PRAGUE - MAIN HOO NAA

It's a packed show. The lights finally dim and the hall grows quiet in anticipation. It is about to begin. This year's Prague Bollywood Festival's screening of Farah Khan's Main Hoo Naa.


Some may ask why we brought this film back to the festival again. I wish they had attended this afternoon's screening, as seeing (and hearing) the audience's excitement and sheer enjoyment would have answered the question for them once and for all.

But for those who missed it, here is a small excerpt:

The villains plan a preemptive assassination attempt. The life of an innocent student hangs in the balance as a precisely fired bullet whistles through the air (in slow motion of course). All seems lost and then... out of nowhere, Pratap Singh Sharma (aka Shahrukh Khan) plunges through the air to save the clueless student's life. With an exclamation of disgust, the villains roll up the tinted windows of their range rover to make a speedy exit. Unabated, Sharma sets out in hot pursuit.... in a bicycle rickshaw. Dazzling even the most jaded action movie flicks, the rickshaw transforms into a speed machine as Sharma performs tricks akin to the asian action flicks and matrix types (and openly inspired by them too). He dodges a flying lamppost. Pedals furiously to escape an exploding tunnel, and plunges into the air only to fire a perfectly aimed bullet.....

For our festival audiences, Main Hoo Naa pulls together the best elements of what draws Czechs to Bollywood movies. There are the crazy plot turns. There are the romantic escapades. There are the action moments. There are song-and-dance sequences. And there is, ultimately, the tear-jerking (admit it, you cried too) happy-end. But even more than all this, there is a conscious play on all these elements allowing us to enter into the complicit world of Bollywood, fully aware that we are all (the audiences and film-makers alike) in on this fun filled, and light-hearted 180 minute jaunt.



Oh and, for those who have not made it to the festival today. Our evening screenings were SOLD OUT shows. Introduced by a live dance performance by Vendula Uhyrkova (Garam Masala), our screening of Rab Na Bana Di Jodi is right now bringing out the happier side of audiences.



Join us tomorrow for a packed program... and our Bollywood Party at Klub PM (doors open at 10pm). Here are a few photos from last year's party to get you in the mood: