Life In A... Metro: could be better

By Super

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.

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