Mumbai Meri Jaan - Movie Review

मुंबई मेरी जान

On July 11, 2006, Mumbai's lifeline – the local trains, were struck by a series of bomb blasts, that ripped apart not just the trains, but the minds and hearts of every Mumbaiker. Mumbai Meri Jaan (MMJ) follows the lives of people from all strata of society as they each tackle the aftermath of this incident and which brings out the best and worst out of each person.

Nishikant Kamat's first Hindi film is one of those films that do not deviate from the issue on hand. Although I sat and saw his first movie, i.e. Dombivli Fast (Marathi) and remade as Evano Oruvan (Tamil)...(I didn’t understand each one fully)...but then Kamat was always a director to watch out for, and he truly doesn’t disappoint. When I first saw the promo of this film, along with Singh is Kinng, I totally knew this would be one movie that would be a treat to watch. Click here to watch the promo.

Synopsys - As mentioned earlier, MMJ talks about the after effects of the blasts and, MMJ thru 5 individually woven stories, brings out the deepest and darkest emotions out of people. Although the movie recreates the incident, one of the best parts is that, MMJ doesn’t go about preaching about terrorism and who a terrorist is, why does one become a terrorist etc., Such details which we have seen over and over again on celluloid have been carefully avoided. The movie discovers the brunt of this incident thru the lives of 6 main characters.

1) Nikhil (Madhavan) plays a role similar to what each one of us is. A corporate executive who pays his taxes, goes home to his wife but unlike many doesn’t feel like running off to foreign shores, until the blasts make him look at life a little differently.
2) Rupali (Soha Ali Khan) a top journalist with a news channel. Kamat should be lauded for wonderfully scripting this segment, that goes to show what the media does today..exploit every situation just to gain TRP's.
3) Suresh (Kay Kay Menon) who is an extremist by his own means and who tends to have a suspicious outlook towards the minority community, and who believes that everyone from this community is a terrorist .
4) Thomas (Irfan Khan) who plays a slum-dweller from Tamil Nadu and whose job by day is to watch the lifestyles of the rich; and becomes a tea seller by night.
5) Thukram Patil (Paresh Rawal) is a senior constable with the Mumbai police who is a week away from retirement and his junior, Sunil Kadam (Vijay Maurya) who is just not able to stand the injustice and the corruption that is deep rooted within the police system.

How each one's attitude changes during the course of the movie, is what MMJ is all about. Of the entire cast, Irfan's piece is one of the best. Although in the entire movie, he probably just speaks one line of proper Hindi, his performance thoroughly brings out the anguish and the sorrow of the common man, who is suffering to make both ends meet. The films strongest track according to me, would probably be that of the 2 constables. Their dialogues and scenes probably give the film its most striking moments. Each actor is a revelation in this movie, especially Soha Ali Khan. She is one person who I thought couldn’t act for nuts (maybe I am being judgemental, haven’t seen too many of her movies either). Kay Kay Menon is FAB in his role as an unemployed youth who looks down on another community in every possible way, he makes his part appear so real. Madhavan (who seems to have gained weight) thru his facial expressions shows the fear that each one of us have been thru at some point. Vijay Maurya (had to do some Google search to find his name) is an actor to watch out for..great sense of timing.

As a viewer, it wouldn't be right..If I don’t mention certain scenes in the movies that I thought were really touching and left some goosebumps.

Paresh Rawal telling his subordinate - "police force mein rone ka nahi. jab rona aata hai, toilet jaane ka, aur pishaab karne ka hai" This line acts as a metaphor to the pissed-off attitude of an average-troubled citizen, about which he chooses to do nothing. (this last line is not mine, I think Indiatimes is the source).
Another dialogue where he says "Mumbai mein sirf picture dekhne ka, acting nahi karne ka". It is this attitude of a regular Indian that the picture wishes to show.
And there’s this one scene where Rupali's boss and her colleague walk on her reflection on the floor, which kinda goes ahead to prove that, each person leaves an imprint in our lives, be it a negative or a positive one. There are many more much scenes, but then writing any more would be as good as replicating the script here, and that would fail me as a reviewer.

MMJ is not path breaking cinema, but it’s a movie for people who appreciate a good script. Watch it for its spirit and performances. This is not your regular off the mill masala movie with songs and a romantic track, but the problem with such movies is that, the audiences are limited to just multiplexes. The best part of the movie is that it doesn’t try to be judgemental. It jus talks about two sides of a coin, each one can’t be separated from the other.

As I end my first review, I am forced to revisit my first line, where I wrote the blasts ripped thru the hearts and minds of Mumbaikers...each character in the movie tackles their issues in different ways. And at the end of it all, each one moves on in life। The movie is a tribute to the never dying spirit of the wonderful city...and hence the name - Mumbai Meri Jaan.

Do check out the movie's website...very well done. CLICK HERE TO TAKE U THERE.