Taxi no.9211 starcast- John, Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni, Sameera
They are as different as chalk is frm cheese. Raghu shastri( Nana), driver of Taxi no.9211, is raw & rustic. This is his 24th job in recent times & he’s urgently in need of atleast Rs.30, 000 to save this one too. While Jai Mittal( John) is suave & sophisticated. He’s about to inherit an empire of Rs. 300 crore & needless to say , till date, has never worked even a day in his life.
But they both hav sum things in common- loads of attitude, temperament & ego. And yeah, one more thing- the habit of blaming others for their misfortunes & problems.
Circumstances bring them together. To claim his genuine right over the vast fortune, now bequeathed by his father to sumone else, Jai has to rush to the court with his father’s will. Hence he boards Nana’s taxi & as fate would hav it, they meet with an accident. To top it, John also forgets the key to the locker which houses his father’s will, in the taxi itself.
Now since John had earlier left Nana in the lurch after the accident, Nana is in no mood to relent & return the key. From here begins the game of one- upmanship. And it is through the ensuing little skirmishes that both of them realise the real meaning of life. Raghu realises the importance of honesty, sincerity & trust in a relationship. John realises that life is not a bed of roses. The attitude of his fair- weather frnds & love also comes as a bolt frm the blue for him.
Sounds pretty much like the Ben Affleck starrer ’ Changing Lanes’, right? Well the prob is that Milan Luthria who had earlier made ’ Kachche Dhaage’ & ’ deewar’ , couldn’t even copy or adapt this Hollywood flick well. Therefore, frm the Indian angle, it appears to be completely inept.
Nana Patekar plays the character of a taxi driver to the T. Some taxi drivers’ unions may even use him as their brand ambassador in future. He uses the ’ Bombaiya lingo’ amply & prudently. Predictably enough John takes next turn. With every film, he’s certainly evolving as an actor. The duo manage to liven up quite a few routine scenes. They both are well supported by Sonali as Nana’s wife & Sameera as John’s love. Sonali impresses as the simple, middle class housewife while Sameera doesn’t hav much to do.
Towards the fag end of the movie, Priyanka appears in a cameo & her five moments on the screen are one of the most exciting moments in Taxi no.9211.
So beware. There are many dangerous curves ahead. Instead of making u laugh, most of the time it makes u squirm with boredom. So better keep a safe distance frm this taxi or else it might just knock u out. Need I say more?
Also, it could hav had a better title too!