Does not live up to the hype!!! - Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008) Discussion

[–] sstfog 16 years ago

Absolutely. Especially after comparing it with Crash. The biggest problem I think the director faced was that he put the climax very early. If the climax were at the end the movie could have been superb...like Crash.
But the intent was to show the after-effect so he should rather have adapted the style of "Tsunami-The Aftermath" rather than "Crash".

The plot is lose, for example, there're too many loose threads - example : police officer going to Mahabaleshwar, A rich teenager destroying his cell-phone, the policy-selling guy, etc...Also as far as the young muslim guy is concerned, why won't he tell his Mom that he's going to Shirdi...etc etc. Very loose plot indeed. Also the policeman crying again & again is not a good plot at all to show.

Some of the plus points are the actual bomb blast scene and also another one I liked was the way Paresh Rawal explains KK Menon to keep communal harmony. Apart from these two scenes there's hardly any matter and I feel the good actors are grossly wasted.

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[–] WoooFy 16 years ago

Completely agree. But the way people have been praising this film... especially on PFC, as though its some masterpiece. Personally I felt it could have and should have been a lot tighter too.

Yeh jeena bhi koi jeena hai lallu!

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[–] satyajeet_khare 15 years ago

i have seen 'crash' but not 'tsunami-the aftermath' and i must say 'mumbai meri jaan' is far superior to crash. i am in mumbai for last 4 years and can tell you that all the illogical things shown here happen mumbai.

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[–] dreamzsleep 15 years ago

I simply loved the movie,
Cinematography, editing, shots and handling of different sequences is being done so aptly, and especially the script that is very crisp with realistic and heart touching simple dialogues with humor, sensitivity and sarcasm.

Would like to answer few questions about the loop holes in the movie

1. rich guy destroying his mobile
Well! Scene depicted how poor people witness waste of money (money is taken for granted by the rich brat )and we see Irfan khan who is already has complexes in connotations with his ill treatment by the very same rich people, his spite is echoed after he is thrown out of the mall, its kept bit subtle in his opening scenes

2. police officer going for honey moon
Already frustrated and self righteous idealistic officer who is disappointed the way police are viewed and how fellow police officers are forerunners of corruption and inefficiency, all this adds up to his long desired alone honeymoon time with his wife that he of course couldn’t go to

3. insurance man in the train
Well that corporate guy usually travels in first class and one of the blast took place in first class compartment, there was a reason for him to travel in 2nd class n not die in the blast( reason was that insurance guy)

Having said all that movie is surely inspired by crash and does a good job

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[–] werwolf_dk 16 years ago

I have seen the film and liked it. Actually I think that the director has a very strong point in NOT following all threads and leaving some stories untold; that's the complexity of life. We follow the characters on their way through Mumbai, sometimes their ways cross, mostly they are unrelated, but they all make up the complexity of Mumbai - named and nameless fates.
The final scene, all people united in grief was very powerful and an evcation of that Mumbai spirit.
I wanted to see some more Bollywood and the vendor at our local bazaar recommended this film to me. - It's apity that the subtitles too often drop out. I think they've done this on purpose, because there were just enough titles to follow the story line.

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[–] nickhilster 16 years ago

i went thru the posts here and m making a guess that a majority comprises of international viewers...
so the scene which is depicted at the end of the movie is NOT FICTIONAL,the whole of the mumbai city had actually come to a stand still for two minutes,just like pausing a video,and everyone knew about it,the one's who didnt realised at the moment(just as depicted in the movie), i know it because i was stood still too.m writing this just after watching the movie, so i may be biased...and yes the movie could always do better, but then ALL MOVIES CAN ALWAYS DO BETTER :D

BOTTOM LINE: if u are a 'mumbaiker' then it would be a surprise to hand over a rating any less than the 10 stars...

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[–] alokemondkar 16 years ago

Agree - this movie could have been much more but is above average at best. It felt like a grad buffet with many dishes but you leave feeling as if something was missing.

Go see 'A Wednesday' instead - now thats a really amazing movie.

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] asksahil 16 years ago

I loved this movie. It even surpassed my expectations.
Having said that I respect everyones opinions

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[–] chitochez 16 years ago

I just watch it.
I think this is the best you can get. it is not the thriller where we have to look for loop holes in the story or some clues to look for the killer.
it is just sensitive drama about very sensitive subject. and on that this movie works perfectly. i think wednesday works fine on that level and also as a thriller.

FYI,after 9/11, hollywood didn't come with half of this kind of sensitive movie yet.

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[–] rohonnag 15 years ago

for once bollywood did something Hollywood couldnt

make a movie that doesn't patronize the people like stone's world trade center

as i saw the film it kept remind me of films like magnolia and crash

it has a lot of similarities and the film overall was well done

please dont expect tight pacing and liner plot lines with all threads neatly tied up

this film is 80% based on reality, and reality is complex and unsolved and sometimes over lengthy!

great effort by the makers

looking forward to bollywood making good cinema

Why...So..Serious? Let's put a smile on that face of yours!

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[–] Sahil_Madan 15 years ago

"for once bollywood did something Hollywood couldnt"

are you retarded? movies like crash has been a big influence to this script. Many hollywood movies are based on a true story which bollywood never has. Maybe 4-5 times. two of my favorite actors R.Madhavan and Irrfan Khan did their part perfect. They carried this movie on their shoulders, but this movie didnt carried up to expectation though. but it was a quit good movie, a good experiment.
I will give it a 7/10

recently watched movies

ghajini 7/10
billu barber 4/10
body of lies 7/10
vettaiyadu villaiyadu 8/10
dil kabaddi 6/10

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[–] benighted2005 15 years ago

I think with whatever little he had he did a great job putting a lot of faces into one film. Crash is a very very difficult film to make so imagine remaking the film with an Indian sentiment is out of the question. I give the director full marks although I did dislike the journalist's inability to scream against what was wrong but then maybe not. Irfan Khan is an outstanding actor I have to admit.

Did anyone see Aamir? In my opportunist opinion, that is the best film our industry's made with a terrorism backdrop. Even better than Wednesday.

"There. There."

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