Dreamgirl in Cochin






Saturday nights are stressful. Whether one should plan for the upcoming Sunday or enjoy the moment is a big ask. It is important not to succumb to ennui and end doing nothing. This often leads to a weeklong regret. Hence, we decided the last Saturday night to watch a Hindi blockbuster. The most recent is one titled, Dreamgirl. It features my better half’s favourite the redoubtable Ayushman Khurana. And then Surprise! Our favourite jaunt of Hindi movies, the PVR Lulu Mall was almost housefull for the Hindi movie. And so was the multiplex at Oberon Mall. We were well past the time for the single screen, Sridar. It is not every day that you find Hindi movies running to Housefull in Cochin! But all was not lost. Q Cinemas at Gold Souk Mall had some plum seats for a very cheap price. There was a warning in italics, Normal Sofa – no recliner. It should have alerted me to the later turn of events but it did not. We trudged at 9.30 pm on the deserted Central Avenue of Panampilly Nagar. And then the amazingly cratered Sahodaran Ayyappan Road. The Cochin Metro moved exquisitely overhead towards the newly inaugurated segment of Maharaja’s College to Thykoodam. It looked elegant, while we bumped along the potholes below. The powers that be of Kerala certainly have some important tasks up to their sleeves. Unfortunately, upkeep of arterial roads fares rather low down on priority. The usually chaotic Vytilla junction was remarkably quiet. I took us two wrong turns to get into a path that allegedly calls itself a service road. In reality, it is a cesspool of interconnected massive craters filled with water. I had been to the Gold Souk Mall some seven years earlier when it was the talk of the town, in the pre-Lulu Mall era. Then, it was a swanky exotic mall, not fully functional yet but promising. Today it is easy to miss it as the signboards on top are not lit. Sure, there is a KFC on the ground floor and thank god for that! The parking attendant waved us forward into a dark stretch. Suddenly we found ourselves climbing a spiral path of multilevel parking. It was pitch dark and spooky. It was heartening to find some cars parked at the first level. A lone Nepali looking Hindi speaking person, standing below a dim yellow bulb, marshalled us into an easy parking space. Inside the mall, it was deserted. Nearly half the lights were switched off. A cluster of people were making their way to the multiplex we followed them. Much to our relief, the hall was nearly full. After the spooky drive and the parking, we were expecting something shadier. It was mostly Hindi speaking crowd with the occasional sprinkling of Malayalam. The initial set of ads were being screened. The first one sported Sachin Baby, the captain of Kerala Cricket team,. He was guiding his young unemployed fans to a government-run employment web portal. The second ad was again from a Kerala government department. It was providing help with employment to the returned Malayali emigrants. Both were indicative of the rather sorry state of affairs. This, coupled with the potholed spooky ride had dampened our spirits. We were now praying that the movie better turn out well. It did not disappoint us at all.
Dreamgirl has been made with passion and humour. The punchlines are delivered effortlessly and leave you in splits. The unique storyline is masterly executed. The acting of Ayushman is worth applauding. Yet, the same cannot be said for his romantic partner in the movie, Nusrat. Promising she might be, but has been effectively sidelined in the script, as if only awaiting the obligatory dance sequence. The associate cast makes their well-rehearsed moves and usually do not disappoint. Like all Bollywood blockbusters, the second half does gets weary and a bit stolid. Swinging rapidly from humour to social commentary is a bit jarring. Thankfully, it is curtailed and soon we move to the finale of Ayushman and Nusrat dancing away to the glory. Final verdict: Not really a cult classic but enough to make one forget the potholes and the seedy multilevel parking. Lesson learnt: Stick with PVR Lulu Mall in future!

I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s #MyFriendAlexa


Comments

ED said…
Wifey day!
Very nice...
Hall - mall knowledge was quite interesting.
enjoyed it👍
Mrigank said…
Interesting run up for the movie and no mention of the aftereffects of "normal chairs"...
As usual your written had the capability to spin a view, emotion and exhilaration in front of the intended...

pallavi_13 said…
Nice..u enjoyed this weekend.
This was hilarious! I have not seen the movie and going by my rather poor record of watching films, I might not see it ever. Like your better half I too admire Ayushmann (judging by the little that I have seen of him) and it is good to know that he did not disappoint.

