Is this it ?

“What’s the difference between a dead Michael Jackson and a dead cow? The cow can’t be milked.” Says Nikki Finki of “Deadline Hollywood” and I am not sure I disagree. In his death as in his life MJ has been the cynosure of all eyes and love him or hate him, people just don’t seem to be able to get enough of him.

I saw “This is it” yesterday.

Coming so soon after his unfortunate demise, I fully expected the musical documentary, compiled from footage recorded during rehearsals, to be another effort at piggybacking on the MJ gravy train. However I have always loved his music and my daughter who is a whole of 5 years old, is a self-confessed die hard fan, to the extent that she wants me to buy a bow (!) and wear it to office so that I look like MJ. So we found ourselves at Shatti Plaza yesterday evening, not knowing what to expect.

The movie opens with Kenny Ortega interviewing some of the dancers who had been selected to perform with MJ, it is heart wrenching to hear the tearful enthusiasm with which the dancers speak of the privilege and pride of getting an opportunity to perform with MJ. Many of them were considering the tour to be their big break but sadly that was not to be.

The footage has been compiled well and we get to see some of his most famous songs being rehearsed, including Smooth Criminal, Billie Jean, Thriller and Human Nature. In one surprising take, we have visuals of MJ spliced with an old movie starring Rita Hayworth and Humphrey Bogart, making it appear as it Bogart is shooting MJ. There are also the familiar visuals of ghouls and monsters which charecterise the ground breaking song “Thriller”.

What comes as a surprise is that the Jackson we see is not a frail and sick person struggling to put up a show but a performer who has the energy to match steps with 20 year old dancers and a voice which shows no sign of ageing. It is surprising too to note the extent to which MJ involved himself in his shows to ensure that each note, each drum beat, each motion is exactly the way he wanted it to be. This is a behind the scenes look at a Jackson whom none of us knew. He comes across as funny, loving, soft spoken, courteous, yet assertive and fully in control. Nowhere does he raise his voice or lose his cool, a number of times he corrects the musicians insisting that they play the music as he has written but this is done with love. In fact he spells out L-O-V-E to the musicians and keeps requesting them to feel the music and keep in mind that he wants to take his fans to a place they have never been before and he wants their help in doing this.

Having seen documentary, I come away with a better understanding of why Michael was who he was, not be cause he was a good dancer, not because he could sing well, not because he could write moving love ballads as well as foot tapping dance numbers with equal élan, not because he knew how to charm an audience, not because he was a composer and performer par excellence, he was of course all this and more, but the real reason behind his greatness was that he knew what the public wanted. He had the capability of visualizing the outcome and putting everything together in a manner as to achieve the required results. One example that stands out is how he mixes moments of absolute stillness or silence with this music, Jackson the performer knew that it was the pause which makes the pounce more effective.

Contrary to all the news reports, I come away with the feeling that MJ though not at the top of his form was far from the frail, drug addict that he was being portrayed to be. He was fully prepared for his shows and had the shows taken place they would have been phenomenal and his children, who have never seen him perform, would have seen their father in a different light.

Two poignant scenes stand out, one is towards the end of the movie, when MJ joins hands with Kenny and all the troupe members in a circle to thank them for their efforts and the second is at the beginning where MJ addressing his fans in London announces the tour. “This is it.” He says “This is the final curtain call.” Sadly prophetic.

As I leave the theater, my daughter doing her version of the moonwalk beside me, I think about the new behind the scenes MJ whom I have met today, the curteous, brilliant, soft spoken, insightful, hands on individual who was a force to recon with in pop music for the past 40 years and I agree – THIS IS IT.

Ajay K Yadavalli