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Lage Raho Munna Bhai Blu-ray Review |
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Lage Raho Munna Bhai Blu-ray
Eros | 2009 | Not rated | Sep 22, 2009
Lage Raho Munna Bhai Blu-ray ReviewThe spirit of Gandhi lives (literally) in 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai.'Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, December 30, 2009 If you're from the U.S., you probably know without too much prompting that the Father of your country is George Washington. And yet what do you really know about Washington? First President? Sure. Wife named Martha? Of course. Valley Forge? Certainly. And, if you've been to Mount Vernon, you may be aware that old George had really, really bad teeth, not helped much by the just slightly less bad wood dentures on display at his former home. That's part of the problem with having a Founding Father so far removed from the present day, despite the typical assertion about the United States being such a "young" nation. If, therefore, Americans have the convenient excuse of over 200 years' distance between their national progenitor and their current day knowledge of same, one might be tempted to think a really new country (relatively speaking, of course) like India would have no trouble at all identifying with its father, especially when that figure is a man as iconic as Mohandas Gandhi. And yet that's part of the irony rather sweetly brought home to bear with Lage Raho Munna Bhai (loosely translated as Carry On, Munna Bhai). We Westerners may indeed have more of an inkling of what Gandhi was all about by virtue of our filmgoing experience with the Attenborough biopic than the average Indian does even as he lives in the country Gandhi himself helped to forge and create a modern identity for. Munna Bhai (Sanjay Dutt) first turned up in the amiable Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., a 2003 film which sowed the generic seeds from which Lage Raho blossomed. Munna is a small scale underworld figure in Mumbai, but one with a generally sweet nature and a sort of Everyman demeanor that makes him an easy character with which to identify. His somewhat oafish attempts to better his lot led him in M.B.B.S. into pretending he was a medical student. If Bollywood has learned anything from Hollywood, it's that sequels should not jigger with a winning formula, and so Lage Raho finds Munna pretending to be a professor who happens to specialize in the history of "Bapu," the sweet nickname which means "Father" which many Indians use to refer to Gandhi. Munna undertakes this masquerade to win the heart of a popular radio personality named Jhanvi (the gorgeous Vidya Balan), who in honor of Bapu's October 2 birthday is holding an on air trivia contest where one lucky listener can call in, hopefully correctly answer ten questions about Gandhi, and then have a private on air interview with Jhanvi. Need one explain that Munna pulls several strings, including temporarily kidnapping a crew of Gandhi experts, to win the contest and set the romantic wheels in motion?
As in most Bollywood features, the denouement is a foregone conclusion of happily ever after, but, again like most Bollywood endeavors, the trick is in the getting there. Though probably too long for its own good at almost two and a half hours, Lage Raho doesn't suffer as much from the entropy that marred the other recent too-long Bollywood effort I reviewed here, Partner. Part of that is due to several interesting interwoven subplots which are artfully handled throughout the film. It turns out the Jhanvi cares for several seniors in a care facility whose domicile is about to be taken forcefully by one of Munna's underworld superiors. That man, Lucky Singh (Boman Irani) has a daughter whose impending marriage may be doomed by an inauspicious horoscope, shedding light on the perhaps incomprehensible mysticism which still colors a lot of contemporary Indian life. (In a sort of funny aside, the girl's potential father-in-law adds an extra "K" to his surname to ensure numerological blessings. Anyone recall the Dionne Warwicke years?). There are also a number of rather touching social issues which crop up repeatedly throughout Lage Raho which keep viewer interest even as the central romance goes through several twists and turns. What ultimately sets this film apart though is the presence of Gandhi's ghost, an apparition (played by Dilip Prabhavalkar) which first appears to Munna when he is cramming on information about Bapu to present to the seniors whom Jhanvi helps. In order to win her heart, of course, he must appear to be the Gandhi expert he claims to be, and when Gandhi's own spirit shows up full of pacificism and love, it seems like the answer to a prayer. If director Rajkumar Hirani tries to have it both ways with the "ghost," opting to portray it both as a hallucination and as a real entity, it ultimately doesn't matter that much as the philosophy imparted by the spirit is what gives Lage Raho its heart and soul. Comedy relief is provided largely by Munna's sidekick, Circuit (Arshad Warsi), a kind of dunderheaded but lovable fool who pretends to also see Gandhi to keep Munna from thinking he's gone completely off his rocker. Warsi has a very appealing presence, able to handle the physical comedy demands of the role with aplomb. Though probably thought of in India as a typical Bollywood musical, like Partner Lage Raho only contains a handful of numbers, and while they're fine, they don't rise to the level of the best of Bollywood, in either musical content or the often grandiose staging which typifies films of this ilk. This really is a buddy comedy with a little added spiritual element (both literally and figuratively), and the musical aspect is neither here nor there. It's OK eye candy, a little less so for the ears, but it never does anything for the plot or characters and remains a fairly static contribution to the overall film. Lage Raho Munna Bhai has had a rather extraordinary impact in its home country, giving a new generation an insight into Gandhi's temperament and philosophy. The film has played to select audiences worldwide, including a one of a kind screening at the United Nations, and is one of the biggest blockbusters to hit Indian cinemas in many years. It's a typically good natured, big hearted Bollywood effort with enough of a sociopolitical consciousness to elevate its standing to a worldwide audience. Perhaps it's time for director Hirani to consider Carry On, George Washington. That big musical production number crossing the Delaware could be incredible. Video  Eros Entertainment gives us Lage Raho Munna Bhai with an above average if not extremely brilliant 1080p AVC encoded transfer. Colors are well saturated, but never rise to the level of knock your socks off splendor that a lot of Bollywood extravaganzas do. Detail is best in medium shots and close ups, where every little jot and tittle (not to mention hair) on various characters can be seen. There is an overall softness to this effort which isn't too troublesome (and in fact I assume must be intentional), but don't get this BD expecting reference quality visuals. (I've included in my screencaptures the rather charming pre-feature PR hype about the "new" Blu- ray format that is on most of the Eros releases). Audio  As mentioned above, Lage Raho Munna Bhai just barely qualifies as a Bollywood musical, but even with that disclaimer, one is disappointed to see a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix as the only soundtrack offering here. While it's fine for what it is, one can only imagine what a lossless track could have provided for the sonic experience of the film. I will say that this is a rather impressive track from the low frequency angle. Everything from the deafening "thunk" of tablas to the lower orchestral instruments is reproduced with subwoofer-vibrating efficacy. The rest of the mix is certainly fine, with dialogue clear, and musical elements distortion free, but it's really rather lackluster, without a very inventive use of surrounds and surprisingly few foley effects to help the immersive qualities. This is certainly nowhere near reference quality for a BD, and a real disappointment for those who want their audio experience to be as high-def as the visual. Supplements  A number of SD supplements augment the main feature. Unfortunately, they're largely in Hindi, with a few interpolated English moments, so I can't really comment on their content. However, they are:
Final words Lage Raho Munna Bhai is a sweet and charming buddy comedy cum love story that also features an appealing sociopolitical element. If it will perhaps appeal to the worldwide audience a little less than to the Indian, it's nonetheless an enjoyable and actually edifying experience that helps bring Gandhi's philosophy alive in a modern day environment. 
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