A reply I made to another blog on MNIK

Below is a reply I made on another blog to a post titled:  "My Name is Khan overrated and a bad advertisement for a mature industry". The original can be found at: http://recordsinajournal.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-name-is-khan-overrated-and-bad.html

 All of us enter a cinema hall with an array of expectations, hopes, prejudices, etc. about the film we are about to see. Unlike watching a film on TV or DVD where the motive might be boredom, pass the time, family member watching, etc., going to cinema is a conscious act. So if you are someone who went to see MNIK on opening weekend what was your motive? Are you a fan of SRK? or Karan Johar films? Were you caught up in the hype? Perhaps the subject of Aspberger's Syndrome has meaning to you.


We cannot separate our expectations from what unfolds. Each moment of the film plays against our own internal dialogue which evolves as the reels play on and our expectations gradually get replaced by the experience of watching.

I eagerly awaited the opening of MNIK for months so there was too much of that dialogue in my head the the 1st time I saw it last Friday. Yes I enjoyed the film but I expected a rapturous experience, a perfect resonance of seamless story, acting, directing, cinematography and music so in a way I felt slightly disappointed at first. But then the day after I began thinking about the movie frequently so I went and saw it again last night. This time there wasn't so much noise in my mind. As a result I can say it is fantastic movie that is very moving and uplifting.

Going back to our expecations, at the core of those expectations lies the very notion of what movies are to us. Are they just entertainment, distraction, diversion, time killers? Are they cathartic therapy? Or are they something more? Does a good film elucidate some feelings or thoughts within us in a way more powerfully than we could express ourselves?  If you don't look for that illumination and merely want to be amused than I suggest you try video games. 


Finally there is another reason certain people watch films. That is to dissect and criticze them. Some of this analysis can be very helpful as is done by critics who help us decide sometimes if we should invest the time and money in going to a film but some is done by those with a streak of misanthropy or nihilism who prefer to decry every thing in a movie that is not literally true or completely plausible and reduce and atomize every film. There is hardly a film that can stand up to that attack. So if your intent is to watch a film like MNIK only to criticize Johar or SRK or the scriptwriter than by all means. There is plenty of ammunition. In fact in the opening scene Rizvan misses his American Airlines flight due to the TSA agents searching him so he takes a bus. Wouldn't he just get exchange ticket for the next flight? Surely the decision to go by bus instead seems a bit silly? There lots of examples in movies where someone could stand up and say that but miss the deeper reason for the story which is about discovery and transformation,