Saw Mumbai Meri Jaan last weekend with some friends. The movie is well made and has a good and fast paced story, but I guess why I liked the movie really was due to the fact it was about this city I have always loved, whose spirit I have always appreciated, and the events that are shown are some which are very close to my heart.
For those who don't know, the film covers the life of a few individuals from radically different walks of life, and how their life is suddenly affected by this fearsome and sudden event.Some good points about this movie, which I was noting on my phone as I was watching the movie
1. Powerful actors ( as opposed to mainstream film actors ) like Irfan Khan, Madhavan, Paresh rawal,Soha Ali Khan and Kay Kay. The film is so much about their individual performance as opposed to people dancing around trees and singing. In fact , this film looks like one in which the art of acting takes a front seat, and all the masala is left out. Quite a refreshing change, I must say
2. A take on the Indian media. Be it this post , or so many others, we know that the media will want to make a big story, sometimes not thinking that the people whom they are interviewing and showing are individuals who have lost their near and dear ones, and of course dramatizing everything beyond limits. The 'Rupali Bani Rudaali' episode in the film is more than a perfect example for what's going on.
3. A take on NRIs . One film that is honest but still manages to send this message out, that people living in America will complain about small things in India. And like many other films and articles, this does not over do it. Just about right.
4. A strong sense of Satire ( or Vyangya ) which is there in a lot of dialogues/acts. This gives the movie a feel of a drama as opposed to a mainstream movie. If you have been a fan of dramatics, you'll possibly appreciate this point in the movie
5. Paresh Rawal in yet another amazing performance. His act is of the normal Bombay policeman, good at heart, willing to walk with the system, and try to do the best for himself, and somewhere in the corner of his heart, he wants to see this city in peace. Also, with simple yet powerful comments ( about Hindu Muslim unity), he sends across the message in a much more effective fashion to the common man. He acts similar to the Sutradhar of this otherwise disconnected kind of storyline. And his performance, as always, was the icing on the cake.
6. Madhavan in yet another strong performance, both in terms of his role, and his acting. His love-hate relationship with the country, his dilemma whether to go to San Francisco or not ( :) ), and his beliefs and disbelief's are expressed very strongly.
7. The exceedingly popular mall culture in Bombay, and the change the city has undergone in the last decade or so.
But the best moments of the movie were towards the end, especially when the spirit of the city shows up, and the moist eyes of Madhavan, when he participates in the one minute silence in memory of the victims of the blasts, or when the song 'Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan' plays in the background, when Paresh Rawal explains his simple philosophy to Kay Kay, and his change of thinking, just makes you feel so close to the city I have always loved.
It's an amazing movie, you should watch it.
As an end note, I must say that about 2 years back, someone put a comment on my blog, incidentally to a post which was titled Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan
"Mumbaikars are somewhat pathetic. They can't even get the civic administration to fix their storm water drains. Every monsoon season it's the same story and the monsoons are far more predictable than terrorist attacks.
If Mumbaikars are hoping there would be no more terrorism they are soundly mistaken. Like a battered wife who'd rather commit suicide than stand up for her rights, they are the perfect victim."
A thought to think about. Maybe more about that coming in my next blog.
3 comments:
i saw this movie more than week ago now.. you aptly sum up the movie..
To add to your points, i guess the movie's superb in not only showing feelings of mumbaikars during terrorist attacks, but is SOLUTION ORIENTED -- KK learns from Paresh Rawal (for his approach to muslim section); Irfan khan gets it from a old man sent to hospital for his frustration; folks in news reporting getting from the state of soha ali khan.
good post.. I share the same intense love for mumbai.. Cheers..
nice sum up of the movie and an amazing write up ..
well i want this comment to be an answer to the one written on ur blog about mumbai 2 years back ..
I agree that the system has a few flaws and there is a lot of scope for improvement. But I would like him/her to point out a few things.
1. I agree we are a perfect target, but who isn't in India? Mumbai becomes the target for its the place that fuels the Indian economy and a obvious target. Its just that other places if attacked do not have the effect that want and hence are not a hot target.
2. Mumbai has a population which touches nearly 1.75 crores and has a local train system which transports more than 7 million people everyday and yet runs nearly round the clock with trains nearly every 3-5 mins and more than 80% being on time. Very few places in the world will equal that.
3. I agree to the fact that the civil authorities are as in any part of India. But lets get into a few imp things. Mumbai is an island and draining water is difficult with the sea on all sides. Barring the July 26 one year, the city system has a down time of less than 48 hrs every year which I guess is high availability for most of the practically working systems. As for the Jul 26 event, the system had to handle a more than 95% of the season's rainfall in 3 hrs time and any other system would have failed in such a scenario.
So, my point is Mumbai is like any other place in India which has problems, but it still functions better than most of the ones existing and the people there are like anywhere in India which who keep going living daily lives without much affecting them .. as they have no other way to go ..
nice sum up of the movie and an amazing write up ..
well i want this comment to be an answer to the one written on ur blog about mumbai 2 years back ..
I agree that the system has a few flaws and there is a lot of scope for improvement. But I would like him/her to point out a few things.
1. I agree we are a perfect target, but who isn't in India? Mumbai becomes the target for its the place that fuels the Indian economy and a obvious target. Its just that other places if attacked do not have the effect that want and hence are not a hot target.
2. Mumbai has a population which touches nearly 1.75 crores and has a local train system which transports more than 7 million people everyday and yet runs nearly round the clock with trains nearly every 3-5 mins and more than 80% being on time. Very few places in the world will equal that.
3. I agree to the fact that the civil authorities are as in any part of India. But lets get into a few imp things. Mumbai is an island and draining water is difficult with the sea on all sides. Barring the July 26 one year, the city system has a down time of less than 48 hrs every year which I guess is high availability for most of the practically working systems. As for the Jul 26 event, the system had to handle a more than 95% of the season's rainfall in 3 hrs time and any other system would have failed in such a scenario.
So, my point is Mumbai is like any other place in India which has problems, but it still functions better than most of the ones existing and the people there are like anywhere in India which who keep going living daily lives without much affecting them .. as they have no other way to go ..
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