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Introduction →
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Cast -Nana Patekr , John Abraham , Sameera Reddy , Sonali Kulkarni , Priyanka Chopra
Director -Milan Lutharia
Yet another aimed at multiplexes movie Taxi No 9211, is a designed crowd pleaser, with an urban storyline and short running time. This economy extends to introducing the characters and the one fateful day in their lives with a voiceover in Sanjay Dutt’s Munna Bhai tone.
The two lead stars are wisely chosen, Nana Patekar as the crotchety taxi driver and John Abraham as the arrogant millionare, whose lives clash with crazy circumstances. Milan’s film is inspired by Hollywood flick Changing lanes, but it is not a frame by frame copy. It could have been a lot more absurd and funny, but it settles into a cautionary tale about what could happen if people in Mumbai blew their cool.
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The Plot →
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Jai Mittal stands to lose his inherited wealth if he doesn’t reach the court with his fathers will. Having smashed his car the previous evening, he hails a taxi, driven by the hot headed Raghav Shastri whose wife thinks he is an insurance agent. This lie causes a lot of problems to him as the day goes by.
Jai taunts and goads Raghav to drive faster, leading to a crash. Then he vanishes leaving the cabbie to cope with the cops. But in the melee, Jai loses the key to the vault that holds the crucial document, and an irate Raghav refuses to return it.
The face-off blows up in to huge crisis when both the men get mean and vengeful, bent on hurting each other. They both learn some valuable lessons in humility on the way. Jai’s scene with the recalcitrant manager at the vault is hilarious, as is Raghav’s argument with the cops. The rest of the story is about how Jai inherits his property.
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Analysis →
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The film needed more scenes like the two above mentioned and the already fast paced Taxi No 9211 could have been a breeze despite its hiccups. When Nana Patekar, John Abraham and Sonali Kulkarni are eventually matched and breathe life in to their characters, the one weak spot is Sameera Reddy as Jai’s live interest. Plus the music needed to be a lot peppier, the film doesn’t have a single memorable track.
Thanks a lot for reading my review.
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© Sher aka Shabaz aka EntertainingSher 4 April 2006.