How many times have you watched ?

It was 1989. QSQT was the big hit of the year. My friends in school were talking about having watched 15 times and were making plans to see it once more. And I was like, why watch a film again and again? Little did I realize that I would be writing this on my blog someday.

We all watch films. Some of us watch it almost everyday. But there are some films we like to watch again and again. They are not necessarily the first films that left an impression on you. Like 400 Blows, Komal Gandhar, Charulata, Deewar or Katha. Those films are the reasons why I decided to make films. What I’m talking about is films that you are hooked on to.

Take Dil Chahta Hai. OK I went to rehab and am over the film now. But when it was released, I saw it five times. By the third time I was only watching Akshaye Khanna’s story. By the fifth time only Saif interested me. Aamir’s story was silly and stupid by then.

But there are movies that I watch at least once a year and never tire of them. Battle for Algiers is a film where you never know where the documentary portions end and where the acting begins. It is the story of the Algerian Independence masterfully told and each time I discover something new in the film.

Jaane Bhi do Yaaron is another one where one never tires of the jokes or the story. Each time I hope that the protagonists are able to somehow get the criminals caught but obviously that never happens.

When Harry Met Sally first happened I would go back to the film time and again to look for the same dialogues in my (non existent) love life.

I always return to films like Terminator II, Bluffmaster, Ek Hasina Thi or Broken Arrow, since like good books, they are stories well told. Each time you see them you discover a new aspect of the character or the story. Something catches your eye – and you are gripped again.

What are your favourite multiple view films?

PS. The highest views for me are Midnight Run and Home Alone. Have lost count how many times I have seen them. Of course, Sholay plays in my mind automatically once in a while. I don't need the DVD for that.