There are many benefits of keeping your expectations low before walking into a hall to watch a movie. I won’t say I didn’t have any expectations from "Johnny gaddaar" because the trailers were interesting. Moreover, its been getting good reviews. I was looking forward to see a well-made thriller, since the other ones made this year so far(Red, Raqeeb and Naqaab) weren’t good enough in any way. I got something more from JG and I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t recommend it to others.
The plot is actually very simple but at the same time, it is very gripping. It is about five people who are part of a gang. They get an offer to make a fortune in four days for which they decide to contribute fifty lakh rupees each. One of them, Vikram(Neil Nitin Mukesh) plans to get away with all the money himself. He draws his inspiration from a lesser-known Amitabh Bacchan flick "Parwana" and a novel written by James Hadley Chase and plans out his theft. He is successful too but what happens next is for you to watch. I won’t reveal it any further and take away the pleasure of watching this fantastic movie.
All performances are first-rate. To start with, Neil(singer Mukesh’s grand-son) is an amazing actor to watch out for. He’s got everything - acting abilities, screen-presence, good looks, etc. Hats off to him for starting his career with an offbeat but great movie like this. He will go a long way. I’m also sure he will turn out to be a very versatile actor. It is too early to decide(since Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s "Saawariyaa" hasn’t released yet) but the much-in-news Ranbir Kapoor will have a tough competition from this guy. Dharmendra was superb in a supporting role in "Life in a metro"(though I didn’t like him in "Apne" neither did I like the movie). Here, he is better. He also has good lines here and his fans will love him in this movie. I have mentioned in my review on "Life in a metro" that he is a better actor than Big B. I stand by what I wrote. You actually respect him in JG even if his character is a criminal. Vinay Pathak, Govind Namdeo, Ashwini Kalsekar and Zakir Hussain are good. Daya shetty is okay in a cameo. Rimi Sen is a revelation to watch. She leaves a mark even with a small role. She should stop acting in multi-starrers.
Two movie released this year - Shimit Amin’s "Chak de India" and Sriram Raghavan’s "Johnny Gadaar" have been trendsetters of sorts. One thing in common between them is that they started off their respective careers with the RGV banner. The former directed the Nana Patekar-starrer "Ab tak 56" and the latter directed the Saif-Urmila starrer "Ek hasina thi". RGV may be receiving flak for making movies like "Aag" and "Darling" and will receive some more for the forthcoming "Go" but he should be given credit for introducing two of the finest story-tellers/directors in the hindi film industry. I just wish there would be some twist at the end of the movie(like the ones in "Don", "Being Cyrus", "Chocolate", or the lesser known "Ek khiladi ek haseena"). I was expecting one. The pros are much more than the cons in this case. Lets hope the director’s next movie "Agent Vinod"(starring Saif and Kareena) turns out to be as engrossing as JG. I’m sure it will!