Yes, I can confirm it was 4:3 aspect ratio. For those in Toronto, watch it at the Cineplex Sheppard Grande as they show it in its correct framing and on a HUGE screen.
On to the film, it's the first in ages which I have wanted to go and see again immediately after watching it the first time. There's a beautiful tapestry of characters, colours and coincidence interwoven together. But it's not a film for everyone. Like I had planned, I dragged my family to it too, and my dad hated it, while my mom found it depressing. My wife thought it was pretty good as did my mom-in-law, which is a lot coming from SRK devotees, and the kids were scared to bits.
It's the type of film you have to pay significant attention to in order to enjoy it. And you really should not bring along kids under the age of eight to it, unless they can tolerate realistic violence. (My bad.)
Songs were also well used in the tale, though there really needn't have been that many. (Guess Mehra didn't want to waste any of Rahman's hard work.) The brilliant juxtaposition of east meets west in "Dil Gira Dafataan" has alone got to be worth the price of admission.
I must admit I didn't like the preachy climax, but I find South East Asians often don't grasp concepts unless you beat them over the head with it. So all is forgiven.
That's three films Rakesh OmPrakash Mehra has made, and I must say, I've loved all three of them. Dare I say, he's a directorial genius not seen since Mani Ratnam. It'll be tough for him to live up to my expectations again, but he seems like a guy ready to deliver.
9.7/10 (exact same rating I remember giving Aks and RDB when I first saw each of them)