Life in a Metro

Life in a Metro

Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director and writer: Anurag Basu
Stars: Dharmendra, Shilpa Shetty, Kay Kay Menon, Kangana Ranaut, Sharman Joshi, Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Nafisa Ali Sodhi

Plot: Ambition and lust driven metro denizens in pursuit of love.
Verdict: Smart, slick, new age cinema
Box office prospects: this film is catching on by way of word of mouth publicity.
Rating: 3 star

Box office prospects: this film is catching on by way of word of mouth publicity.
Here’s a reflection of the changing face of urban society- where call centre culture has reset both the clock and mortality standards as per US time(s). Welcome to this call center where sleeping one’s way to the top appears to be the norm, and ambitious Rahul (Sharman Joshi) puts his apartment to best use by letting his superiors “use” it for amorous affairs in exchange for promotions and salary hikes.
Rahul’s diary is choc-a-bloc with dates of his colleagues with hyper active libido. Not surprisingly, one day he is summoned by his stern boss, Ranjeet (Kay Kay Menon), who expresses surprise about him being recommended unanimously by the supervisors and then startles him by telling him that his secret about the apartment is out! Just when Rahul is doubling over with apology, the boss tells him that he would like to use the famed apartment too.
The dice rolls yet again and the boss takes his secretary, the petite (Kangana) for a sleepover, without Rahul’s permission. Incidentally, Rahul has taken a shine for Neha. Complications galore: Neha is the roommate of Ranjeet’s sister in law Shruti (Konkona) who is the threshold of thirty and yet unattached.
Shruti is scouting prospective grooms and on one such hunting trip meets Monty (Irrfan), the uncouth suitor who will say it as it is. She rejects him and sets in for her hunky colleague who, however turns out to be homosexual. Funny isn’t it, how often Konkona’s screen boyfriends turn out to be the other way---- remember Page 3??
Ranjeet’s neglected wife Shikha (Shilpa) finds a sympathizer in a frustrated stage actor Akash (Shiney), and the interlude between them is fraught with tension. The sequence of their aborted attempt to steal a moment of passion shows the director’s grip over the medium.
Last but not the least is the senior citizen romance between Dharmendra and Nafisa Ali Sodhi, parted lovers who meet years later and decide to snatch some happiness together. Dharam looks dapper and dignified and Nafisa a tad frumpy, but there is a crackling chemistry between the two and it is cute how Dharam can pull up the eloping lover act!
The film shines through its witty and meaningful dialogues and of course cutting edge performances from all the players. While Kay Kay is simply scintillating as a chauvinist, Irrfan is a scene stealer with his easy screen presence. Konkona never acts, she just becomes the part – whether she is talking over the phone with the beauty mask straining her facial movements or venting her anger by screaming out from the terrace top – the young actor delivers a smooth-as-silk performance. Kangana though with her faulty English accent, cuts a very pretty picture and she’s a natural too. Shilpa and Shiney deliver mature and contained performances. Dharmendra is endearing and so is Nafisa.
The music band trio of Pritam, Suhail and James popping up now and then seemed to be quite refreshing initially but it has been overdone.
Anurag Basu delights his fans and more with his tangled tale of strained relationships, albeit failing to establish the character of Nafisa to the film. Akiv Ali edits the film and weaves in various tracks into a pretty picture, while cinematographer, Bobby Singh captures the city scape in monsoon, in its red bushes and locals, the Gothic structures lined streets and of course the high rises most magnificiently.
This is new age, thinking cinema….. only if Anurag Basu had given due credit to the writers of the Hollywood original – the Apartment, he would have delivered a perfect product.