New York Movie Review
(3/5)Movie Review By Bhushan
Watchable, but a few years too late!
As a norm with very, very few exceptions, mainstream Bollywood has generally played a dishonest suitor to contemporary history… flattering to deceive on more than one occasion.
There have not been few occasions when Bollywood has either used incidents which have virtually been cornerstone of contemporary history as a backdrop-magnifique, only to wed in an extremely insipid, lacklustre tale.
Fortunately, Kabir Khan’s ‘New York’ is not exactly Ujjal Chattopadhyaya’s ‘Escape from Taliban’ which had a brief tryst with the audience back in 2003. And with the Chopra family picking up the grocery bill, things do turn out quite differently.
Slick, antiseptically beautiful, and technically well made, like most creations from Yash-Raj films, New York does marginally rise above the good locales, good clothes (i.e. when you have them on) and great butt (John Abraham’s big draw), when you don’t.
The film explores the seize mentality of the Americans in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Omar (Neil), has been used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Roshan (Irrfan) to keep an eye on Samir (John) and Maya (Katrina), who were his friends earlier in college. The big brother peering over your shoulders is an overwhelming theme in the first half of the film, with Roshan under the impression that John runs a sleeper cell of terror. And predictably there a twist of romantic angst too. Though a close buddy, Neil has been rejected as a lover by Katrina for Samir. And that scar does turn sore off and on subtly.
Kabir Khan has managed to keep the levels of suspense well engineered during the first half, which winds up just as you think you want more. The director has been able to weave in layer after layer of intrigue, without being jingoistic, a known failing with most films dealing with the subject of terror.
However, the latter half of New York loses the steam. Good direction can only push a movie that far to the point from where the actors ought to take over. This is where John Abraham, to whom the second half belongs, fails along with Katrina, who by now should be able to play an NRI without sweat. But she is definitely pleasing on the eye, but perhaps needed to be a bit more than that.
Neil Mukesh is dapper and is one of the few bright spots as far as acting is concerned. The on-the-edge element which made Johnny Gaddar a success is quite evident. Irrfan is without a doubt excellent as the ever suspicious FBI agent.
A movie on the 9/11 could seem a tad late in coming, but the film could strike a chord in an environment which has been surcharged with the racists attacks in Australia.
The film is definitely watchable because of the sheer quality of production, the grand backdrop of New York and good story telling technique, with a couple of good performances by Neil Mukesh and Irrfan. But for those who want to take a lookasee at John Abraham’s bare butt, that’s there too.
Good Movie,,
bad acting…
Beautiful movie.