RANG DE BASANTI

I finally managed to see the whole Rang De Basanti movie yesterday. What with all the rave reviews from friends, many of whom resolved to the see the movie a second time (or third time or Nth time)... Of course I skipped all the reviews on the Net and newspaper... after all knowing the story beforehand takes away half the fun, doesn't it? Unless its a really dense movie where knowing the story beforehand might actually aid the viewing experience, but I digress.
I found it to be a decent enough movie. A feel-good go-with-the-flow kind of movie that makes you feel nice but is not all that deep. Maybe I was expecting too much and was disappointed when it turned out to be just another reasonably good Hindi movie. Hmmm... does this mean that I should skip movies that _everybody_ likes? Maybe not but then I shouldn't have high expectations either.
I wanted to write a really detailed post about what I felt about the movie but some of my friends has done it in a way that I possibly cannot replicate. So if you want to know what I think about the movie just go and read his post.
I especially liked the style of narration and the manner in which scenes from history were pasted onto the present. Nice technique and nice camera work.
I also liked the dialogues in the movie. Very real life, very fresh, witty and snappy. Except of course, guys (at least) use a LOT more profanity in the real world, but I guess you cannot have that in a movie targeted for the masses, can you?.
The actors and actresses are well-suited for their respective roles. Atul Kulkarni is a great actor; looks really menacing when he has to but at the same time can flash a killer smile that can light up a room. Aamir Khan looks a bit too old for the role but its OK since his acting is really superb and he brings out the uncertainties and insecurities experienced by DJ quite well. Soha Ali Khan looks very natural, composed and down-to-earth. Kunal Kapoor plays Aslam. Sukhi, played by Sharman Joshi, is the mandatory butt-of-all-jokes jester of the gang. Siddharth (Karan) also looks cool but smokes too many cigarettes. Alice Patten plays the role of a British film-maker quite well. She scared the wits out of me when she starts screaming on seeing DJ (Aamir) and Lakshman (Atul Kulkarni) fight.
What makes a good movie? I really don't know (and I really don't care). It is not only a highly personal formula but one that possibly depends on a person's moods and thoughts when she/he is seeing the movie. So maybe the question should be: What kind of movies do I like? I am a very weird person when it comes to movies. I often am disappointed by movies that are actually Good . for instance..I did not like Sholay at all. Often I like simple movies with goofy themes (Golmaal,HERA PHERI, HEY BABY..etc etc comes to mind) but mostly I like movies with some kind of twist in it. Hence movies that are full of thrillers & twists are most prefered by me. I prefer movies that are realistic but if you want to be fantastical please go overboard. I like movies with nice meaningful dialogues, and especially love ones with memorable witty 1-liners. Sometimes I don't like a movie when I see it for the first time but often discover that I actually enjoyed it when I see it for a second or third time (for e.g. Munnabhai M.B.B.S. , KABHI KHUSHI KABHI GHAM, FANAA & THE LATEST TO THIS LIST IS CHAK DE INDIA) As I said... I am very weird when it comes to movies.