Aamir is suave, you like him for his earnestness as he lands in the city of paradoxes- Mumbai straight from London. He is the quintessential yuppie, you think and then in one split second you are caught unawares as the plot meanders crazily through the streets of the city-the side of Mumbai rarely captured before on celluloid.
The screenplay is the king in this short, dark and hard hitting movie and needless to say that it scores over all those movies that boast of glam stars and over publicity. Infact this film should gain greater recognition and some movie with a theme like this should be considered for our oscar entry.It shows how seamlessly the web of terrorism is spread across continents in modern days.
The story has been repeated often in the various reviews and infact there is’nt much of a story here. It follows closely how a self made, righteous young doctor falls prey to Muslim fundamentalists and made to play a crazy pawn in a fascinating mind game with his adversary who remains invisible but attuned to each breath and move that Aamir makes.
The entire story is played out in a single afternoon and the audience sit with bated breaths waiting for that mobile to ring that started the journey of Aamir’s strange and frightening exploration of Mumbai’s underbelly. The camera zips through the dirt laden slums, the squalor and hopelessness of the back lanes of the glitzy city. This is the stark reality of Mumbai and makes one stay awake for half the night pondering over the "miracle of India’s growth’ thats really so much a sham.
Aamir has been played brilliantly by Rajeev Kahndelwal. Its his understated acting, his nonchalance towards his appearance and his genuine bewilderment at the travesty that his life becomes all in the matter of a few hours. He oscillates smoothly from stances of confusion, anger, voice of reason and finally surrenders to the ironic hand of cards that destiny has dealt out for him. He is getting plenty of accolades for his performance and he deserves it, mainly because he is there in every frame of the film with almost no supporting actors. There are just a few human props like the taxi driver, the prostitute etc but they appear and dissapear in the mists of mystery and confusion that surround Aamir almost like a second skin.
I am really impressed with the music. Even the opening credits roll with a rare club mix of the 50s and you know this is going to be an eclectic film with some different music. Its a loss that the music is not available as a seperate soundtrack. It would have done so well and raised the commercial visibility of the movie . The back ground music is haunting and has an edgy sinister feel to it.
Though the movie is short, only 90 minutes but still could have been trimmed a bit more. Since the track remains one of chase, it does get stretched at times with an overdose of street scenes. But then , the question of " why" and "what for " that Aamir and the audience both try to solve on the way of the journey keep the momentum going.
The climax is the strongest point. Its explosive, its unexpected and its just so right. IN death does Aamir, who always carved his own destiny, emerge as the final winner and defies all those who sought to play with his emotions and his life.
Aamir means a leader and this movie too remains a leader in the pack for its theme, its bold treatment, a newcomer actor shining through the challenge, and the final bombastic climax.
Strongly recoomended for understanding what terrorism means to different groups of people!