Life in a ... Metro - Review

By Super

By: Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM
Friday, May 11, 2007
The trend of narrating multiple stories in Hindi films continues. Salaam-E-Eshq, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., Just Married: marriage was only the beginning and Life Mein Kabhie Kabhiee, all 2007 films, tackled multiple stories in those 2.30/3.30 hours. Metro charters a new path because the multiple stories run concurrently. Also, the characters are, in some way, linked with each other.

With Metro, director Anurag Basu proves for the third time [after Murder and Gangster] that he's an incredible storyteller. The complexities in relationships, the shortcuts one adopts in life to attain the goals and the corrosion of ethics and values have been depicted most convincingly. Yet, Metro is no landmark film. It doesn't sweep you off your feet...
If Anurag Basu, the director, deserves brownie points as a storyteller, Anurag Basu, the writer, is just not in terrific form this time around. Reason: The culmination of a few stories, besides the unique concept of using the 'Metro Band' in every song, prevent the film from reaching dizzy heights.

Rahul [Sharman Joshi] works as a call centre executive in Mumbai. He silently loves his colleague Neha [Kangna Ranaut]. A smart young woman who has climbed the ladder in a very short time. And hard work is not her only secret. Because her boss, Ranjeet [Kay Kay Menon], loves her and is willing to shower her with gifts and opportunities... only if she is willing.

In his 30s, Ranjeet is married to Shikha [Shilpa Shetty] with a 6-year-old daughter. They had decided that she should stay back at home and take care of the house and the kid. Ranjeet ventured out on his quest for money and success... and forgot his family somewhere on the way. And bitterness and boredom crept into their relationship. Soon he found solace and a fresh lease of life in Neha.

Neglected by an indifferent husband and bogged down by family chores, Shikha is soon attracted to Akash [Shiny Ahuja], a struggling theatre artist whose wife divorces him because she cannot stand his failures anymore. Akash and Shikha's love blossoms and she almost crosses her limits.

Amol [Dharmendra] is a 70-year-old man who returns to India after 40 years. To spend the last few years of his life with his first love, Vaijanti [Nafisa Ali]. The lady lives in an old-age home and is Shikha's aunt who gives moral strength to Shikha.

Shikha's sister and Neha's room-mate, Shruti [Konkona Sen Sharma], works at 'Radio Mirchi'. In her 30s and still a virgin, she's desperate to get married. She is dreamy eyed about her RJ, Wishy K [Gautam Kapoor]. She also meets Debu [Irrfan Khan] through a matrimonial site. She hates him. But Debu doesn't.

Now let's have a microscopic view of what works and what doesn't...

Read more about: life in a metro

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