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I enjoy a good fantasy film every once in a while, so when my sis came over last night to try my new butter chicken recipe (which turned out not too bad) and a movie, we decided what better way to end the day than with some filmi fantasy goodness. I'd read a couple of reviews on this, some good, mostly bad, so I didn't really know what to expect. I guess I will have to go against the masses and say that I actually really enjoyed this one, silliness and all.

Of course it's a tale we've probably all heard before. Even I am reading the stories of Aladdin and his magic lamp to my own children, but I think it's always fun to try and re-tell things, and director Sujoy Ghosh (who has also written and produced this film) gives his own spin on the classic fairytale. Aladin, having been born to adventurous parents, is orphaned early in life. He grows up in the shadow of his namesake continually trying to evade the town bully, Kasim, until one day he is given a magical lamp complete with genie by Jasmine, the new girl in town (who, incidentally, is the object of Aladin's affections). Our subplot comes in the form of the the character Ringmaster, along with his merry band of sideshow freaks, who is on the look out for the lamp in order to carry out a sinister plan to become all powerful.


Performance wise, I enjoyed nearly everyone. Amitabh Bachchan, with his powerful screen presence was enigmatically wonderful as Genius the genie. I dig his look and his attitude in the film too. Just because you age doesn't mean you have to act old. Plus, I think that if you have as many movies under your belt as this man does, and you're still acting, you deserve to do something just completely fun every once in a while. Right on Amitabh! Subsequently, I thought Sanjay Dutt's Ringmaster was wonderfully sinister. You can make out he is having a ball playing the fantasy villain, and the showdown during the story's climax is a definite highlight. Also, on a slightly unrelated note, if you have an unnatural fear of clowns, as I do, be warned. One of Ringmaster's crew is a very effectively creepy sort of clown that made me cringe each time he was on screen. YUCK!




I've not seen Riteish Deshmukh in anything other than Mast Kalandar from the movie Heyy Babyy, so my expectations of him were low. That being said, I actually enjoyed watching him in a full movie. He brought the right amount of sympathy to his character to the point where I wanted good things to come him. As his and Genius' friendship evolve, you see him gradually come out of his shell until he gets to play the hero role in a completely believable fashion. Newcomer Jacqueline Fernandez has good presence, but doesn't have much to do aside from look pretty. A little side note: it took me probably 3/4 of the movie to realize the Jasmine reference. Duh!




Visually, Sujoy Ghosh has created a spectacular film. I don't think I've seen a Hindi film yet, CGI or otherwise, that was so breathtakingly grand as the fictitious town of Khwaish, and it immediately brought me back to Lord of the Rings. The special effects, from the wafting genie smoke to the cliff free fall are really well done. Top marks for art direction!


I had no expectations for the music in this one. I get most of my music from iTunes, but I think that I need to find a better site to listen to music when it's released (if anyone has suggestions, I'd gladly take them). iTunes only gives you something like 30 seconds of a piece of music to listen to, which is not enough to decided if a song is for you or not, which is why the only song that made my ipod was You May Be. Upon hearing the songs in context and then again on another website, I think that the music does indeed hold some appeal. Firstly the numbers are mostly upbeat peppy songs that will have at least one toe tapping, but secondly, you have to give Amitabh his due credit for pulling off his parts in Ore Saawariya and Genie Rap.

So, overall, a good fun film. And exactly what I was looking to watch last night.