2 November 2009
Hyderabad

I have been a fan of MJ from his Thriller days and I am so fortunate to have experienced the Thriller phenomenon first hand. I happened to visit US during 1984 when MJ was on his Victory tour. I didn’t miss the chance of watching him perform live at Texas Stadium in Dallas on 13th July, 1984. Like any other admirer I screamed, sobbed and swayed to his songs. It was a spectacular show and was such a special experience in my life that as a remembrance I saved the tickets of that show. After 25 years I still have them safe with me.

Michael Jackson re-defined music videos. An MJ video premiere was a BIG event back then, something you marked on your calendar. It’s hard to believe that once upon a time, black musicians did not get played on MTV. That is, until Michael came and broke down the racial barriers.

Losing MJ has been a greatest loss to the entertainment industry because there has been no one and there will be no other like MJ. It was hard to believe that he was gone and wished it wasn’t true. Dust had finally settled and it finally sunk in that MJ is really gone. This is when I heard about this film on him releasing all over the world and didn’t want miss the chance of seeing my favorite star. I watched “This is it” at Inox, Vijayawada Yesterday. I didn’t know what to expect from this film when I entered the theatre. I imagined I was going to see a film which was a compilation of hours of footage of his tour rehearsals and past concert clippings but it turned out to be a lifetime experience. It captured MJ as a singer, dancer and a creative genius at work.

Many things have been said and written about him before and after his death. It was said that he was in bad health, financial crisis and was under pressure to deliver 50 shows in London. No matter how many problems he had in his personal and financial affairs, there has always been one thing that the whole world had recognized - Michael Jackson was an outstanding talent throughout his forty years in show business. After seeing this film we get a feeling that everything that was said about him after he died was not true because MJ looked energetic, enthusiastic and amazingly slick in the rehearsals.

Though he was going to perform after ten years, he looked fully charged and as soon as he held a special press conference to announce what he called the final curtain call and comeback shows starting from July 8th at London’s Famous 02 Arena, all the tickets for 50 shows got sold out within no time. Such was the power of King of pop.

“This is it” is not a regular film but the making of the biggest concert the planet would have ever seen. It gives a rare opportunity to peep in to moments where Michael is correcting music and dance elements of his group. We get to see a lot of MJ off stage which is thrilling. All the chartbuster numbers of king were choreographed and directed in a mind blowing way. I couldn’t hold my tears while watching the rehearsal of the Earth song.

For all those fans and non fans it’s a great film to watch because this is the closest you will ever get to see what would have been the greatest show on this earth.

To conclude, MJ has been an inspiration for many top choreographers, dancers and performers of our industry. He inspired many parents to introduce their children to the entertainment business. We are one of those who were inspired by this legend and as a result introduced our daughter to pop music which was unheard of in our state ten years ago. She turned out to be the first pop singer from A.P. and you all know her as “Hairabba Smita”.

Jogu Prasad
jogupersonal at gmail dot com