And just in case you are wondering, I am no big fan of what our film industry churned out during that period. Of course, it’s over-generalization, but I’m talking of those specific movies with very loose characterizations and even looser transformation of these characters. The kind where the makers thought they are being blasphemous if they didn’t present us with a badly choreographed song, with worse writing and cookie-cutter music every 10 minutes.

Very rarely do I allow myself to judge a movie in the first few frames. But sappy, long, unwieldy words of gratitude from the director to everyone he felt thankful to, one after the other, did it for me. Now, the actual first few frames of the movie reaffirmed the cyncism. Aerial shots of a four-horse chariot running wild on brown pasture lands. This could look beautiful, but here it just doesn’t.

Bouts of directorial creativity surface every once in a while, only for you to wish they didn’t. Because they are in the form of a two lips touching awkwardly (not kissing!) under a…table fountain!! Or picture this - yetannuder romantic number playing. Manisha Koirala is upto some random dance, suddenly one of her palms faces camera with her lover’s name written on it and a red mark on the little-finger edge of the palm. Next, the other similarly red-marked palm, with her name on it this time, joins the first palm at the red spots to form a heart!!!!! Sheeesh…film-makers, the audience has grown up…when will you?