Mumbai Meri Jaan could not have come at a better time.
The movie traces the lives and loves of five Mumbaities and how they deal with the aftermath of the July 11th,2006 Mumbai blasts.
Rupali(Soha Ali Khan) is an upcoming reporter for a TV news channel and is intent on getting the big stories. Caught up in the media circus she doesn’t stop to think about the people behind the stories. Till she loses her fiancee in the bomb blast and is reduced to a story herself.
Nikhil Agarwal(Madhavan) is a responsible citizen who believes that every single person can make a difference. He does his bit by traveling in the local train and educating shop keepers to use paper instead of plastic bags. But a narrow escape shakes his faith in his country.
Tukaram Patil(Paresh Rawal) is a cop a week away from retirement. The blasts force him to face the failures of his life, faliures he has always attempted to forget by laughing them away.
Thomas(Irrfan Khan) is a tea seller who roams the streets to make a living. Though happy with the little he makes he is deeply hurt by the “money is king” attitude of the city. Although the blasts do not effect him personally he discovers a way of getting back at the city.
Suresh(Kay Kay Menon) is an out of work Hindu and a Muslim hater. He needs no reason to hate them and belives all of them to be terrorists. The blasts prove to be an eye opener for him where he discovers his fellow Muslim Mumbaites are no different from him.
Director Nishikant Kamat does a commendable job with Mumbai Meri Jaan. The movie stays away from any political or religious views and concentrates on how the common man is effected by terror. Watching a city come back to life and resume normalcy in the face of death and terror pulls at your heart strings.
The characters stay so real and grounded that it is easy to imagine yourself in their place.
Everyone from Soha to Irrfan excel.
Madhavan we need more of you in HIndi cinema
Paresh Rawal always made you laugh but here he moves you to tears and yet makes you smile. Hats off!!
Irrfan Khan says about 4 sentences in the movie but his is the most powerful performance. His eyes and expressions convey his every thought better than choicest words could.
Kay Kay Menon comes up with an explosive performance. Again, he accomplishes the task of saying it all without words with remarkable ease.
Though the movie drags a bit at times this is a must watch.