Honestly, I didn't want to watch another film on terrorism. Yes, everyone was gushing over this film, the same people who were gushing over 'A Wednesday'. my review will reveal I didn't like that film all that very much. But now I am gushing over 'Mumbai Meri Jaan'. I love this film.
Firstly, can I compare the two films? Someone told me I shouldn't. But I will. One takes the route of a thriller while the other takes us into the minds of people. 'A Wednesday' pretends to take us in the minds of a top cop and a 'stupid common man' but it doesn't really. Prakash Rathod just tells us in the beginning that 'the bastard' changed lives and we have to accept his words. 'Mumbai Meri Jaan' is more complex, it dwells into people's prejudices (Suresh), regrets one has at old age (Patil), an upright & patriotic individual who falls prey to fear (Nikhil Agarwal), a lady who discovers how her job can hurt the ones already in pain (Rupali), a south-Indian 'chai-wallah' who realizes that threats can sometimes cause as much as action (Thomas) and other people around these people.
Of all the characters I loved the journey that Patil makes with Kadam in the final week of his service as a policeman. At start Patil is shown as a man who did his duty very casually. Patil even convinces Kadam it is the way to be in a scene. However, later we realize there is regret in Patil for the thirty-six years he has spent with the law enforcement. He is old and wise and has a calm about him. There is no sense of urgency or excitement. Patil has seen it all in the time he has spent as a cop. The speech he makes in the end of the film is moving to say the least. Kadam seems to like Patil even after seeing all of Patil's flaws. Kadam believes Patil when is told that his hands are tied in this job. Kadam is shown impulse and hot-headed, that's youth. This pairing is perfect contrast. My heart went out to Kadam when he is close to suspension for doing his duty.
The story of a prejudiced man, Suresh, is my next favorite. Every Muslim is a terrorist in his eyes. He conducts his own 'investigations'. I like the way his prejudices are nullified. It is not a single step procedure. He hears Patil, hears a customer, interacts with Yusuf. It's lovely.
Then here's Thomas. Most unaffected by the blasts of all the characters. However he is the only one to use it to pacify his anger. Irrfan does not speak here in his portrayal of Thomas the Tamilian. This is a performance which has to be read from Irrfan's expressions. Thomas is a good man at heart. He is so upset with the grievance he has caused an old man. Thomas tries to make up for it with a simple gesture, helping the patient hire a taxi and buying a rose which he believes is over-priced (again this has to be read from his face). How easy it would have been for Nishikant Kamat to have gone for a more elaborate and exaggerated route of redemption for Thomas. But Kamat is very controlled.
Will Rupali ever work with the television media again? Nice tale about a girl who discovers how her job can hurt the already hurting. This is another one of those characters who don't speak much. The performance is largely understood through the pain expressed in the eyes of Rupali.
Nikhil, Nikhil. There is Nikhil in all of us. All of us armed with education know what's wrong and what's right. Nikhil is the embodiment of that part of us. He knows all that we know but Nikhil is more. His actions mirror his thoughts. Doesn't believe in wastage, doesn't want to buy a car to save time and reduce pollution. Nikhil is every software engineer in Bangalore who can have anything and everything he wants. However, his conscience is in the way. He has turned opportunities for a better life on numerous occasions. But the blasts have put fear into him. He finds it hard to step into a train. He considers moving abroad for the safety of his family. The two-minute silence clears all his doubts.
'Mumbai Meri Jaan' is a special film:
Firstly, can I compare the two films? Someone told me I shouldn't. But I will. One takes the route of a thriller while the other takes us into the minds of people. 'A Wednesday' pretends to take us in the minds of a top cop and a 'stupid common man' but it doesn't really. Prakash Rathod just tells us in the beginning that 'the bastard' changed lives and we have to accept his words. 'Mumbai Meri Jaan' is more complex, it dwells into people's prejudices (Suresh), regrets one has at old age (Patil), an upright & patriotic individual who falls prey to fear (Nikhil Agarwal), a lady who discovers how her job can hurt the ones already in pain (Rupali), a south-Indian 'chai-wallah' who realizes that threats can sometimes cause as much as action (Thomas) and other people around these people.
Of all the characters I loved the journey that Patil makes with Kadam in the final week of his service as a policeman. At start Patil is shown as a man who did his duty very casually. Patil even convinces Kadam it is the way to be in a scene. However, later we realize there is regret in Patil for the thirty-six years he has spent with the law enforcement. He is old and wise and has a calm about him. There is no sense of urgency or excitement. Patil has seen it all in the time he has spent as a cop. The speech he makes in the end of the film is moving to say the least. Kadam seems to like Patil even after seeing all of Patil's flaws. Kadam believes Patil when is told that his hands are tied in this job. Kadam is shown impulse and hot-headed, that's youth. This pairing is perfect contrast. My heart went out to Kadam when he is close to suspension for doing his duty.
