Maggi Noodle Review: This is it

In the early 1980's, I was a budding quiz enthusiast in Hyderabad who was mostly content to ride the coattails of my more accomplished brother. Let me rephrase that - my much, much, much more accomplished brother. Gathering trivia was an obsession and I remember stumping him once by declaring that Michael Jackson had the biggest selling album of all-time. (It's a totally different matter that my brother was more into Geeta Dutt and SD Burman so I don't think he cared that I knew MJ's name!). The Grammy Awards were telecast in India for the first time the year MJ won 8 awards for Thriller. While watching the show, my brother and I surmised that he was "preserving his voice" for his concerts. Only much later, when I actually heard the songs, did I realize that MJ did have a high-pitched voice.

Over the years, Michael Jackson's world got more bizarre by the day, eventually culminating in an early demise. However, music has a beautiful way of lingering on long after someone is gone. This is it is more than just a collection of Michael's songs - it is a window into the last few days of the talented singer-dancer. Say what you want about his off-stage activities and medicinal challenges, on the stage the man was transformed into something else.

This documentary captures MJ just a few weeks away from dying, while he was preparing for a comeback world tour. Based on the hard work and spectacle the folks were practicing, I have no doubt it would have been a major success. Emaciated to the point of becoming a 2-D caricature of himself, MJ displays incredible energy, populating the movie with all his signature moves and then some. MJ comes across as a fellow who was really in tune with his music. He knew every beat, every rhythm, every instrument, every dance step, and every nuance possible about his songs. It is a startling insight into a man I knew little about (musically-speaking) beyond the eye-catching videos.

Displaying the energy of a man half his age and the agility of old, MJ is captivating. What comes shining through the whole documentary is how much he cared for his art and for the folks that he worked with. Yes, it is a documentary that shows only things they want us to see, but some things cannot be faked. See for yourself and enjoy his moves - on-stage- one last time.