This film is not what I was expecting – and that’s a good thing. I thought it was going to be one of those gritty, moody thrillers with tense moment dominating the show – not the sort of film I would normally go to see, or rent from the video store . Well, the film is funny and charming, and it is set in the urban parts of Mumbai. But there is more to the film than that … much more.
Now for the story. Raghav Shastri (Nana Patekar) is short tempered and a slightly crazy lower middle class guy. He has changed 23 jobs in the last fifteen years. He is an LIC agent to his wife but in reality he’s a taxi driver. Although he’s ready to draw swords with anyone who rubs him up the wrong way, he loves his wife (Sonali Kulkarni) and young son. His wife is always short of money to pay the grocer, and their kid’s school fees.
Jai Mittal (John Abraham) is a rich, spoilt kid of an industrialist. His dead father has willed all to his close friend (Shivaji Satam). Jai goes to court to prove the will wrong as he stands to lose 300 crores. It’s his last chance today. Jai’s car breaks down so he hops into Raghav’s taxi. Now begins a series of incidents that bring them together throughout the film.
Yes, there are action scenes. . But the core of the film is the relationship between these two people.The two hours of this film went by extremely quickly. I was engrossed in wanting to find out more about the central characters. Unlike most Bollywood films, I genuinely cared about the people involved.
TAXI 9211 belongs to Nana completely. He carries the film on his shoulders and delivers a striking performance. John is average. Sonali leaves a mark in small, but significant role. Sameera has yet to get the grammar of acting right.
In short, this film has stayed with me, and will continue to stay with me for many days to come. The ending is charmful, memorabe and funny.This is easily the best film I have seen so far this year, not least for the believable and fully-rounded performances of John and Nana . Thoroughly recommended!