Dhobi Ghaat

I went to watch the movie Dhobi Ghaat on the very first day of it's release. Although in Delhi, I used to go for movies on the very first day of it's release, in Bombay I do not do it very often. There are two reasons: the ticket prices are very high in Bombay (specially on the 1st day of release) and its hectic to go out of the institute campus for me. But somehow I managed to do it on Friday. I went with an open mind to watch the movie and I guess that was a good attitude. This movie is certainly not like Aamir Khan's earlier movies. In fact, this is not a one man leading movie, every character has got equal importance: Munna (the Dhobi), Shai (the NRI banker), The newly married woman (I forgot the name of her character) as well as Aamir Khan. The movie is not like a story which begins somewhere and ends somewhere. There is no beginning and there is no end I think. Its a 90 minutes snapshots of typical Bombay life. It shows how different people from very different backgrounds come to this city and how their lives affect each other. Let me not tell you how the story goes since that you can find anywhere now. But I found this movie very different from any bollywood movies I have seen so far. The background music (Mostly acoustic guitar) by Gustavo Santaolalla was cool as well and reminds me of movies like Brokeback Mountain, the Motorcycle Diaries etc. And when my friend asked me whether I liked it or not (just after the movie was over), I was not being able to give a very straightforward answer, I had to think for sometime to realize that yes, I liked it :) I know this movie won't be a big hit in India where people like unrealistic movies with too many songs and dancing, but it's good to see that some people at least are trying to make a difference without worrying too much about their earnings. Hope it continues...