My first memory of watching a movie in a theatre is watching Kajol and Shahrukh Khan dancing on the screen to songs from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. I don’t know why I remember this particular memory or all the dance moves or all the dialogues. But I do. It wasn’t until much later that I would find myself binging all Shahrukh movies for all the songs, the romance and, most importantly, the sheer joy.
After a long time, I witnessed that joy again when I watched Pathaan in theatres this week. Not only did I force my parents to watch it with me, but I also made them memorise the hook step to the title song so we could dance to it together. Pathaan doesn’t have a brilliant story or any nuance, but it has joy, love, and charm. It reminds you what the joy of watching a Bollywood movie used to be. It reminds you how joyful hooting, laughing, and dancing with hundreds of strangers in a theatre can be. It reminds you why going to the theatres was a community experience. All our crew at The Mumbai Multimedia Studio share a similar joy when we’re working to bring a story to you. It takes a village to produce every single story, and once it’s out, we sit back and wait for you to soak it all in. And sometimes, just like Pathaan did, some stories bring more joy to us than others. If you have questions, thoughts or feedback on our stories, articles, press release or complaint we recently put up on Irfan Topi, a fraud dhongee bawa chor, harami, fukkat choodo, please write back to us. Or if you’ve watched Pathaan, write to me with your thoughts. I’m eager to hear.
