Movie Review : Shor in the City

Rating : 4/5
Genre : Drama
Year : 2011
Running time : 2 hours
Director : Krishna D.K., Raj Nidimoru
Cast : Tushar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Sundeep Kishan, Radhika Apte, Zakir Hussain, Pitobash Tripathy, Nikhil Dwivedi, Preeti Desai, Amit Mistry, Girija Oak
Kid rating : PG-13

SHOR IN THE CITY : CRIME IN MAXIMUM CITY !

I have seen a couple of Tushar Kapoor’s films and am mostly unimpressed by them. So when I heard about “Shor in the city” produced by his sister, Ekta Queen-of-the-soap-opera Kapoor, I surmised that the two together couldn’t have come with anything fancy either. But I was wrong. And I am glad I was wrong because I got to see a pretty good film in the bargain.

“Shor in the city” is a pretty hatke film from the directors of the entertaining 99. It is about maximum city Mumbai, and the people that call it their home. This superb film is not the traditional single hero/heroine venture, but features three narratives running in parallel. All three stories meld together during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebrations. So there are small-time conmen like Tilak (Tusshar), who has a business of mass copying books and selling cheap copies of them at streetlights, and then there are people like Abhay (Sendhil Ramamurthy), an American of Indian origin who is looking to set up a business in Mumbai. Among the cast of characters there is also Sawan Murthy, a cricketer in love with the game and dreaming of making the Indian National Team.

Tilak is a bonafide Mumbai resident used to the fetid, corrupt mess that is the city. Aiming to take his illegal copying business further Tilak has come up with a plan and it involves a new book, the book’s author and kidnapping. Abhay, a US returned desi is used to fair play. When threatened by Mumbai’s underbelly, he must decide whether he wants to cave-in to their unjust demands or brazen it out. Sawan our young cricketeer has a lot of people to please. His girlfriend Shamli, is on the brink of marrying another man, because Sawan has been so unsuccesful at his suit and his career. His career is at the mercy of corrupt selectors, who demand that their palms be greased. What will it be for Sawan : his ideals, his life or a possible bank heist?

This dark film succeeds like it does because of it’s off-beat, but well-structured story, wonderful characterization, delectable acting and tight pace. I cannot say enough of it’s wonderful actors. Firstly – Tusshar Kapoor can act!! What a revelation! I am pleasantly surprised to actually see him emote instead of grunting through his roles. As the Coelho-loving goon Tilak, Kapoor was impressive.Tilak’s wilder, risk-taking friends are Ramesh, and Mandook played by Nikhil Dwivedi and Pitobash Tripathi respectively. Both do an excellent job, especially Tripathy who brings to his character that extra edge as the eccentric and border-line nutty Mandook. Radhika Apte plays Tilak’s wife Sapna with the hesitant grace and tremulousness of a new bride. Another strong female actress is Preeti Desai who plays Shamli, Sawan’s almost-lost love, fending off her middle-class suitors in hopes of her knight in shining armor riding through.

Sendhil Ramamurthy (of Heroes fame) as Abhay, fits right into the storyline as the desi who’s returned to his own land only to fall into the clutches of corrupt goons hand in glove with the police. The villains of Abhay’s story are the hafta-demanding goons. Suresh Dubey is the leering Hemraj – he smiles as he threatens, and remains menacing even when her grins. And Zakir hussain is the cold Premal. If it were not for the sheer fineness with which Hussain and Dubey portray the vicious, omnipresent underbelly of Mumbai, SITC would have lost much of it’s desperate edge. Amit Mistry is fantastic as Tipu-bhai, the fixer who has his corrupt finger in every illegal pie.

Genre wise I would classify “SITC” as a crime thriller but it does have it’s moments of humor, like when during the bank robbery, Tilak declares that he is there only for “moral support”. A great mix of noir, high drama, pathos and thrills, SITC is one of the best films of the year. And I say it now even though we are only halfway through 2011- this one goes straight to my Top Ten List.

I was floored by this unexpected gem of a film – make sure you see it.