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| ONCE
UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI MOVIE REVIEW |
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| Review
by : Harish V |
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Starring:
Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut,
Prachi Desai.
Direction:
Milan Luthria
Music:
Pritam Chakraborty
Production:
Balaji Motion Pictures
Milan
Luthria, the man behind Kachche Dhaage
and Taxi No. 9211, has come out with a
gangster movie, a story which is happening
in the late 70s and early 80s. The expectations
are soaring high for this Mumbai-based
movie and the songs have |
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also
been instrumental in attracting the purses to the
ticket window. This Balaji Production is a sure-shot
hit unless Luthria misses it completely. Thankfully,
Luthria doesn’t miss it completely but it doesn’t
hit the Bull’s eye either.
People who have seen brilliant gangster movies like
Nayagan, Company and Satya and expecting this to be
in the same league will surely be disappointed. The
movie starts off well and the happenings do keep you
glued to the seats but still you feel something is
seriously missing. Now let’s analyze what actually
went wrong.
The story is about Mumbai and a gangster named Sultan
(Ajay Devgn), who used to control the entire city
but with utmost care and principled behavior. He loved
Mumbai as much as he loved himself and that makes
him a messiah among the locals. But when a police
inspector’s son Shoaib Khan (Emraan Hashmi)
joins the gang all hell breaks loose as he starts
to fiddle the principles of Sultan. But due to the
rift between two people Mumbai pays the price.
The story is quite interesting and the narration style
seemed to work quite well at first but when you start
off with a story you should end it too. If it’s
the point of view of AC Agnel (Randeep Hooda) one
should continue to be in his point of view and should
not drift away to other’s, but Luthria fiddles
around the logic and tries to sell us a story which
is actually not there. There are several stories unfinished,
like - what happened to Agnel? What happened to Mumtaz
and Rehana? If you think with the story of the protagonists
it is interlinked, why start it parallel? There are
several problems in the movie but at the same time
the movie for most of the part entertains you but
again a half baked and hurried up climax lessens the
impact.
The biggest strength of the movie is its strong performance
line up, with Ajay Devgn being in supreme form after
a long time. His performance has depth and the characterization
spot on. Finally, a perfect role to feed this brilliant
actor. Emraan Hashmi looks convincing as an evil prince
who is trying to take hold of an empire. He is an
extremely talented person and the role gives him ample
opportunity to use his histrionics and he delivers.
Randeep Hooda is a treat to watch as the strict and
cunning ACP. Both the female leads, Kangana and Prachi
impress, with Kangana taking brownie points with her
sensuous 80s costumes. The rest of the crew has no
problem whatsoever to showcase their talent.
The crew has done a fabulous job with Aseem Mishra’s
capable cinematography, award worthy art direction
by Nitin Chandrakant Desai, decent editing by Akiv
Ali and a spectacular work by music director Pritam
and an even better work by him for BGM. One of the
finest BGM work in years.
Overall, a movie that has its moments but in no way
in the same league of Company or Satya, but it’s
an entertainer never the less.
Verdict – Mass more than class
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| Tags
: Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai
Review,
Once
Upon A Time In Mumbaai, Ajay
Devgn, Emraan
Hashmi, Kangana
Ranaut, Prachi
Desai, Milan
Luthria, Pritam
Chakraborty |
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