This iconic film has been reviewed extensively here on MouthShut so I won’t repeat much of what others have already written. To express my views in a succinct manner, allow me to enumerate the key highlights that worked at different levels to make this film so memorable for me.
Cinematography: Kashyap’s fly-on-the-wall approach to cinematography makes everything seems so real. the crowded chawls, the railways stations, the bye-lanes of Mahim, the crowds during the Ramzan festival. and lots more. In his Master Class series, Kashyap mentions(in his typically self-effacing manner) that this happened because of extreme budget constraints. Nevertheless, it makes the story come alive.
The authenticity of key scenes like the arms landing, the training in Pakistan, the execution of the bombings, the discovery of the RDX packs, and the meeting with Dawood in Islamabad. Very well handled and extremely convincing.
The blending of music(the brilliant soundtrack by Indian Ocean in collaboration with K J Singh) with action scenes, in particular, the section titled "On The Run"(focussed on Badshah Khan who later turns state witness) with the music gradually building up to the song: *Bharam Bhaap Ke
The performance of Pavan Malhotra as Tiger Memon - absolutely brilliant!
The performance of Kay Kay Menon as Rakesh Maria - admirable!
The use of interrogation dialogues as narratives to cut to flashbacks of the actual events; this happens with the interrogations of Asgar Muqaddam(a then unknown actor called Nawazuddin Siddiqui of Kahaani fame) and Badshah Khan(Aditya Shrivastav of CID "fame").
The re-creation of media coverage during that time, in particular, the News Track interview of Yaqub Memon(played by actor/director Imtiaz Ali)
One of the bits that makes my pulse race is the ending. after a series of violent explosions, the screen fades to black and almost immediately, the Indian Ocean track begins. *Arre Ruk Jaa Re Bande*. awesome!