The story of a prejudiced man, Suresh, is my next favorite. Every Muslim is a terrorist in his eyes. He conducts his own 'investigations'. I like the way his prejudices are nullified. It is not a single step procedure. He hears Patil, hears a customer, interacts with Yusuf. It's lovely.
Then here's Thomas. Most unaffected by the blasts of all the characters. However he is the only one to use it to pacify his anger. Irrfan does not speak here in his portrayal of Thomas the Tamilian. This is a performance which has to be read from Irrfan's expressions. Thomas is a good man at heart. He is so upset with the grievance he has caused an old man. Thomas tries to make up for it with a simple gesture, helping the patient hire a taxi and buying a rose which he believes is over-priced (again this has to be read from his face). How easy it would have been for Nishikant Kamat to have gone for a more elaborate and exaggerated route of redemption for Thomas. But Kamat is very controlled.
Will Rupali ever work with the television media again? Nice tale about a girl who discovers how her job can hurt the already hurting. This is another one of those characters who don't speak much. The performance is largely understood through the pain expressed in the eyes of Rupali.
Nikhil, Nikhil. There is Nikhil in all of us. All of us armed with education know what's wrong and what's right. Nikhil is the embodiment of that part of us. He knows all that we know but Nikhil is more. His actions mirror his thoughts. Doesn't believe in wastage, doesn't want to buy a car to save time and reduce pollution. Nikhil is every software engineer in Bangalore who can have anything and everything he wants. However, his conscience is in the way. He has turned opportunities for a better life on numerous occasions. But the blasts have put fear into him. He finds it hard to step into a train. He considers moving abroad for the safety of his family. The two-minute silence clears all his doubts.
'Mumbai Meri Jaan' is a special film:
- The central characters are of two types. Ones who speak a lot (Patil & Suresh) others who don't (Rupali, Nikhil & Thomas). It is the ones who don't talk much excite me about Nishikant Kamat's ability. Very few directors in Hindi movies have characters who don't speak their mind. Kamat wants us to look into his characters eyes. He wants us to hear what their hearts tell them. These are the signs of great directors, like Ang Lee or Mike Leigh.
- The dialogues in this film are the best I have heard in a long time. Patil's 'do shabd' are the most touching I have heard in a Hindi movie in a long long time. Patil's lines are so well written that they will make you laugh and cry at the same time. They suit what a senior man would say, advice in every line but mixed with just the right amounts of humour. 'Do shabd' from Patil had me in tears. A guest, from USA, visits Nikhil towards the end of the movie and his little speech rings true. Honestly, I feel the future is what he says. The children of the twenty-first century will have 'terrorism' and 'fear' as a part of their lives. Kids will not be able to live without fear, they will know not a life without fear. The images of 9/11, Madrid, London moistened my eyes before Patil's 'do shabd' had me weeping.
- Kamat does not rush it. He wanted me to weep and I wept. By the time Patil was finished tears were in my eyes, like I already said. The silence that the city observes was it. The tears rolled down my cheeks. I cry easily for I am moved with cinema very easily. But these tears were special as they were not only for the characters in the film but also for a city that has suffered as much as it has seen success. When the silence is broken with a Mohd. Rafi (not Kishore Kumar, mind you!) classic I was forced to listen. For the first time in a long long long time I watched the entire credits roll, absorbing all the images from the six blasts that ripped through Mumbai while I was safe in Powai.
Nishikant Kamat is a great director, I tell you. If there is one new director to watch out for it is Nishikant Kamat, not Farah Khan, not Sajid Khan, not anyone else. Kamat is controlled, he is calculated, he is a genius. Pandey's film is a thriller, Kamat's effort has depth and heart.
If 'Mumbai Meri Jaan' is available for nomination this year, i.e. if it was not in contention with 'Taare Zameen Par', it should be the film sent to the Oscars. The west will identify with it in the wake of the 'seige' in Mumbai. 'Mumbai Meri Jaan' is a great film.
RATING: 5/5
1 comment:
Very well written, I must say!...
but the important thing is this review helped me recall almost the whole of movie!!, even though before i started reading it, I hardly could recall anything!
... Even now tho, I can't fully recall Nikhil's character... i think his wife is pregnant.. and is waiting for him to return and this character is portrayed by Madhavan... isn't it!??
well...to come back to the review!... the depth you have captured in the review is amazing!... and I totally agree with your view of the characters and the scenes...esp. the Thomas wala...
Although i did not cry ... but was certainly moved by the dialogues and the scenes... the closeness of the characters and episodes to reality in this movie is amazing!
btw.. you said, the review is a bit long!.... even if it was... i didn't feel it!
Well after reading the review i feel I should watch the movie again!.. just to refresh :-)
As for going to the Oscars... I wud think, it may have already missed the bus :-(
and probably you can give some credit to the screenplay and the writer of this movie as well along with the director!!!
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