In case you are wondering what happened to Thought Express, well it went on a vacation. And thanks for missing me, some of you. :-)

So, yippee, I just got back from a refreshing holiday to Rishikesh and Haridwar. Though Haridwar was a disappointment of capital proportions, Rishikesh still maintains its sanctity and freshness.

If you happen to head towards the holy cities anytime soon, please remember to carry a set of umbrellas and raincoats, it’s raining quite a bit.

Oh, and while I was there, I couldn’t help noticing how the posters of some dubbed Chiranjeevi-starrer Devaa hogged more walls than Priyanka Chopra-Akshaye Khanna’s rom-com, Aap Ki Khatir.

But the film of the moment and year is definitely, Lage Raho Munnabhai. (No offence to Rang De Basanti and Omkara. I love you both!) Very rarely comes a film that makes you want to praise it openly to obscene levels without any shame or hesitation. Lage Raho is one such experience.

I happen to see it in an expensive multiplex of Ghaziabad. Trust me I wouldn’t mind paying double for the amount of pleasure it gave me.

The kind of response it generates from the crowd is absolutely heart-warming. Ditto for the film. What a glorious work of cinema! The film leaves you feeling so light, relieved, happy and appreciative. Everyone who finds it hard to get into the yoga routine should wait for the DVD of Munnabhai- 2 to come out. It’s THAT good. Maybe Munna-Circuit Day isn’t such a preposterous idea after all? ;-)

In latest news, have you seen the promos of Umrao Jaan? Aishwarya Rai is looking fetching. That too is a feat when you look good almost all the time. Noticed how Abhishek Bachchan looks like a younger version of his ‘Pa’s’ Afghani Pathan, Badshah Khan (Khuda Gawah) in the whole Nawab get-up? I didn’t like the brief strain (music composed by Anu Malik) that goes with the trailer though. It just doesn’t stand out. And when you make, correction: remake, a film like Umrao Jaan, you got to be clear on two points – costumes and music.

Ah well, the soundtrack is yet to come out. So like always, hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.