Why I LOVED Tashan

Why did I like Tashan? It's exuberance. It's style - real and not phony, at least to me. The spirit of masala that it captured beautifully, I thought it had died, but by god, this eez da pharmoola, Mr. Jaarj Buss, don't you see? Bad villians, lovers connected as children reconnecting, small town goodness in the midst of big town badness, everything larger and louder than life, and how.Kareena. Sex in a bottle. Aiyo - after seeing her writhe in Chaliya, I am having doubts about myself :-) Big bangs, big bangs. Kya action tha, yaar. James Bond meets Jackie Chan meets bollywood big bang theory. And this was just at the pure energy level. I couldnt stop dancing in my seat all throughout the movie. On another level (and I know many reviewers don't think it doesn't have one, but allow me the indulgence) it captures the essense of small town aspirations to me, just like Bunty and Babli did. The desire to learn English (even in Bombay, has anyone noticed the huge rise of Veta English classes advertising in train compartments over the past few months?), the suggestion that people from Kanpur or other towns in the hinterland can make it in big cities only because of gangster might, the acknowledgement of parallel private armies running both in urban and rural India...the depiction of a contemporary where the Ramayana performed playfully and a heroine cuts of her jeans (transforming them into hot pants) while hitchhiking in a truck just because she feels like it, right? Its unreal, and bizzare of course, but I love it because it touches upon a chord, at least in my mind, of the fantastic possibilities of Bollywood, just the same was as watching Mission Impossible or Independence Day does with Hollywood. Big, silly, incredulous, but what total timepass man! Tashan for me, is a 4 star film. Paisa vasool. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to scope out eBay for a blond wig.