However, I was rather more thrilled to know about the potholed roads of Kochi. Thrilled because at least the roads of Kolkata now have some competition!
I actually live in Cochin too :) And yes, have only been to Gold Souk once... often I prefer to stick to Lulu Mall or perhaps Oberon on a few occasions for movies.
Aadhirai said…
Your narrative style is captivating! Feels like talking to a friend rather than reading a blog! An interesting experience in lucid words!
brinda said…
Hehe, love the description of the decrepit Mall. I have had this experience too, luckily the movie was good!
Princy Khurana said…
I laughed midway, just because it was a great way to tell your experience, looking forward to read more.
#myfriendalexa #princyreads
This was a hilarious read. Watched this movie last weekend and except Ayushman, didn't really find the movie interesting. But the second half was much better.
Pr@Gun said…
That was a fun read of your experience, I had been to lulu mall and my kids were enthralled by its large area no doubt it is the largest in India.
you have a very interactive writing style that one feels the matter should not come to an end and one keeps on reading.
#PraGunReads
Vidhi said…
Enjoyed reading your post. By the way, i was waiting till the end to know your reviews on those chairs you had mentioned earlier. Anyways it was a good post altogether.
Abhijit said…
Enjoyed reading your post. Dream girl is a nice movie I have heard. It has got good rating in North Indian press. May be they understood jokes and insinuations better. Yes Nusrat was under-utilised. I am surprised to hear roads in Kochin. I read or heard, in highly literate Kerala, development is a priority. May be I heard to wrong. Still I like the green paradise and want to visit someday.
Shubhra said…
I liked the way you described your movie trip. I have not yet seen the movie, want to ... maybe over this weekend. #MyFriendAlexa #ShubhraReads
ginia said…
I am really looking forward to watching Dreamgirl. Loved how you built up to reaching the theatre. We were planning on going to Kerala during Dussehra but the plan was postponed due to the floods.
Swiddle D'Cunha said…
Hehe...hilarious. Lovely description of your experience.
Paresh Godhwani said…
I am planning to visit Kerala for the long time now but floods arrive in the state whenever I think I am going to visit this year. Loved your description
Will heck it on my visit.
Varsha said…
Woah this post is the best way to engross the readers :) It is my dream to visit Kerala as I belong to Pune and stay in Sindhudurg (Konkan) which is just like Kerala full with coconut trees and gravies :)
#MyFriendAlexa #vigorousreads
Jai said…
I watch movies only when my 12 year old daughter daughter insists I take her to a movie. My main problem is most people keep the display of their mobiles on hich is disturbing. And when I tell them to switch it off they refuse. Then I have to go and get hold of the usher and make them do it. Some people try to record the movie. I also stay in kochi and usually I visit lulu mall or oberon mall. Sometimes I end up at Cinepolis.
Sushmita said…
Hahahah! You know the way you write is so amazing! I am sure the movie must have been good. I am just glad you made out of the spooky set-up altogether!
Tina Sequeira said…
Nice post and review. I might catch the movie when it comes on Netflix/Hotstar/Prime
Sush said…
As always... Fabulous
MeenalSonal said…
Even I with my family watched movie in Lulu Mall when I visited Cochin in last summers. Some movies are special when we watch in our travel days.
You have a very smooth way of narrating things. I could visualise things happening with you and around you. Interesting read
#readbypreetispanorama for #MyFriendAlexa
Neha Gupta said…
Great narration. I have not yet seen the movie but plan to. Interesting read :-) Thanks for saring
Radhika Acharya said…
Well. I must say that was the most comprehensive and well thought out post so far. We do need to pause and think about the kind of legacy we are leaving behind.
And this post does make one think. Kudos to you!
Vartika said…
This post made me think and rethink. You have presented a bigger picture of the world that we missed seeing as we were focused on our own issues. An insightful post covering all the major events of the last decade. Well penned. I really hope things get better and we leave a better haven for the generations to come - Vartika

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