Mumbai Meri Jaan Review

Not many had heard of director Nishikant Kamat until the accolades he received for his first Marathi flick `Dombivili Fast'. Later R.Madhavan and Nishikant teamed up for the tamil version `Evano Oruvan'. Now, comes a dream project for the director with his first commercial hindi flick `Mumbai Meri Jaan' ; a film celebrating the undying spirit of Mumbai backed by the likes of UTV.

`Mumbai Meri Jaan' talks about the July 11,2006 Mumbai train blasts. The film explores the impact of this devastating incident on the lives of the people of Mumbai. From a brilliant broadcast journalist(Soha Ali Khan) to a patriotic corporate man(R.Madhavan); from a retiring policeman(Paresh Rawal) at the twilight of his life to a rookie cop(Vijay Maurya) at the dawn of his career; from an angry and xenophobic unemployed young man(Kay Kay Menon) to a coffee-vendor(Irrfan) struggling to survive and belong: `Mumbai Meri Jaan' follows the lives of people from all strata of Mumbai's bustling society as they tackle the aftermath of a fatal incident that brings out the best and sometimes the worst in them.

To begin with the film just transcends into another world and you are dawn right into it from the very beginning. Though the narrative moves back and forth from one character to another, it's the well laid out shots that really draw your attention.The cinematography by Sanjay Jadhav is splendid and the camera brings you up close and personal with the happening of events.

Nishikant Kamat does a great job with this flick and fuses in the right bunch of actors with a very good technical team to bring out something as special as `Mumbai Meri Jaan'. Nishikant brings out the best from each actor and no actor overrides the other. And at no point does the focus shift from the script to the actors.

The characters of the film have been so well defined and sketched out. Take a look at the subtle reactions and body language that speaks a lot. For e.g. the indifference between Kay Kay Menon and the guys at the restaurant, Vijay Maurya's expressions (which is usually just a straight face)etc.

The story, screenplay and dialogues by Yogesh Vinayak Joshi are terrific. Though the film may seem a little slow paced with the rapid edit switches between narratives nevertheless it's impressive. The dialogues are really hard hitting especially the sequences exploring the lives of the news reporters and the policemen.

Every actor carries his part real well . Kay Kay , Soha , Madhavan , Paresh Rawal , Irrfan are absolutely brilliant. Each actors leaves behind something at the end of the film.  Kay Kay's transformation from anti-Muslim to harmony seeking individual is impressive. Soha emotes real well as the woman caught between her journalism and personal space.

The echo of the blast that resonates in Madhavan is transferred right into the viewers mind. Irrfan shocks you as the `Madrasi' Coffee Wala. The transformation in his character too is splendid. Paresh Rawal leaves behind a lot of valuable lines and above all its actor Vijay Maurya who proves his bit here. Vijay seen earlier in `Bombay to Goa' doing his bit of comedy , this time get you deep into reality. What a performance!

Out and out, this movie is a real hard hitting well made film. Nishikant Kamat excels with this one and is out to become one of the most sought after directors. Kudos to UTV for backing such a film! Great Job!

Rating : ****