ahmadaYAZ100

Krrish's script writer (or whoever conceptualized the character of Krrish) watched lots of super man and sci-fi foreign movies and turned Krrish, the hero and the movie a mixture of all. Sample these:

• Krrish dresses like Zorro (the mask, the leather overcoat in 30 degree hot Singapore). - Krrish runs in the air and jump across and over like Incredible Hulk. - Krrish can jump over/ across city landmarks like Spiderman (eg, when he sneaks into Dr Arya's lab.) - Krrish runs as fast as Dash Incredible of the Incredibles. (eg, where he avoids bullets from Dr Arya) - Krrish can fight like a Kung Fu warrior (when he fights Dr Arya's guards on an island) or like Jackie Chan (eg, when he fights motorcycle riders. (The lead, Hrithik trained for 1 month+ under the famous Tony Cheng of Hong Kong.) - Krrish can, of course, sing like an Indian hero. - Krrish's father Rohit builds a computer that can see future like Precogs of Minority Report. He works on intangible keyboards like in that movie. Rohit is kept in suspended animation by Dr Arya as the convicts in Minority Report. - Krrish's father Rohit can read like autistic Raymond in Rain Man (Rohit finishes Dr Arya's book in minutes.) - Krrish's father Rohit meets with a left-behind alien (as in ET, the Hollywood movie which stole the idea, some credibly claim, from India's Satyajit Ray.)

Cut the dance sequence, reduce the length to 90-120 minutes. The movie may be accepted by global audience and I would rate it 7/10.

As an aside, Singapore government invested in the movie which was half shot in Singapore. Krrish is/will be a case study for business schools (Indian Institute of Management-Indore, Hongkong University, Harvard Business School.)

I saw both old (1981) and new Umrao Jaan (2006). The old Umrao, I think, is one of the best movies (Indian or otherwise), at par with any famed-Satyajit Ray. It should NOT be even compared with the new Umrao Jaan. The problem is that it is so good that Muzaffar Ali (the producer of old Umrao from Lucknow where most of the movie unfolds) perhaps cannot make a better movie all his life.

The old Umrao is very restrained, and therefore, a believable story of a Lucknow tawa-if (courtesan, geisha). There are no brave heroes (all flee 1857 Sepoy Mutiny against the English), the robber Faiz Ali dies in an unheroic escape. Owner of house of tawaifs, Madam Khanum, is selfish and exploitative. Nawab Sultan, one of the first clients of Umrao, sees Umarao what she is - a tawaif and abandons her with no compunctions to marry into the wealthy family of her cousin; others hurl insults at Umrao. There is a thin line (if any) between a tawaif and a prostitute/hooker - old Umrao sleeps with Nawab Sultan as a matter of routine, and then with the robber Faiz Ali.

In old Umrao Urdu poetry (ghazal) is shown to be pervasive in the lives of tawaifs and all around her. The dialogs are in lyrical, delicate and local Urdu, difficult to be appreciated in translation. In old Umrao, acting is superb by all. Songs and Indian Kathak dances (minus one by Nawab Sultan) are mostly in context.

Good movies like good books can enrich and teach. Most Indian movies are trash, fantastic escape from reality but not old Umrao Jaan. You could see Lucknow of a bygone era. Sample these:

• pigeon flight contests (or kabootar baazi, a flock breaking pigeons mid flight from a rival flock) - Indian hop scotch (ikkal dukkal) - the earthen stove (or choolha) - the custom of eating with hands in the kitchen on the floor near choolha - the custom of offering for a saint's shrine (nazar at durgaah) - the custom of arranged marriage between Muslim cousins - the custom of purdah, - the custom of eating betel leaf (or paans) and hookah smoking - the tradition of sellers of bangles and shawls coming home - the incompetent contemptible and indolent nawabs who would sell part of the estate for a courtesan

See old Umrao if you have not yet; see it again if you have once. Technically, the photography in old Umrao is not as high quality as in the new one but then in 25 years cameras have improved a lot.

Old Umrao gets 9/10; the new 3/10.

I saw it again, after 25 years! I think it is one of the best movies (Indian or otherwise), at par with any famed-Satyajit Ray. It should NOT be even compared with the new Umrao Jaan. The problem is that it is so good that Muzaffar Ali (the producer from Lucknow where most of the movie unfolds) perhaps cannot make a better movie all his life.

The film is very restrained, and therefore, a believable story of a Lucknow tawa-if (courtesan, geisha). There are no brave heroes (all flee 1857 Sepoy Mutiny against the English), the robber Faiz Ali dies in an unheroic escape. Owner of house of tawaifs, Madam Khanum, is selfish and exploitative. Nawab Sultan, one of the first clients of Umrao, sees Umarao what she is - a tawaif and abandons her with no compunctions to marry into the wealthy family of her cousin; others hurl insults at Umrao. There is a thin line (if any) between a tawaif and a prostitute/hooker - Umrao sleeps with Nawab Sultan as a matter of routine, and then with the robber Faiz Ali.

Urdu poetry (ghazal) is shown to be pervasive in the lives of tawaifs and all around her. The dialogs are in lyrical, delicate and local Urdu, difficult to be appreciated in translation. Acting is superb by all. Songs and Indian Kathak dances (minus one by Nawab Sultan) are mostly in context.

Good movies like good books can enrich and teach. Most Indian movies are trash, fantastic escape from reality but not old Umrao Jaan. You could see Lucknow of a bygone era. Sample these:

• pigeon flight contests (or kabootar baazi, a flock breaking pigeons mid flight from a rival flock) - Indian hop scotch (ikkal dukkal) - the earthen stove (or choolha) - the custom of eating with hands in the kitchen on the floor near choolha - the custom of offering for a saint's shrine (nazar at durgaah) - the custom of arranged marriage between Muslim cousins - the custom of purdah, - the custom of eating betel leaf (or paans) and hookah smoking - the tradition of sellers of bangles and shawls coming home - the incompetent and indolent nawabs who would sell part of the estate for a courtesan

See it if you have not yet; see it again if you have once. Technically, the photography is not as high quality as now - but then in 25 years movie cameras have improved a lot.