Filmi Review

Mumbai Meri Jaan
Cast: Paresh Rawal, Irrfan Khan, Soha Ali Khan
Direction: Nishikant Kamat



His moustache more salt than pepper and bemused with the ways of the police force, a senior cop is about to retire. And at his modest farewell function, he delivers a speech that knocks you out of your seat. Touching on quite a few of the pitfalls and ironies of Bombay – from malls at former mill areas to dreams of migration turning into nightmares -- it’s the kind of Paresh Rawal, as the retiring cop, in fact turns out to be the sturdiest track of Nishikant Kamat’s sarcastically-titled Mumbai Meri Jaan, alluding to a ’56 song from CID. Mr Rawal is fantastic, belting out a performance that’s not only world class but a text book in acting.
speech that’s delivered every day, at various farewell parties, in various spheres.

Paresh Rawal, as the retiring cop, in fact turns out to be the sturdiest track of Nishikant Kamat’s sarcastically-titled Mumbai Meri Jaan, alluding to a ’56 song from CID. Mr Rawal is fantastic, belting out a performance that’s not only world class but a text book in acting.

And he is flanked by Vijay Maurya, as a rookie cop, who is also nothing short of extraordinary. Besides these two absolutely garland-worthy performances, Kamat’s report on the before and after scenario of the local train bomb blasts in July 11, 2006 – in which 209 were killed and 700 injured -- has heart. As importantly, it has a mind which cannot delete a devastating tragedy from his workfile.

Kamat analyses the reasons behind the devastation. Sensibly, he doesn’t offer quickfix solutions. The stories of disparate lives, like Life in a Metro but with a sense of purpose, weave into a tapestry of tragedy. The screenplay by Yogesh Vinayak Joshi-Upendra Sidhaye works seamlessly as it has a point of focus. Also, Kamat’s direction is Hercules-strong, be it while depicting the blasts or the charade played by a tea vendor from Tamil Nadu, on a row of shopping malls. A bit dangerous to show the modus operandi of hoax calls, but the vendor (Irrfan Khan, excellent ) does redeem himself, to underscore the point that there’s a reason behind every crime, big or small.

The storylets of the cops and the tea vendor work. So does that of a Muslim-hater (Kay Kay Menon) but for that unconvincing all’s-well-let’s-share-a- chai denouement. In addition, the shock of the byte-obsessed TV reporter (Soha Ali Khan, credible ) is poignant when the tables turn on her.

Of all the accounts, it’s the numbness of a white-collar worker (Madhavan) which isn’t quite plausible. Why would a man who has gone through a near-death experience hide this from his family? Also, the background music for this section– with an incessant electronic beep – makes you plug your ears. Again, in an effort to cram in too much, there’s a gratuitous look at an NRI’s condition in the U S, which in any case comes across loud and clear in the dialogue.

Yet, the sheer power, concern and the guts of such a close-to-life effort far outweigh the flaws. Technically, Sanjay Jadhav’s camerawork is inspired. The result is serious, strong and sharp at a time of Kinng-sized entertainment. There’s room for every kind of film. And this fist-packed one asserts that there’s more to cinema besides jumping on and off helicopters.