Movie Name : Mumbai Meri Jaan
Movie Cast : Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Madhavan, Paresh Rawal and Vijay Maurya
Movie Director : Nishikant Kamat
Music Director : Not Available
Rating : 3 / 5
Post 2006 train bomb blasts in Mumbai, there was a newspaper headline — "Mumbai Ripped Apart". The same day, another national daily carried the same news, but with a different approach towards it. It read — "Mumbai Survives". It was just the difference in various point of views from which people looked at the entire incident.
Film 'Mumbai Meri Jaan' tries to deal with the same. At one level, it shows how there are people who overcame the fear of bomb blasts and moved on in life as if nothing has changed. While there is another sect of people whose lives have forever been unsettled because of this incident.
Nikhil Agarwal (Madavan) - a patriotic corporate guy, ASI Patil (Paresh Rawal) — A corrupt but practical cop, Suresh (Kay Kay Menon) — an unemployed frustrated youth, Thomas (Irrfan) — a roadside tea/coffe vendor and Rupali (Soha Ali Khan) — a TV news reporter are few of the characters whose lives get affected due to this blast.
Madhavan gets saved that day due to a friend of his who doesn't allow him to travel in 1st class compartment of the local train. But his friend loses his hand. Obviously, the sight of the blast doesn't allow him to go anywhere near the train again. He develops a sort of phobia.
Similarly, Kay Kay Menon's belief that muslims are responsible for all this gets futher strengthened when he finds couple of muslim lads missing from his locality right after the blasts.
Paresh Rawal's take that nothing can be changed into this system continues as he approaches the day of his retirement.
Irrfan's anger towards the society keeps on building following humiliation at their hands at every step in life. And that pushes him to create a series of hoax bomb calls throughout the city.
Soha Ali Khan, too, tastes the trauma of affected people when she loses her own fiancĂ© in the blasts. It is then that she realizes how and what does a person goes through when, after losing a near and dear one, news channel anchor asks him/her — "Kaisa mehsoos ho raha hai apko? (How are you feeling now?)
All of them try tackling their issue on their own. And by the end of it, all of them move on in life. And that has been portrayed as the 'spirit of Mumbai'. Hence the name — "Mumbai Meri Jaan".
Brilliant performances by Paresh Rawal and Irrfan. In fact one of their best performances so far.
Superb direction and cinematography. Nishikant Kamat continues with his realistic approach post 'Dombivali Fast'.
The script could have been a little tighter though. Because of lengthy scenes, the story doesn't seem to be moving and makes you impatient.
Otherwise, the movie is very good if you want to see something realistic.
A film worth watching.