Khurshid Karimi

I would call it "A Few Good People". A tale of people who are good at heart, who having thrived under the wings of rabid corporate environment, get a call from conscience. Sounds familiar?

Lead characters have all done well, but Meryl Streep stands out in her role of don’t-have-a clue-American-President. She reminds you of President Hathaway of Monsters vs Aliens, sans the nuclear button. But the star is the script which has seamlessly knitted together several aspect of life. Most hilarious, tragically of course, was how 22,724 years later, the last group of the worst lot of remaining humans meet their fate.

This movie will make my list of all time 10 great Hindustani movie. The songs stand out as the main pillar. There are 10 songs and each one features Mohammed Rafi whose rendition can simply not be bettered. The story is also quite good and takes you to good twists and turn every now and then. The music was credited to Usha Khanna. She once claimed that she never ever copied any music. Listen to the song "Kaun ye aaya mehfil mein" and then to "Diana" by Paul Anka. You then know she just stole entire tune.

I will rate it as one of the top five movies I have ever seen. And I have seen in scores, if not hundreds. As a movie buff, I do see and try to understand many aspects of movie making. And enjoy its different aspects. That parameter I find to be a fair guide of how good is a movie. Hopkins and Gosling have both given stellar performances. Every gesture, expression and sound they make perfectly depicts the character and its state of mind. Pike is unimpressive. Burke’s performance is less than acceptable. He relies more on light and camera angles than his acting ability to portray his character. The successful rich smart and sharp Hopkins is obvious, but that he is also a reclusive borderline narcissist who will drive a woman to seek love and life elsewhere - is passed out to your subconscious. Perhaps the close up of the mobile phone is a bit too often. Hopkins standing with the gun in his hand while his wife’s lover is mourning is the best point in the movie.