So I watched Aaja Nachle, the film being touted as Madhuri's comeback film. Let me say it was a good movie going experience. The dances, Madhuri's look and acting were excellent. I felt that it could have had a little more comedy in the story line. I wanted to laugh, cry and be mesmerized in the same movie. Akshaye Khanna was a nice surprise and so was Irfan Khan. Of course Konkana Sen Sharma and Kunal Kapoor were excellent, I loved their part of the storyline. Konkana has never been this funny and non-serious. The last 30 minutes of the film were beautiful to watch. Everyone of course loved the title song - visually if not lyrically.
Some controversy hit the film and the government in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana banned Aaja Nachle on the release date of Friday, November 30th and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to impose a countrywide clamp-down on the movie alleging its title song was "unconstitutional".
"Bazar mein machi hai maramar; bole mochi bhi khud ko sunhar" (There is so much chaos in the market that even a cobbler is calling himself a goldsmith) -- was the objectionable line of the title song. First of all let me go by explaining the song, it talks about how Madhuri's character loses her jewelry and the attraction the men of the town feel for her that they will go to any lengths to help her. Even say they specialize in a specific trade, that they don't. I didn't find anything offensive in the line. But some felt as if the line was saying that the mochis are a lower caste than sonnars. What I'm saying is, 'Does it really matter? When you are comparing two low castes what does it matter who is higher or who is lower." Yeah...I said it. Watch this be my last post.
Concerned by the ban and protests, director of the film Anil Mehta announced the "objectionable" line from the song would be deleted. Censor Board chairperson Sharmila Tagore, who cleared the film for release, stated, "We saw the words 'mochi' (cobbler) and 'sonar' (goldsmith) as people of a certain profession, not a caste. Urban Indians would not I'm sure be offended - but as they say India lives in centuries, so to that extent people in smaller towns may find it offensive, and we are sorry we overlooked that,"
When promotional videos of the film had been running for a very long time, why did the government decide to wait until the film's release to deem the lyrics unacceptable? Answer -- simply --- Haters!! Deep down inside the government of UP, Punjab and Haryana are Sridevi, Juhi Chawla, Kajol fans..
