Mumbai Meri Jaan

I never thought i would write a review "Mumbai Meri Jaan"... but after watching it last night on my pc, it really stirred me from within.. i was about to write something last night itself but as always my net connection again let me down..

Unlike a normal movie review where the reviewer starts with a little background and story and then on performances and then to technicalities.. i would rather adopt a random appropach.. because this review is not meant to coax people in watching this movie.. and secondly i just want to let my emotions out .. thats it.. so please do not expect some high funda review with all the finess attached :)

To begin with, as one critic had put it.. this movie really had its "heart in place"... its a story about Mumbai train blasts and how it effected life of few people.. people who are living entirely different lives altogether.. but are connected through a common thread "Mumbai"... To tell you the truth.. i have never particularly liked this city.. whatever images i have is of crowd, crowd and crowd... But leaving aside my personal prejudice apart, the way Mumbai was portrayed really touched me...

More than a city , this movie is more about common people who come from diffrent backgrounds.. there is this TV journalist (Soha Ali), for whom every event is just a news footage untill her fiancee is killed in the blasts... and then her outlook changes.. she is treated merely like a news article on a program on the very news channel in which she used to work..

then there is Suresh (KK), who is a normal guy but has some radical thoughts against a particular community which becomes more evident when blasts rock Mumbai..

So there are many stories going in parallel but never losing the sight of the real premise on which movie is built up... as for performances everyone was brilliant, but one actor who stood apart was Paresh Rawal.. this is one of the better performances in the recent times.. the ease with which he handles his character of a policeman, who is goin to retire in a week's time when blasts happend, is just remarkable.. never going over the board but nevertheless conveying his feelings.. the best part about the movie is that every character is well sketched.. with a very well defined boundaries for them.. this movie doesnt give u half baked characters... there is always a caveat for such movies, to either to turn into a documentary or to become very preachy.. but director very dexterously handles the scenes.. it sends a message across without becoming too obvious about it..

There were many touching moments in the movie as well... one being,when everyone is observing silence for 2 minutes..and the way city stops.. it really touches your heart.. Mumbai or no Mumbai its more about human emotions.. More about a country where people may differ in views, opinions and many other issues but they unite in grief.. When Suresh sits in the cafe and the other guy comes and asks for matches and events after that, is very well portrayed...

Now, the parts where in my opinion it could have done better.. the visuals of blasts are very gory.. personally i had to take eyes off the screen.. some vivid details could have been avoided.. it was too much of blood and bodies all around.... and in the first half these images really linger with you..

All in all a very thought provoking movie.. and icing on the cake is when the movie ends with the song.. "Zara hat ke, zara bach ke , Yeh hai Bombay meri Jaan"-- that sums it all..

Happy Viewing!!!!