Pati, Patni aur Ghost - Talaash!

I am still in "Talaash",of my reaction to the movie!

By now the suspense is yesterday’s news & gali-gali mein, everyone knows, that this is the story of a happy threesome - Pati, Patni aur Ghost; yaane ki, a cop (an intense & haunted Aamir Khan), who blames himself for the death of his son; pretty, hoarse voiced Rani, as the mother who tries to seek her son, through other mediums; & the porcelain perfect Kareena Kapoor, who valiantly attempts to play the crude brothel babe, but fails - don't get me wrong; a very decent actress, she essays her part earnestly & sweetly, but Bebo, you can’t shake off your Begum image!

Jab we watched the movie, we had no clue about the bhooth angle, so looked forward to deep, sinister secrets being revealed, quite enjoyed the mystery & eyed each character, appearing in the film, suspiciously! Then suddenly realisation dawned - we needed to see “What lies beneath!” I (loved the Michell Pfeiffer & Harrison Ford starrer) No human being could solve the case – enter the prettiest ghost in the history of Indian cinema!

Post seeing clips & videos of ‘Ayya’ which were thrust upon a disinclined janta, I dismissed Rani Mukherjee as a desperate, willing to do anything actress & those vulgar dance moves, which I have seen on TV,(unwillingly, I must add, except that I was too lazy to reach for the remote), haunted me!

So surprising, that between the two babes, I preferred Rani – looked lovely in those crumpled cotton saris; here, let me express another grouse about clichéd Indian phillums; this stereo type that when the heroine is happy, she wears western gear, in this case, Rani in jeans and a shirt, but the moment tragedy hits the screen, they turn to saris, like you can only mourn & feel sorrow, draped in six yards of fabric!

Overall Verdict – very decent, enjoyable movie; for every unexplained moment, Ms. Pretty Bhooth steps in usefully & fills the gaps. Like one ghost was not enough, we have Bhooth Junior make his entrance, as Aamir & Rani’s son & persuades papa dearest, to shake off all feelings of guilt, pleading that only then, Baby Boy Ghost can leave peacefully, to join Casper and the other friendly ghosts! Now we can hope, that maybe, Aamir will stop being rude to his guests & Rani will start ironing her saris again!

‘Talaash also made me eat humble pie! I had clever Sherlock Holmes moments, to solve the mystery & like Hercule Poirot, delved into human psychology, to find the culprit. My unfortunately saner & less excitable better half, somewhere mid-movie, mentioned ‘ghost’ & I dismissed his explanation, with Poirot’s signature arrogance! Well, as history tells us, pride goes before a fall & what a humiliating fall it was, when happy hubby’s theory was validated! A rare moment as husband & wife – for once, I had to admit that he was right! That dratted bhooth!!!

So as I said, good movie, interesting plot, obviously fabulous acting....
BUT did the movie require Aamir Khan – I don’t think so! This was a very Vikram Bhatt kind of phillum, gripping, thoda suspense, thoda drama and all that & I could imagine, say an Emran Hashmi, playing the lead role. Just socho, if the serial kisser had turned his attention on sad Rani & smooched her out of her senses, maybe she would have smiled and they would all have lived happily ever after!

Mr.Satyameva Jayate has set the bar so high & given, we the audience, such lofty expectations, that die-hard fans like me were left a tad disappointed! But then, the fan in me also allows this great actor a break of sorts – remember the ensemble cast of the oh-so-happy-feel-good-‘Mama Mia’, led by the one and only Meryl Streep, who said they had had a blast making the film & it showed! I for one sat in the theatre, watching ‘Mama Mia’ & lustily sang along loudly, much to the horror & utter humiliation of my partner-in-life! I consider it one of my achievements in life, that bees saal and more after being together,I still manage to make the man cringe!!!

Thumbs up for an interesting movie! I am now waiting for my ghost in shining armor, to make his/her, presence felt. I have a lot of issues in life that need to be sorted out & post Talaash, am in talaash of my friendly, neighbourhood ghost to appear and take care of mera problems too!

Certainly won’t find a place in the list of great Aamir Khan movies. Dude, when you have finished celebrating the birthday of that adorable son of yours, with a name that made me happy - Azad Rao Khan – get cracking on the Talaaash for a perfect script, to make a movie that will do justice to your talent. Kyonki, Mr. Khan, from you, Yeh Dil Maangey More!!!