LOVE REDEFINED

MOVIE: Notting Hill
DIRECTOR: Roger Michell
CAST: Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts




Thousands of movies release every year. Most flop or do average, some make a lot of money and the craze for such movies fizzes out in few months. But there also exist such movies which truly deserve shelf space and are of life time importance. Notting Hill is without a doubt one such movie. The Hugh Grant starrer Four Weddings and a Funeral is the DDLJ of Britain and I also extend the analogy by claiming that Grant is the Shah Rukh Khan of Britain. Though many fans would suggest me to make the analogy the other way, but I am happy with the way I put it.

Julia Roberts for a long time was the heighest paid actress of Hollywood and was undoubtedly the woman which men across the globe longed for. She plays the role of a superstar(Anna Scott) in this movie. Without a doubt she would have been the most obvious choice in 1999 for this role as she was almost bereft competition at that point of time.

Hugh Grant plays William Thacker, a divorcee, an ordinary man living in Notting Hill with a cracky roommate (Rhys Ifans). He runs a bookshop of travel books which has never got him profit in life. But thats the place where Anna turns up someday, probably to kill time or get a break from life. Her visit proves to be the most profitable thing for him. With beautifully crafted cinematic events, which are worth remembering forever, the movie moves on to show a very beautiful relationship between Thacker and Scott. This union though sees it ups and downs through beautifully crafted events. Very beautiful screenplay indeed.

Now with such an union of an ordinary man and a superstar, things obviously wont be easy to live with. Nor can your ordinary friends accept the fact easily, nor can the ever busy and jobless press. These compulsions and situations are beautifully shown in this movie and also along with that a lot of human emotion, practilality and the reality of the world of glamour weaved with subtle humour and Hugh Grant's british accent and cute mannerisms to die for, make this movie a true classic.

Whenever you get a chance to catch this classic do not miss it. It is not worth missing, its worth dying for.