There is no justification for terrorism. Dedicated to all cities of the world that survived terrorist attacks. I continue to follow the filmography of Irfan Khan, and I watched this film yesterday. I just don't have the words to express everything that's left on my mind after watching. But I'll try it anyway.
The film struck me to the core. Although Irfan all films are such, "amazing." Everything is so realistically shown that it is difficult to convey words, look, and see on the screen not famous actors known to the world, but ordinary residents of Mumbai, each of whom is trying to survive in this huge metropolis of human passions and vices. And when these terrible explosions occur on several trains at once, in which so many people died, the life of each character changes completely.
The first of the heroes of the film, Nikhil Agarwal, was in a train at the time of the explosion, only in another car, and was not injured. But the whole event made such an impression on him that he became afraid to travel in any public transport, every second waiting for another explosion. He has the money to buy a car, he has the ability to migrate to Europe or America. But does he want to? After all, he loves his country. Madhavan magnificently portrayed the fear of boarding the subway or on the train. In his eyes, all this reads perfectly.
The next heroine of the film, Rupali Joshi (Soha Ali Khan), a successful journalist working on one of the main TV channels of the country, and always finds herself in the thick of the most tragic events. And this time, she's the first person to come to cover the events after the explosion. Her fiancé died on that train, and a month later their wedding was scheduled, and invitations have already been sent out. And after learning the tragedy, the girl broke down, she can no longer see and hear about any kind of tragedy. And her "colleagues" from the TV channel quickly find her replacement. And support Rupali only her brother and mother. Sokha is beautiful. Her heroine made her cry. I cried with her as she mourned her fiancé.
Another hero of the film Tukaram Patil (Paresh Raval), an elderly policeman who has a week to retire, and he wants to serve in peace. And all these explosions are really bothering him. His younger colleague, a very honest and principled police officer, can't understand how serving in the police and wearing that uniform can sell their conscience and take bribes. And Tukaram explains much to his successor. But you can see how he is burdened by this whole rotten system, but he has been brewing in it for 35 years, and is used to acting on the orders of corrupt bosses. And in his later years, he finds it difficult to decide whether he is a loser or a winner. The wrinkles on his face, his gray hair, his eye from under his glasses - is there a better metaphor for the city in which he lives than he himself? His actions speak to the wisdom of this man who understands everything, but cannot change anything alone. A very strong character.
The character Kay Menon, Suresh, considers himself a true patriot of his country, he hates Muslims, and sees each of them as a terrorist. But not all Muslims are terrorists. Islam is a peaceful religion, but a few stupid fanatics have turned it into a world evil, in the eyes of all the inhabitants of the planet. Suresh He begins to persecute several Muslim boys, trying to take out all the evil accumulated in him from his own failures. And in the end, he himself gets into big trouble. But a meeting with Tukaram helps him understand a lot about his attitude towards Muslims and terrorism in general.
And here he is! Irfan Khan His character is Thomas, a poor street coffee vendor. He lives in the poorest area of Mumbai with his wife and daughter, and selling coffee on the streets of the city, becomes a witness to many events, because it is simply impossible to ignore them. And everything he saw does not give him peace, the struggle between Hindus and Muslims, the attacks of the rich on the poor, the unjust attitude of the police to the poor and their slobbering before the rich, all this oppresses and tortures him. But what can he, a little man, do? But it turns out something can. But he does it recklessly, which leads to sad consequences. Irfan in this role, above all praise. His character eclipsed all the others, although all the characters of the film, one way or another intersect with each other.
Director Nikant Kamat and screenwriter Yogesh Joshi created a brilliant film. It starts slowly and cautiously, but events continue to evolve steadily throughout the film. "My dear Mumbai" - chronicles a few days before and a few days after the serial explosions in July 2006, in the lives of 5 characters in this story. All of this is strikingly realistic.
The story is beautifully written. And beautifully shot. Nishikant Kamat is a director who does not exchange for small things. His stories are realistic and very lifelike. And he chooses actors for his characters perfectly. He uses various techniques in his work - close-ups, silence, harsh music, the natural reaction of the characters to everything that happens, and much more. And the end result looks simple and clean - perhaps the hardest thing in the Hindi film industry to date. No masala, no invented characters, no favorite Bollywood chips, only naturalness and realism. Filmed more like a documentary, but extremely exciting.
At first, as usual, I was surprised that no one had written anything about the film since 2008. But this, I think, is because on many sites, the film is still subtitled, which many people don’t like (I found it in the same place as the voiceover), and probably few people have seen it. Then you need to fill this gap and be sure to watch this film.
The film perfectly reflects fears, failures, prejudices and agony. It takes us from one character to another and all the stories are intertwined.
This is one of the best drama films about terrorism that I have ever seen in my life. It’s hard to watch at some points, but you have to watch. And sounding in the final credits, a very dynamic and even a little cheerful song, as if sums up the line, under all this story, saying that so that people do not experience in their lives, no matter what events they encounter, you need to believe that everything will improve. And life will give joyful and happy moments again. It can't be any other way.
10 out of 10