Nachle Madhuri

While I was watching ''Aaja Nachle'' for the third time yesterday night (yeah, yeah, I was vetti :D), I realised that I should pour out my thoughts in a post. Before you read ahead, if you like dance, in general and Madhuri's dance, in particular, you will totally enjoy the movie. I saw the movie just to see if Madhuri's comeback was worth all the hype and was pleasantly surprised by how good the movie was.

Plot: A very simple one; the Govt. decides to build a mall after demolishing an open-air theatre in a village called Shamli and its upto Madhuri to save the theatre by proving that the people need music and dance in their lives. This is complicated by the fact that the villagers hate her since she fell in love and ran away the day before her wedding and is now back in town after years, divorced and with a daughter.

What I totally totally loved was Madhuri, Madhuri and Madhuri. She was absolutely brilliant not only because this is a dance based movie but also because she acted her age, a woman in her thirties (and she did look like it since she has lost a lot of weight and the only time you miss the bubbly ek dho theen girl is when you see a really tight close up). I do not think any other actress can match her in the elegance, style, expressions and agility of her dance. A good example would be the Dola Re song from Devdas where Aishwarya literally struggles to keep up with the maestro.

The movie would have never worked without the brilliant portrayal of the laila majnu musical; I wonder why they are not making it an international show like Bombay dreams. The laila maju cast was so perfect; like the villagers, the audience is left surprised at how the simple looking people suddenly transform into ace performers.

The undercurrent of subtle romance throughout the movie be it between Laila and Majnu, the house owner and his wife, or the one-sided track with Mohan is handled so well that neither do they digress from the storyline nor are they cheesy. When noone seems to be on Madhuri's side, Mohan, the chaiwalla, the groom she left standing at the altar when she ran away comes to her and says ''mein hoon, chai bhi apki, mein bhi apka''....I was so moved, is one of the most beautiful scenes in the movie.

If you ignore some flaws in logic, like who is paying for the extravagant sets and costumes of the musical or where the other performers in the musical come from (we never ask these questions about people who dance with Shahrukh and Salman, right ? Same logic) and simply watch the movie, you can definitely enjoy it.