Kal Kal Kal...

Having not seen a Hindi movie since Darna Mana Hai, I was quick to jump on to the tickets of KHNH we managed to get for the second show on Saturday. Entered the theater a good fifteeen minutes late and were relieved to see that we didn't miss much. I asked the lady accompanying us, as she was coming for the second time, if the movie had much senti. She replied - 'not much, but little towards the end'. The movie taught me a lesson - always take the opinions of ladies with a bucket of salt, especially in case of senti or such emotions!

Preity Zinta was, as always, gorgeous! I, as they say, fell in love all over once again. True, true - she wasn't as fresh as she was in Dil Chahta Hai, but that dimpled laugh was as charming as ever. I'll horse-whip that Karan Johar if he ever crosses my path - he made her cry soooo much. The Water's Edge was literally overflowing with her tears. Poor thing, may be she didn't have enough experience in that department in her real life, she just looks terrible in those weeping scenes. She is neither Raakhi nor Jaya Bachhan, she is just not made to cry, you know. Hers was the most perfect smiling face and that duffer Johar couldn't make her do anything but sob and weep. Sigh!

And guess what, SRK hasn't changed a bit! He is there alright, doing what he is best known to do - overacting. Just wringing out emotions out of every scene, tears flew left, right and center. Some people had to be shipped to a hospital due to heavy dehydration! The only sensible performance was given by Saif Ali Khan - decent, controlled with good humour. In some ways he was a restraining force on SRK. While Shah Ruck kept hamming away at the other end (with the confidence that he will not be given out till the end), Saif Ali Khan played a solid, stylishly carved innings at this end. All in all, a pretty good first half with equally appalling second half. But one thing that has to be said in favour of the movie is the ending - while I dreaded Shah Rukh getting miraculously cured and PZ flying into his arms, the directory quite thankfully thought otherwise (sorry for giving the story away!).

And now comes the most interesting bit of the evening. After the movie, we drove to a famous ice cream shop (yes, yes - in the middle of the night with temperature below twenty) near the Old City. Though it was past the closing time, the fellow gave us those scoops for which we drove all the way. All the time we ate, he kept on asking where we lived. We evaded giving the answer, saying that we came to visit a friend in a hospital nearby. But still he persisted and we finally told him the name of our place. He then just sighed and said it was alright. We asked him what the matter was, and he then pointed to a road in one direction and told that currently riots were taking place and people were getting killed!! We gulped the ice-cream at twice the normal speed, though it felt like fire in the mouth, and sneaked out of that place. Pretty chicken-like behaviour, but I didn't have any inclination to find out how a stone hurled at 40mph felt like on the forehead! Read in the newspapers on the morrow that 3 people were killed that night (now the toll is 5) in the Old City. I'd not seen even a single rioter that night, and just couldn't help feel that the night could've been little more exciting!