Masand's Verdict:Taxi Number 9211

Starring: Nana Patekar, John Abraham, Sonali Kulkarni
Director: Milan Luthria

For the Bollywood movie-buffs there is Taxi No 9211, a cat-and-mouse chase film shot across Mumbai by director Milan Luthria.

Nana Patekar plays a crabby cab-driver who's so embarassed about the fact that he can't make a success of his life, that he can't even tell his family what he does for a living.

He tells them he's an Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) agent. Meanwhile, John Abraham plays a spoilt, rich yuppie whose multi-millionaire dad has just died, and has left his riches to his faithful manager instead of his wastrel son.

One fateful day, John takes a ride in Nana's cab and all hell breaks loose.

Now there's no denying the fact that Taxi No 9211 is in principle inspired from the Samuel L Jackson-Ben Affleck thriller Changing Lanes.

But here I'm going to say that apart from stealing the basic premise, director Milan Luthria doesn't really borrow the treatment or the spirit of that Hollywood film.

In fact, he creates a screenplay that is pacy and engaging and really quite original.

The film uses Mumbai so intrinsically in its narrative that the city becomes almost like a character in the film, lending situations and plot points along the way.

Films are primarily meant for entertainment, and that's exactly what Taxi No 9211 delivers.

By your everyday Hindi movie standards it's a fresh and unconventional story, and despite the schmaltzy climax, the film is extremely engaging because it's such a believable story about two guys who're holding on to their egos, and because it shows you that anger can sometimes drive people into doing things that even they didn't know they were capable of.

Of the actors, Sonali Kulkarni, as the cab-driver's wife, is excellent. She's sincere and she's spontaneous and she's pretty much the conscience of the film.

John Abraham delivers what is definitely his best performance yet. He's fluid and natural and just goes with the flow - no unnecessary histrionics. He doesn't act, he reacts.

But stealing the film from everyone else is the immensely-gifted Nana Patekar who is remarkably restrained, yet he's appropriately intense when he needs to be.

This isn't one of those typical screaming-shouting Nana Patekar roles. Yes he does fly off the handle, but all within character.

How often do you go into a cinema hall and come out beaming? Not too often, I'm guessing. But I think I can safely say that Taxi No 9211 is one of the most entertaining films I've seen in recent months.

Along with Rang De Basanti, it's definitely among the best films of the year so far, although that's hardly a compliment considering we're only in February.

The thing about Taxi No 9211 is that it's instantly relatable and it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's meant to be an entertainer and it's exactly that.

So that's four out of five and a must-watch recommendation for director Milan Luthria's Taxi No 9211 - a film that reinforces the fact that basically movies are about pleasure.

Rating: (Very Good)