Okay, I admit it. I'm late, late for all standards and especially when I am aware that half the country is ahead of me in this matter. I finally watched Lage Raho Munnabhai (the most coveted movie of the nation, at this moment of time) – and this too after few several months of its release. Why I held back was not out of sheer laziness, I was simply amazed at the way a simple Bhai movie that touched a bit of Gandhiism (Gandhigiri) turned the entire nation into watching the film and (even if its for the time being) switched their beliefs.
Did I enjoy it?
Yes. I had to. I love the way simple comedy runs. The satire, the works -- and how everything fits into place. I've also realised that if the comic elements are intact, a comedy flick is bound to do well regardless to the plot or any seriousness to it. Some Hindi comedy, I find brilliant.
This is one that scored far better because it had a plot that really changed things around. Made them appear so much better.
The philosophy of the man (Gandhi), in the movie, was not elaborate but the basics were; no matter how thin they were ruled out, we have to know them and how they are applied. To know Gandhi, as Indians, it is like General Knowledge, a part of our history that is so important and relevant in such times and forever. Like I said, you may not run them. It may not work; see how far we have digressed? Yet we can't do without it.
There are some really convincing moments in the movie that may actually get you to believe that Gandhigari is so easy and just so bloody right. The man, Murli Prasad Sharma, is hopelessly in love with a RJ and lands up learning about Gandhi. That's not it. Gandhi starts haunting him, and because of applying conditions with this spirit, he ends up practicing them. Its not his love entirely that turns him following Gandhi but just how uncannily it makes sense to his ruffian mind. The Gandhi in the movie is his conscience, something he would dare not reveal or give it an opportunity in real life.
What's different is that it’s moving. The tale is woven well, it may sound a bit of a farce if some us rip and analyse things -- in this matter, I don't think that's meant to be done. The movie has to be watched with no surprise. It makes you see things on its own. You can still come out of the hall cursing Gandhi, but the litmus test is whether you actually disagree (if not follow) his practices. Like my previous post, I still don’t see anything in him today. But if nothing else, he is our one major brand. You might not realise it.