"It's
the
most
dangerous
profession
in
the
world," says
director
Mani
Shankar.
Mukhbiir
closely
looks
into
the
dangerous
life
and
times
of
a
mukhbiir
--
an
interesting
idea
no
doubt.
But
the
story
bears
a
striking
resemblance
to
RGV's
Contract
and
that
takes
away
the
novelty
aspect.
Of
course,
Mani
Shankar
delves
deeper
in
Mukhbiir
and
the
outcome
is
watchable
at
places,
but
fails
to
impress
in
totality.
The
culprit?
The
writing
does
not
hold.
A
couple
of
moments
are
truly
noteworthy.
The
sequences
between
Om
Puri
and
Sammir
Dattani,
the
Alok
Nath
-
Sushant
Singh
portions,
the
mukhbiir
converting
to
Islam...
well
penned,
well
executed,
well
enacted
portions
all.
But
Mukhbiir
stumbles
and
fumbles
midway.
The
romantic
side
of
the
mukhbiir
[Sammir
-
Raima
Sen]
is
half-baked.
Also,
the
climax
--
the
lifeline
of
a
film
--
looks
like
a
rushed
job.
Let's
elaborate.
Sammir
sends
an
SOS
message
to
the
boy-courier,
who
in
turn
faxes
it
to
Om
Puri's
wife,
who
in
turn
speaks
to
the
minister
[Jackie
Shroff],
who
in
turn
sends
the
commandos
to
eliminate
the
gangster
[Rahul
Dev]
--
it
looks
completely
fake.
A
better
culmination
was
the
need
of
the
hour.
To
sum
up,
Mukhbiir
could've
been
a
riveting
experience,
but
it
fails
to
register
an
impact.
Mukhbiir
is
about
a
young
man
[Sammir
Dattani]
and
the
many
masks
he
wears.
This
is
the
story
of
the
many
lives
he
has
to
live,
the
many
deaths
he
has
to
die.
The
job
requires
him
to
be
ruthless
and
on
one
such
occasion,
he
even
shoots
down
his
handler.
Later,
he's
on
a
mission.
He
converts
to
Islam,
joins
a
gang
to
get
to
the
root
of
the
issue
and
comes
face
to
face
with
the
terrorist
[Rahul
Dev].
There's
no
denying
that
Mani
Shankar
has
handled
the
subject
well.
A
number
of
scenes
prove
that
the
director
knows
what
he's
talking,
but
the
writing
lets
him
down
completely.
Cinematography
is
alright.
Dialogues
are
natural.
Sammir
gets
into
the
skin
of
the
character
and
comes
up
with
a
fine
performance.
It's
a
difficult
role
to
portray
and
given
the
fact
that
Sammir
is
pitted
against
actors
of
calibre
like
Om
Puri,
Sushant
Singh
and
Alok
Nath,
he
holds
his
head
high.
Om
Puri
excels
yet
again.
Ditto
for
Sushant
Singh,
who
is
remarkable.
Suniel
Shetty
does
a
fair
job.
His
exit
looks
sudden.
Jackie
Shroff
is
wasted.
Raima
Sen
gets
no
scope
absolutely.
What
is
she
doing
in
this
film?
Alok
Nath
is
first-rate.
Kelly
Dorjee
is
okay.
On
the
whole,
Mukhbiir
is
a
weak
product.
At
the
box-office,
it
has
dim
chances.