wow! i feel like i have achived an elephantine task! accomplished wat few others have managed to in the past few weeks! there i am , one among the lucky few , the fortunate minority that , after crossing numerous hurdles , with indomitable spirit, have managed to watch sivaji , the boss!
and wat makes me savour the taste of this sweet achivement even more is the fact that i saw the film , not opnce , not twice , but thrice already! man , i feel like alexander would have after he conquered half the planet!
yes , the task set out was tough . i indeed needed hell lot of courage to go past those long serpentine ques outside theatres screening the biggest movie to come out of kollywood ( as crappy as it sounds, it definitely churns better stuff than the other woody cousin tats bollywood), the costliest movie ever made in India (where did they spend all tat moolah ?? ) , and the much awaited rajni extravaganza. friends told me rani mukherjee was in a cameo. then it was mallika sherawat for a song . two rajni's , no wait that was three it seems, the roumours flew thick and fast , appetising my undying yearn for an experience of a lifetime!
ok now a confession, i am addicted to the first day first show syndrome, my world kind of stops doing the revolutions it should be doing , if i miss the friday morning show for such huge mega potential block busters. so the thought that i will not be the one watching rajni belt out another superhit on friday morning , was earth shatteringly dippressing. but then looking at the crowds , and understanding the affection and adulation that pours out in theatres in the form of pickpocketing , people thrashing , and near death experience that i would have had to go thru for the first show, i decided to save my part of the fun for a later day. ofcourse the zooming ticket prices were another factor too.
peers informed me , dutifully that tamil nadu aint half as enchanting , without the mandatory rajni release. i was indeed "blessed" that lady luck smiled on me and made rajni return with a shnakar film , and ar rehman music for me to see it in the theatres . hero worshipping is common this side of the vindhya's , but rajni and his fans are a league ahead.
so finally , three days after the release , and after much pushing and pulling, i wrangled those elusive pieces of glossy overdone pieces of paper that would allow me entry into rajni land! i had the tickets in hand! i must confess ehre that weekdays early morning show is the best time to ease into the theatre, guys who still have not seen THE MOVIE of hte year , ( i pity u really!!) take this tip from me!
having a fair amount of idea wat a rajni film usually contains , i put my logical thinking process on hibernation mode . theres no point trying to think and analyze while watching a 54 year old raise ten grown up rotund pot bellied goons single handedly to the ground anyways. i tried to imbibe in the energy , the vivacity and the spunk (??) that the audience round me seemed to be relishing. was i missing something ? or was it mass hsyteria after the torturous path onto the coveted theatre seats, that made the people go clapping hooting as soon as rajni appeared onscreen?
sweet packets with the ticket , disco lights in the theatre for punch lines and a mersmerised local audience apart , the movie had nothing good about it. an innane oft-repeated story libne, juvenile acting by the superstar, jokes that wouls make a moron squirm in the seat with embarrasment, sivaji the boss was utterly disapointing.
but what the hell, who am i to complain ? or so say me frends , who seem alls et to make this a bigger hit than the previuos rajni capper chandramukhi (apparently still running at a theatre in the land of the faithfull , chennai). thank you very much , but i cant share the same enthusiasm about a three hourish piece of senseless reel , that splashes money at all the wrong places . "suspension of disbelief ", is an essential accessory while watching the movie.
yet , i saw it thrice. why one may ask . well , for the sheer love of cinema! to see the crowds go mad every time rajni spouts irreprissably insane dialogues, to see the guy beside me jump in his seat wen the shaven head rajni returnsin the extended climax, and to see the beautiful shreya saran serenade in awesomely done sets , is a treat for all the five senses.
great cinema it certainly aint, but watch sivaji for the impact factor. watch sivaji cause national news wants u to. watch it if u don wanna be an outcast , as the country gets divided into those who have not and those who have seen Sivaji The Boss!!