Metro has been one the most debated movies in 2007(which in itself is an achievement, na?). Everyone I know either hates it or loves it. Even Anurag Kashyap has blogged in favor of Metro’s technical finesse. This is ironic, since the only reason I went to see Metro was a misconception that it was an Anurag Kashyap film. By the end of this predictable soap-opera, I was aghast how AK could have gone so weak. Turns out the movie was, in fact, by soap-opera king Anurag Basu.
I am still aghast; original Anurag actually liked this movie! Maybe I need to see it again.
My list of disappointments with the movie goes as follows:
- There were essentially three story lines. The first one was a direct lift
from’The Apartment(1960)", even including minor plot points. I fail
to understand how dumb Basu thinks the audience is, that he can pass
off a movie made in 1950’s as "slice of life in Mumbai 2007". This
killed my respect for Basu as a story-teller.
I felt cheated since I expected an auteur’s original take on
contemporary living. This was merely routine stuff from Bollywood Xerox-machine -
K.C. Bokadia could have done it better!
P.S. Fans of the movie claim "copy hai, magar acchhi copy hai"; hmmm, did Basu get the pulse right, after all?:-)
- The second story line was married-woman meets young-man, falls in love,
feels guilty, goes back to save marriage. To take the cliche forward, she is trapped in a loveless love marriage, suffers an infidel husband and has a "sirf tum mujhe samajhte ho"
kind of relationship with the(predictably) struggling-actor/ loser who
is not understood by his ex-wife. Ends predictably with husband coming
back, wife feeling ultra-guilty and everyone being forgiven. Do people
seriously believe they have not seen this story rehashed a zillion
times before? Educate me, what did I miss here?
- The characters of Kangana Raut and Shiney Ahuja were not built-up well.
They took Kangana for her "innocence" and let that be a justification
for everything else. Her sweet behavior and suicidal actions did not sync with her gold-digging, back-stabbing, self-centered character. There was a lot of scope here, but the movie fails to develop the "what is a nice girl like you doing in a place like this" theme convincingly.
Similarly,
the story does not justify how the angst, lust and quest inside
loser-actor Shiney Ahuja transforms into lust and longing for Shilpa
Shetty. Basu skipped some chapters from "Art Movie 101 for Dummies" and
uses the "samajhdar ko ishara hi kaafi hai"
technique half-heartedly. These characters could have worked
beautifully had they attempted some uncomfortable, unexpected quirks for both and not hid behind tired cliches.
Note: Watch "Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi(2003)"
for a beautiful study of undercurrents in licit-illicit relationships
and expected drivers behind unexpected actions. Shiney and KK at their
best!
- Finally there was the Konkana Sen Sharma and
Irrfan Khan story. I am sure this is where seed of this movie was sown,
this is the story that Basu **felt
*for. It was the only story rooted in reality, peppered with the right
amount of tragi-comic sentiments and sharp analysis of Konkana’s
character. This is what the rest of Metro wanted to become.!
Then
suddenly, the climax starts with Konkana declaring her love for the
groom DURING his shaadi to someone else. From this point on, the climax
was hijacked by Chopra-Ghai camp. Can’t believe they couldn’t wrap up
more sensibly. The only thing missing was fat cops bumbling into the
frame before end-credits!
Metro came with a very’Page-3(2005)’ or’Corporate(2006)’ style promo and cast, a very
contemporary premise and excellent performances. Even the music was
brilliant, with new voices and soul rock by Pritam. The 3 rockers
popping up every now and then as adhunik **sutradhars
*were an innovative and refreshing touch. This was a part of the movie I
found extremely apt, cinematically attractive and memorable. Unlike
Bhandarkar’s movies, though, Basu did not have the courage to take the
story where no man(or horse!*) *has gone before. Bhandarkar’s stories are entertaining *tippani *on his perception of
modern society. Basu stays true to his soap-opera roots, simply picking
up tried and tested(tired and tasteless?) stereotypes of high-society.
In terms of production qualities, scene transitions, art direction and just the delicious LOOK of Bombay as the breath-taking backdrop of the story, Metro is notches above the ordinary. It definitely is a technically well-made and enjoyable picture.
As a piece of memorable Cinema, it has the appeal of a Rs.250 Venus de Milo sold at Big Bazaar.