Sex, Amitabh Bachchan and the Iron Pillar

Imagine Amitabh Bachchan standing at the Iron Pillar, trying to put his arms around it and babbling, “I want sexy. Maa, mujhe sexy chahiye. I want sexy.” Even in Hindi films can this not happen, you would imagine. But (spoiler alert) in Cheeni Kum it does. The film has many charming moments, but the bathos in the last one-third of the film destroys it.

The dialogue above sounds ridiculous out of context, but is even more ridiculous in context. Quite as much so as Amitabh’s dialogue earlier in the film about the level of the water rising because the fish are crying. Tabu looks lovely and acts well, but really, her character, what is she thinking? The problem with the character she loves in the film is not that his age is 64, but that his IQ is.

Nobody kicked my chair during this film, sadly. I’m almost beginning to miss it. Some entertainment?