aamir been liked-mirrior reveiw

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sayli

@saylithegreat

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 17 years ago

yipeeeeeeeeee guys aamir is been liked by all

here is the mumbai mirrior reveiw

so do catch it if u havnt

Mayank Shekhar

A still from Aamir

AAMIR
DIRECTOR: Raj Kumar Gupta
ACTORS: Rajeev Khandelwal
RANKING: * * *

Gupta, the evidently gifted debutant director, says in an interview to Time Out's Leo Mirani that his film has nothing to do with Cavite. It's apparently a mere coincidence that the premise, plot and the genre of the two are entirely similar. I find it odd then that the director says he's credited in the first frame a film he hasn't seen!

Few outside Philippines and some film festivals may have heard of the said Neill Dela Llana and Ian Gamazon's indie-flick (2005). In Mumbai, the first DVD-rental I checked (Shemaroo on Napeansea Road) didn't have a copy; the second (Movie Time in Bandra) did. At least we must credit the makers of this film for digging out an inaccessible source before setting out to brilliantly indigenise the subject.

Aamir (Khandelwal), a young doctor in the UK, lands in Mumbai. He wonders at the beginning if destiny is handwritten. He is harassed at the airport-entry by a customs official. His name has something to do with it. Was it Amar, as he rightly says, the treatment would've been different. On this city's streets though, whether you're Amar or Aamir on the backseat, the cabbies never know the direction to any place. He gets off one and hails another to Dongri. The protagonist is in urgent hurry. A voice from a cellphone handed to him at the airport has been guiding him from the start. He is directed to several other innards of South Bombay, best known for the city's Muslim ghettos.

Aamir's family has essentially been abducted. The voice on the phone is the captor's: a crack-head of an Islamic terror-group. The lead character need obey all instructions, for fear of losing his loved ones. Clearly the motive of the abductors is a lot beyond money. We follow the suited doc then across the gutters and garbage of Mohammed Ali Road, Nagpada, Bhendi Bazaar etc. These are portions of the affluent Island City that we've chosen to build over a JJ flyover, and keep our eyes away; conditions that needn't then affect our dead consciences daily. It's strangely cathartic to watch it bare on the big-screen, and closely observe for ourselves where we live.

The abductor sends Aamir off on a gutter-trail firstly so he can learn the state of the 'qom' (or community) he's left behind for a life of a deracinated, urban, middle and upper-class individualist. The hero is rational enough to know terrorism is no solution still. He has a heinous task at hand, and a choice to make at the end of the film (which you may, or may not agree with).

The grit, grime, gore that comes with guerilla filmmaking of this sort is immediately captivating. For once a film has been put together in the heat of real locations than the unnecessary technical wizardry of a cold edit suite. The intended pace of such a thriller is usually easy to go overboard on. This one doesn't. Here, the director need share applause with his leading man.

I don't watch soaps. I'd only heard of Khandelwal from excited colleagues who'd plaster his face on top of TV pages, for a character called Sujal on Kahiin To Hoga (if I've spelt it right).

It was a pleasant surprise to watch this rare actor as sincere in his performance as the film is carefully restrained in its narrative. I had to immediately rush after to watch Cavite as well. This is the best compliment to pay an exceptionally crackling (intended or unintended) adaptation. You should consider catching this one for sure.

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Shilpa Shetty

@Shilpa_1234

Inactive

Posted: 17 years ago

ya mumbai mirror gvng 3 starz meanz d film must b really gud.....MM is very choosy 2 rate a film more den 2 starz....yippeeee Rajeev did it 👏 👏 👏 ....will definitely watch d film in 2-3 dayz

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sayli

@saylithegreat

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 17 years ago

Originally posted by: Shilpa_1234
ya mumbai mirror gvng 3 starz meanz d film must b really gud.....MM is very choosy 2 rate a film more den 2 starz....yippeeee Rajeev did it 👏 👏 👏 ....will definitely watch d film in 2-3 dayz

yeah u r so tru

MM is a total critic, but yet rajeev is successful😃

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aamir been liked-mirrior reveiw

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