WMW-NewYork

Under Weekend Movie Watch..its time for "NEWYORK" :)

My philo for life is that if you don't have much expectations you wouldn't be much disappointed. Guess it applies for movies also. I wasnt too much impressed with the promos for this movie and neither was the song too impressive, with the howling interlude which is becoming typical of all Preetam's songs. But the movie was a major surprise. Unlike the usual run-of-the-mill candy floss romantic stories, which they churn out one after another, this one from the Yash raj banner is a different package. It does have its romantic moments. But very few and far between.

The opening shots are direct lift from a famous Hollywood movie of Denzel Washington..forgotten the name :( Anyways..i guess, Newyork city is the latest obsession amongst Bollywood directors. Wherever Karan Johar goes..Bwood follows!! Have a life folks. The title has no significance to the movie theme except for the location. ( After seeing NY so many times in so many movies..i have already fallen in love with that place. Would love to visit it sometime :D )

Neil nitin mukesh is charged for illegal smuggling of arms and is detained under the infamous Patriot act. We soon get to know that the charge is a pretext to use Neil to infiltrate a sleeper cell terror network, suspected to be headed by John Abraham, who is a college mate of Neil and Katrina kaif, to whom john is married to. How Neil enters into the network..is John really a terrorist..what is the impact of Neil's entry in John and Katrina' life forms the crux of the story.

I liked the screenplay. In most of the places its neat and logical, except for the ending, which wasn't very convincing. I think, had this been made more tighter and crisper, with lesser masala, this movie could've been Bollywood's response to Slum dog millionaire. They could've concentrated more on the atrocities committed to "colored" people in the name of suspicion and how US has changed its outlook in the aftermath of WTC bombings. But that would've made it more like a documentary a la michael moore :) The director has done a tight rope walking here to balance the commercial elements and logic and to me i think he has done a fair job- except for the ending. How the hell does a Muslim kid playing with other kids justifies the atrocities?? This is where the movie falters. It exposes the cruelties committed under the pretext of protecting the nation but stops short of pulling them to justice. Infact in a way the director justifies them. In the end Irfan khan says whatever said and done, though the americans are at fault for their heinous acts, terrorism is not acceptable (which is totally correct) and conveniently ignores the main point posted by Neil, that the perpetration originally begins with Americans themselves.

Of the three Neil has the meat of role and his acting is quite ok compared to his previous movies. Katrina suits the role of desi american pretty well and john, who could've walked away with the honors, considering the weight of his role, doesnt do full justice. Irfan khan, as usual, is a delight to watch :) i simply love his mannerisms and dialog delivery.

Sadly we got tickets only for the third row from the screen (well if you go for a 12 noon show at 11.50 to get tickets..can't expect balcony right :)) so we had a more than close look of Newyork.

Gils verdict:

Decent movie. Give it a try once.