Went home over the long weekend.

Among other things, watched "Agnivarsha" again - on CD. Agnivarsha is definitely among the better Hindi movies made in recent times. I enjoyed it a lot even though I was watching it the third time.

The story/plot is different - you actually don't know what is going to happen next ; the characters are solid, intelligent, believable; the casting is excellent. Everyone seems to fit his/her role - even the extras seem hand-picked; the execution is almost flawless; the songs are ok.

Rajaji in his Ramayana explains that even the smallest of stains stands out on a pure white cloth. There are one or two places where Agnivarsha strays from the ideal. The dance steps in the first song are slightly modern and the music is also slightly western. There's a tribal song which doesnt look too tribal. I didnt like these things. Made me feel uncomfortable - apologetic.

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Before I saw "Agnivarsha" I tried to watch "Chalte Chalte". Yuck! Couldn't stand even fifteen minutes of it. Thought about Shahrukh Khan and his "style". Poor chap he doesn't often get to do solid characters like Devdas. His talent is wasted on doing the "could be any-silly-body" kind of shallow romantic roles.