Here’s another addition to the list of DVD-inspired directors — Milan Lutharia picks up bits and pieces from flicks like Changing Lanes, Collateral , and many others to bring to life his new offering.But it works and how!
‘Taxi Number 9211’ tells the story of a day in the life of Raghu(Nana Patekar) and Jai(John Abraham). A day that changestheir lives upside down, or rather downside up.Jai has to appear in court for an important legal hearing regarding his father’s will. The case could bring the mammoth inheritance of Rs 300 crore of his father’s wealth to his name. Or, if he fails to appear, he may lose the big money to Bajaj, his late father’s friend.
Jai takes Raghu’s taxi. Like a rich brat sitting in a shabby cab, Jai orders Raghu to step on the gas. Raghu is not willing. Jai offers money. Reluctantly and with his characteristic sarcastic attitude, Raghu steps on the accelerator. The taxi rams into a car after jumping a signal. While Raghu takes the heat and handles the occupants of the other car with fisticuffs, Jai gets away. Raghu knows his day has begun on a bad note as he takes the stock of damage to the taxi. But then, he spots a key in the passenger seat. Elsewhere, Jai is about to open a locker containing his father’s will that he must produce in the court. As Jai reaches for the key, he realizes he lost it in the cab.
The adventures are also efficiently executed and one of the finest examples to this is the sequence when Nana is nabbed by the cops. When the Nana handshakes with John, the penultimate ten minutes take the film to an all-time high, with the viewer feeling thoroughly satisfied with the conclusion. The interrogation scene where John grills Sameera is also very well executed.
John is superb. Seemingly going from strength to strength, the hunk toss in a smile or two in this film, but his character is superbly replaced by casual, sardonic smirks. Sonali looks great and acts well. She gets more scope towards the post-interval portions. Sameera is brilliant. Her role a small but forcefull. But the award goes to Nana.
Nana has excelled himself in a role that could have gone unnoticed had it been played by a lesser actor.
The story is simple but handled beautifully. Milan looses the grip post interval where the pace drops intermittently but overall, Milan proves that he is one narrator to watch out for.
The film background scores heightens the impact of every sequence considerably. In fact, a film of this genre relies heavily on sound and score. Cinematography ( is up to the mark.
All up Taxi 9211 the movie is a treat for the lovers of modern cinema.