbayasgalant Monastery does exist. I didn't make it up.

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