Bombay talkies: Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa

"Aye kaash ke hum hosh mein ab aane naa paayebas nagmein tere pyaar ke, gaate hee jaayekhilatee, mahakatee ye julfon kee shaamhasate, khanakate ye hothhon ke jaamaa zoom ke saath uthhaye, bas nagmein tere pyaar ke ..ho bas agar tum humaare sanamhum to sitaaron pe rakh de kadamsaaraa jahaan bhool jaaye, bas nagmein tere pyaar ke .."

The Kundan Shah directed, Shahrukh Khan starrer, is one of my personal SRK favs. The movie stands out for the simplicity of the story,revolving around the story of Sunil (struggling singer-dumbstruck lover), in his confusion dwindling away his youth, strangely one of the rare Bollywood movies, in which the hero ends up as a loser. Set in the town of Vasco in Goa, it captures the multi dimensional culture of the people living there and their day to day life. And can Goa be ever completed without a mention ofmusic. Jatin Lalit delivers perhaps one of their best albums ever, music which even todaymanages to stir many a heart. Right from casting the effervescent Deepak Tijori fresh from the success of Sadak, Jo jeeta woh sikandar to the freshness exuded by Suchitra Krishnamoorthy, the movie manages to capture the imagination of every moviegoer right until the last scene is over. An absolute cinematic delight to have the actors of the calibre of Satish Shah, Nasseruddin Shah, Anjan Srivastav, share the screen together. But the most memorable act came from the quintessential man, who reinvents himself almost every Wednesday, Nasseruddin Shah,who as the parish priest, delivers a near to perfect delivery. One of the best lines of the movie, came when Sunil confessed to him faking his marksheet. As the ever so just Father, he stood up for him, saying "Its the bravest people who take life, day by day. For them, the journey is all that really matters". Just about everytime I managed to fall in love did I reminsce the emotions of a young Sunil singing to glory, "Ae Kaash Kein Hum Hosh mein Ab Aane Naa paaye". What really stands out about the movie is the innocence of their lives which has been captured within the 70mm screen,something quite rare in today's cinema. All in all,a great movie for anyone, would be even better, with St.Valentine just knocking around your door.