jahaji music

of the films i have seen in recent times, i think i enjoyed surabhis ‘jahaji music’ the most. even though the 5 hour version i saw had longer pieces of music, and i could not imagine how it was going to feel in an abridged form; in the film that opened the encounters for this year nothing seemed like it was missing – except for that one backstage dialogue between remo and the wonderful mighty sparrow. it was great to see a film on music- its making, the controversies it creates, the stories it tells and the way that it is deployed to make identity- black, indian and/or female. the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves but were demure in the question and answer session. for all their supposed coolness i have a feeling many of the kids were taken aback by the unabashed sexuality that sizzles on screen whenever any of the amazing women take to the stage. and even though remo did make the entire audience collectively cringe, it just ended up making us enjoy lady saw, denise, rikki and the entire cast of characters so much more.