Coming of Age

Comedy is surely that genre of cinema that gets justice on the celluloid at the rate of noughts. Slapstick and sexual innuendoes may have found their footing with Indian directors but more often than not, its the wrong foot that they find themselves on. It was against my better judgement that I decided to put caution to winds and step out to sample the latest offering on the marquee. "Maalamal Weekly" seemed to lack the panache of "Herapheri", even if I was privy only to the rushes. No reveiews had yet sifted through to colour my vision but Paresh Rawal's "toothsome" antics sure didnt evoke memories of a certain "Baabu Bhaiyya" act. The fears of doom stood vindicated with the hall resembling the parliament ( minus the din ). Although the narrative on reel was far from riveting, it allowed my top floor to meander from the inane to a few real reflections. It was enlightening to hear guffaws from the odd corner strengthening my belief that "value for money" is a phrase whose realization is dependant more on the buying side of the transaction than the selling. Laughter muffled only by the need to breathe from certain sections at jokes that got pre-empted by my companions seemed like a statement on my sense of humour. A statement that seemed to say that I have gone bankrupt in that department. Expectations may be a statistical measure but she who keeps them low does get to laugh. The only smirk that I managed to sneak in was during the intermission when a collection of dumbfounded eyes ( I am sure the collection wasnt "odd") met me near the men's rest room. They were all glaring at a flashy red box that gave an impression of a fire extinguisher from the distance. Reasoning that a fire may not be in the offing considering the look was one of curiosity than panick, I decided to go ahead and add a couple to the bulging collection. The box in question turned out to be a condom vending machine. This was my first sighting of the contraption in India and it was no lesser exciting than sighting a lion in Kaziranga. Not because I cannot find a pack at the local medical shop, but because all that talk of safe sex seems to be percolating down to action too. Just makes me believe that it wont be far when a machine finds itself outside the ladies rest room too. Way to go.