Dil Chahta Hai

Umrao Jaan

I saw Umrao Jaan yesterday and surprisingly liked it. The reason might be because I went in with no expectations.

Let me say right away, the music is absolutely not comparable to the old movie. I am listening to the old Umrao Jaan numbers, as I write this post. What melody, what lyrics! Wah, Wah! And Asha Bhosale with "Dil Cheez Kya Hai" and "In Ankhon ki Masti mein", who can beat her? To be fair to the lyrics of the new movie, we skipped through most of the songs, so I will not offer my opinion.



But on the brighter side, the dialogues were wonderful. Abhishek looked like a dream. Aishwarya, I would give her 8.9 on 10 for her acting, brilliant performance! I couldn't quite remember the story of the old Umrao Jaan, so the narration kept me engrossed. More importantly the story got me thinking. And as much as I liked Dhoom 2 (mindless thrill), I also like to watch movies which make me think. The dialogues were nice; thoughts nicely expressed; they made me want to listen to what the characters had to say.

Barring some unnecessary scenes, especially towards the end, I liked the movie. I would definitely recommend it for movie buffs, and people who like gazals or flowery language.

posted by PH @ Saturday, December 23, 2006