Watched the movie today
No spoilers
What is good:
Acting: I would say that this movie a must-watch for performances alone. Amitabh Bachchan is excellent, Farhan fit the role perfectly, Aditi Rao Hydari is apt, Manav Kaul's eyes do scare you. Neil in a menacing even in that short time-frame he is on screen.
I thought Farhan underplayed Daanish to perfection. In his scenes with Omkarnath, Daanish plays second fiddle, does not act as the hero. I expected Farhan to play someone (mentally)stronger, but I guess he was supposed to look weaker, he was supposed to learn to learn and not learn to win.
Dialogues: The first half has excellent dialogues (almost all said by Amitabh's character), some funny, some thought-provoking and some philosophical. I don't remember any recent movie with such strong (non corny, non melodramatic) dialogues.
PS: The short dialogue exchange about drinking Russian vodka in a Russian bar with a Russian woman is really funny... that whole scene is excellent
Music: I wasn't impressed with the sound-track before I watched the movie, but the songs do really fit very well with the narrative and don't overshadow the story. The end credits with AB and Farhan singing Atrangi Yaari is cool.
What is not:
Climax: Underwhelming. I would have preferred if the movie stopped at the scene where Farhan is watching the children enact the play, instead of the 'explanation' of the events/motives at the end.
Suspense: There isn't really any. Although the first half is really very good, the placing/timing of some key revelations and clues is off. It was easy to guess any probable ending of the movie and the motives of the characters. The second half did not meet the expectations that the first had set.
All in all: I would recommend watching this movie: for the acting and the first half. Just don't go in expecting a thriller. And, I can't put my finger on it, I don't know why, but it did not feel like a Bejoy Nambiar film. I would rate it 2.5-3 out of 5, almost all of it for the acting.
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