DesiDabba - Boss, Thoda Sa Roomani Ho Jaye

I’m not usually inclined to writing movie reviews, given I tried it on one of my other blogs and failed miserably to write anything interesting. But I just had to put my thoughts down on this just to remember the funny idea if not the movie.

Seen The Forbidden Kingdom as yet? Or have Iron Man, Khuda ke Liye and Race overwhelmed the once raging appetite for Kung-fu flicks. Speaking of which, where have all the Kung-fu lovers gone? Times were when Star Movies ran a series called Friday Fury telecasting the grand works of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Now that’s been reduced to a once-in-a-couple-of-years Chan release or (horror of horrors) dubbed versions on Filmy.

Cadet Larvell Jones of Police Academy was an expert at imitating all sorts of noises and one of the series had him do a routine of the typical Hollywood-dubbed Chopsuey flick, delivering chop-chops and complete with un-lip-synced psuedo-Eastern wisdom like,

The snake does not bend its neck. The mongoose will still catch it!

(….or something like that)

Jackie Chan brought in an element of fun to the funeral-sombre legacy of Bruce Lee. The edited shots shown after Rush Hour caught him starting a Hiiiiiiaaaaaa chop and changing mid-way into a lively gig, hands flailing in mid-air and wide grin plastered on his face. I love that man, don’t you just love that man? (Chan, not Lee)

That’s the only reason I agreed to watch ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’. My sole thought during the movie was, “Lord of the Rings goes to China!”. Here we have the central character, quite useless in himself and existing only to showcase the talents of the other characters in saving him from the dangers he keeps falling into. Add one eccentric mentor/guide a la Gandalf. Throw in some contenders to that title and some politics. Enter the intense, brooding and powerful female character (Arwen). Not forgetting the Mordor-like imagery or the dark riders (White riders?).

Good fun, chopstick slapstick, no?

And now that I’ve done being silly, go read a more dignified (and correct) account at Meetu’s place.