If love be the song, sing on -- seems to be Moulin Rouge's director Baz Luhrmann's credo.

So, here are some of our thoughts in like vein:

The Overture

People with painted faces and frilly panties jump out of the screen, drawing you into the Moulin Rouge.

Voulez vous couchez avec moi ce soir? is all the French you need to know, to fit in here, where 'dirty dancing' is the name of the game.

Our hero, Christian (Ewan McGregor), a lowly Shakespeare wannabe, finds himself there, too -- richly clad, harbouring hopes of his poem landing him a job as a writer at the club.

The music lowers to a quiver and suddenly, from above, Satine - our heroine (Nicole Kidman) -- comes trapezing in, in all her ethereal beauty.

Beautiful, divine, unattainable Satine. Every man's woman -- if the diamond's big enough.

But Satine is just a caged nightingale who wants to break free and spread her wings as a real actress.

At Moulin Rouge is The Duke of Worcester (Richard Roxburg) too, the bad guy, who could be the wind beneath Satine's wings if only she was his alone. He'd invest in the club, convert it to a theatre and make Satine a star. Satine is ordered by Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent) the owner, to see that he's well taken care of.

But a handkerchief gets in the way and she ends up picking Christian.

A rendezvous at The Elephant Room, an Elton John classic, and much double entendre later, Christian realises he's met the woman of his dreams just as the Duke walks in on the two. But the owner and Christian's chums come to his rescue pretend they are meeting to discuss their new tantrik can-can and convince the Duke to back them.

The Concerto in Love's minor

Christian begins writing. The story? It's Satine and him at the Moulin Rouge -- albeit with an Indian twist, with an evil Maharaja, a lovely courtesan, a humble sitar player and a talking sitar thrown in.

Duke turns financier but he now holds the deeds to the Moulin Rouge and wants Satine for himself. Also, Satine has not long to live.

Jealousy, deception and lies raise their ugly heads. But, Satine realises that the show must go on, at any cost. So sacrifice her love she must.

The Finale

I wouldn't want to spoil it for you. Watch it yourself.

The Verdict

Ultra magnifique. Although the script has nothing exciting to offer, the direction and the fabulous musical score compensate. From Madonna, Gloria Estefan to the Beatles, the musical adaptations are brilliant. Zidler's rendition of Madonna's Like A Virgin is priceless.

The opulent sets, garish costumes and make-up and flashy cinematography, make the film larger than life. Nicole Kidman and Evan McGregor make pretty good duet singers (they do sing in the film). I found myself laughing and humming along with the familiar tunes, too. Frankly though, Chamma chamma, the Alka Yagnik hit, was disappointing.

Don't miss this 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. It's an absolute riot.

And, oh. Encore Monsieur Luhrmann.