Life In A... Metro: could be better
Director
Anurag
Basu's
handling
of
a
few
dramatic
and
emotional
moments
is
exemplary.
Dharmendra's
introduction
at
the
railway
station,
the
tense
moments
between
Kay
Kay
and
Shilpa,
the
entire
track
featuring
Irrfan
and
Konkona
Sen
Sharma
including
the
sequence
on
the
rocks
[after
they've
shopped
for
Irrfan's
wedding]
and
the
sequence
when
Shiney
and
Shilpa
are
about
to
get
physical
are
portions
that
register
a
strong
impact.
Also,
the
handling
of
the
multiple
stories
concurrently
is
praiseworthy,
for
not
once
does
confusion
prevail
since
so
much
is
happening
to
so
many
characters.
On
the
flip
side,
the
culmination
of
a
few
stories
looks
hurried
and
half-baked.
The
Dharmendra
-
Nafisa
Ali
story
deserved
a
better
conclusion.
The
one
depicted
in
the
film
is
so
filmy!
Similarly,
Kangana
suddenly
realizing
that
she
needs
to
be
with
Sharman
in
the
end
[she
leaves
Kay
Kay
stranded]
looks
unbelievable.
The culmination to the Shilpa - Kay Kay story is ludicrous. Shilpa is about to leave her home when the door bell rings and she finds her husband [Kay Kay] staring at her. He seems repentant and one assumes he has returned home on a rebound [Kangana has dumped him]. Surprisingly, Shilpa goes back to the heartless guy, bidding goodbye to Shiney, who genuinely loves her. Wrong ending!
Another area where the film suffers is that each and every song has the Metro Band coming up from nowhere and humming the lines. Agreed, they are good singers and using the Band in a song or two would've been okay, but every song? They're such a terrible put-off! Besides, the films music [Pritam] is strictly okay.
Metro is embellished with superior performances, with Shilpa, Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan and Konkona vying for top honors. Shilpa delivers her finest performance thus far, much better than her work in Phir Milenge. In fact, this performance needs to be remembered when the 'Bests of 2007' are compiled during the year-end. Kay Kay Menon is exceptional. You hate him, detest his very sight, all thanks to a terrific portrayal.
Actor Irrfan Khan is the life of the show. You're bound to run out of adjectives to describe this performance. He's sure to appeal to every strata - elite, intellectuals, classes, masses, kids... Konkona compliments Irrfan beautifully all through. A brilliant performance yet again. Veteran actor Dharmendra is simply superb. He makes you moist-eyed at several places. Sharman Joshi underplays his character beautifully.
Kangna Ranaut is not in form this time. Shiny Ahuja is passable. He deserved a few more meaty scenes. Nafisa Ali is grace personified. Gautam Kapoor is adequate. Manoj Pahwa is okay.
On the whole, Metro could've been a path-breaking experience, but the faulty writing throws a spanner. At the box-office, the film caters to the multiplexes of big cities mainly. The initial weekend business will be encouraging at select Metros, but things might get shaky eventually.