Thursday, January 27, 2011

My first love

So. I saw Dhobi Ghat. In a nutshell, I loved it. I can see why a lot of people wouldn't, but I thought it was a beautiful movie.

Prateik Babbar and Kriti Malhotra were both delightful, while Monica Dogra wasn't as bad as some of the reviews I'd read had made me expect. I mean, everything else apart, why were people quibbling over her accent of all things? She's supposed to be an investment banker from New York. How else did you expect her to speak?

What disappointed me in the movie, more than anything else (and it breaks my heart to admit this), almost from the first frame, was one thing: Aamir Khan.

I fell in love with Aamir Khan as a toddler, after seeing Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Over the years, fleeting fascinations for other actors came and went, but my love for Aamir Khan never ever faded.

I always say the reason I never grew to love Shah Rukh Khan, or the movie DDLJ for that matter, is because I could never forgive them for sweeping all the awards when Aamir Khan so clearly deserved them for Rangeela. I cringed and hid my face when he went through his phase of doing movies like Raja Hindustani and Mela, cheered in Lagaan like it was an honest to goodness cricket match, and fell in love with him all over again when he started doing the kind of movies he's been doing for the last few years.

And much as it pains me to admit it, while I've loved most of his recent movies (except Ghajini, which I didn't bother watching), I haven't been that gung-ho about his performances in them.

I first felt this way while watching Rang De Basanti I think. Fabulous movie, but I kept wondering why Aamir Khan was doing the voiceover on behalf of Sue's grandfather. I mean, the man is brilliant as an actor, but his voice has never had the impact that was needed for that narration.

And it's the same thing that bothered me when I was watching Dhobi Ghat. He camme on screen, looking all intense and fabulous. I sighed. Then he spoke. And I cringed.

Has his dialogue delivery always been this bad? I can't remember being this bothered by it in any other movie. The brother's theory is that he's got so used to doing either quirky or super-intense roles that a relatively regular role like this, in an "artsy" kinda movie, was hard for him. I dunno.

I have never hated writing a post more.

6 comments:

Lavanya said...

yup! somehow I think all the believability of his character was lost the moment he opened his mouth :| Maybe he should mime all his films in future. Or act in one of those super artsy films with no dialogue. there's a thought.

But I really loved the movie too!

kroswami said...

me a big fan too
forget lagaan, i was imploring him to change the gear in Jo Jeeto Wohi Sikandar...like begging!

i liked dhobhi ghat mostly cause of its portrayal of bombay....that city shall forever be "my muse, my beloved...."

~j~ said...

Agree, agree, agree. But Aamir in Dhobi Ghat is still a hundred times better than Aamir in Ghajini/Raja Hindustani. He did look a tad uncomfortable plus his connection with Yasmin Noor seemed disconnected with the film. And to think that Kiran didn't want to cast him.

But still... DG, on the whole, was brilliant. Mumbai/Bombay - sigh! Lovingly shot, edited and directed.

Loved Aamir's house in it :)

antiglam superstar! said...

His diction was always bad. And he's a smug bum. But I must watch dhobi ghat for Kiran Rao..

a traveller said...

He's not smug, okay, he just knows he's good at what he does. #sothere

I'll grant the diction bit though.

You should see the movie, yeah.

@kroswami: JJWS was awesome. The last scene where he pulled ahead - sigh!

a traveller said...

@Lavanya: I really wanted to fit in your line about the movie somewhere in this post, but I was trying not to go off track so refrained.

Loved the line you wrote: "it’s like expecting masala chai, and being served with herbal tea instead" :) It just captures how I'd want to describe the movie.