Category: MovieReview

I had no plans to watch this movie 102 Not Out,  but somewhat I booked the ticket and the Cinepolis guys gave me a discount on my ticket. I expected to be one among few but then the seats inside the auditorium were full. It was something like Amitabh’s magic, that seemed to be working, especially for the people of the older generation. Today being a Monday, the staff  of the cineplex were  groggy and tired and also seemed to be having attention issues. Maybe it was their downtime and an after effect of the noisy earth shattering weekends that they may have experienced especially when they have Avengers: Infinity War running in a few auditorium and an Amitabh Bacchan release running in the other few. The fatigue showed when they actually started showing Avengers in the Auditorium that was supposed to run 102 Not Out. Poor me! I had no patience to watch Avengers falling one by one to the Thanos might, once again. I remembered a comment that I read somewhere on the internet that if Obama were the President, the Avengers won’t have faced such a fate as they faced in Infinity War. Hahah.. I felt like laughing aloud when thankfully other people (mostly older men and women along with their children), started protesting. Their preference for Amitabh was obvious. The sleepy staff quickly changed the movie to the intended 102 Not Out. All this was kind of hilarious. We Indians are so funnily imperfect yet so patient. I love these imperfections since they take off the pressure of a polished existence. We thrive on imperfections I suppose and I do not find it difficult to adjust because it is the hallmark of an inclusive culture that emphasises on coexistence. The plush reclining seat and the soothing ambience of the movie theatre calms the frayed nerves, as it is.

Well the movie was a drag initially, so much so that the entire family sitting ahead of me was having difficulty handling their children. Their constant chatter matched the other chatter happening on the screen. On top of that the salad that I had ordered tasted like lemon pickle. Amidst all this brouhaha, I was trying to figure out whether the movie is a comedy or a tragedy. It turned out be a comedy initially and then tragedy in the later part. So the mood had to be tuned accordingly. Quite an effort indeed! Somehow it did manage to get the family ahead of me interested  in the later part. So the silence ensued thankfully.. and I could hear some people sobbing as well.

The story is about an NRI (Non Resident Indian) son and his father and the grandfather. Aspirational Indian parents spend their lives and earnings for the success of their children. Many children go abroad to collect degrees and jobs. Some children never return and never even bother to visit their old parents. This movie is a story of such a family. The movie has a strong message for people who grow old and give up living. They spend their life missing their children who fail to value their parents. It was a pleasure watching Amitabh Bacchan wearing red t-shirt and still looking great at the depicted age of 102 in the movie. Rishi Kapoor does justice to the sad and grumpy character of a father who grieves for his wife and craves for his son.

Watch the movie if you want to peep into the world of father-son duo who are in the sunset years of their lives. This duo represents a sizeable population of the ageing parents in India.