Directed by Kabir Khan under the Yash Raj banners New York, the film was released on June 26th, 2009.
The story opens with Omar(Neil Nitin Mukesh) being wrongly held captive by the FBI. Investigating officer Roshan(Irrfan Khan) offers to go easy on Omar if he agrees to spy on old-time friend Sameer(John Abraham) who the FBI suspects to be a terrorist. With a maneuvered reunion, Omar gets entry into Sameer’s house and tries hard to unveil his activist identity but fails every time, much to his relief.
In contrast, Sameer himself narrates his distressing past to Omar of how he was illegally detained and brutally tortured by the FBI for 9 months, immediately after 9/11 and victimized for being a Muslim suspect in New York.
The ensuing chemistry between the characters keeps one riveted till the movie takes an interesting twist at the interval point. The terrorism theme comes into picture predominantly in the second half. The physical and mental abuse on innocent Muslims, imprisoned merely on suspicion and their consequent repercussions are effectively portrayed.
But beyond that Aditya Chopra’s story doesn’t work towards the rehabilitation of the disturbed mind that has taken to the wrong path.
The issue of global terrorism somewhere goes for a toss with the film turning into a human emotion drama. As the victim is released from prison and his atrocities are still fresh in your mind, the intensity of his trauma is diluted with a love song stuffed in. The couple further goes on to make love and start a family. The side-track of a frustrated Muslim driver(Nawazuddin) committing suicide doesn’t contribute to the plot and could have been avoided.
John does well in his frail characterization which could have been much more convincing, intense and effective. Neil looks rehearsed in some scenes but doesn’t disappoint. Irrfan Khan never misses any punch in his lines and is as expressive as ever. Katrina Kaif doesn’t get the meatier portion and contributes to the sloppy effect.
Alas New York fails to break new grounds on that note.
On January 22, 2009, President Obama signed a number of executive orders purporting to end the Bush administration’s abusive practices in dealing with treatment of terrorism suspects. The orders put an end to Guantanamo torture and secret prisons. President Obama should be highly commended for this bold and decisive action so early in his administration on an issue so critical to restoring an America we can be proud of again. This fact justifies the release of the film around 7 years after the 9/11.