Masand's Verdict: Mumbai Meri Jaan is honest effort

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Cast: Soha Ali Khan, Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan

Director: Nishikant Kamat

Few films are as earnest and straightforward in their intention as director Nishikant Kamat's Mumbai Meri Jaan, which also opens at the cinemas this weekend. Placing the Mumbai train blasts incident of July 11 2006 at the very core of its drama, the film examines the mostly psychological effects of that unfortunate event on its many diverse protagonists.

For the upper middle-class family man played by R Madhavan, the recurring images of less fortunate commuters losing their limbs and their lives are so hard to get out of his head that he becomes obsessed with the idea of a better life away from India. For Soha Ali Khan who plays a promising television journalist, the tragedy is more personal, and one that makes the often insensitive nature of her job painfully clear. Through Kay Kay Menon, who plays a frustrated unemployed Mumbaikar, the film's director urges us to confront the prickly issue of racial prejudice, while Irrfan Khan plays a poor coffee-vendor who spreads fear as a form of revenge against a society that has no place for him. The film's strongest track, however, is the one involving the two police constables -- played by Paresh Rawal and Vijay Maurya - who give the film some of its best, and undeniably its most poignant moments.

Mumbai Meri Jaan has its heart in the right place and makes some very valid points, but it also takes its own sweet time doing so. The track featuring R Madhavan, for example, is stretched beyond necessity. We get the point early on, but the screenplay plods along laboriously making the point over and over again, as if it's hammering you on the head with its message. As far as the Soha Ali Khan track is concerned, there's a very real issue that our attention is drawn to - the exploitative nature of the media - but it's done in such an exaggerated manner that there's a serious risk of it being treated as something of a joke.

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Even the Irrfan Khan track is a little wobbly, especially in the latter portions where too much time is spent establishing the fact that he waits and watches and makes amends when he realizes the repercussions of his irresponsible actions.

But all this amounts to mere nitpicking in an otherwise noble film. A film that holds a mirror to the society we live in. Truth is, much of what you'll see here you already know. What's commendable is the more-or-less consistent tone that the director's able to give the five different stories within the film, and the performances Kamat has extracted from his actors.

Three cheers to Vijay Maurya, a name you probably don't recognize but a face you will remember for a long time to come. As the rookie cop who finds himself being suffocated by the city, he delivers the finest performance in this film. Paresh Rawal gets under the skin of his character and becomes Constable Tukaram Patil, another character that'll stay with you long after you've seen the film. Soha Ali Khan is at the top of her game as the news reporter who becomes the news, and Irrfan Khan and Kay Kay Menon are expectedly very good in their roles.

Mumbai Meri Jaan oozes sincerity, but it's constructed from a script that's alas too loose and as a result, the film ends up overstaying its welcome. I'll go with two out of five and an average rating for director Nishikant Kamat's Mumbai Meri Jaan -- in the end it's a film about a city that's constantly changing, a city with a throbbing pulse, a city that must pick itself up every time it takes a beating. It's an honorable film, but not a great one. Still, if you've got to watch a film this weekend, let Mumbai Meri Jaan be your first choice.

Rating: 2 / 5 (Average)