99

I never expected that the film will be such a great experience but film was great with great background score and great direction and acting the film is a must watch...

"Chakka kisine Maara...Paisa kisine haara" -- haunts me even after a day of watching this super thriller...I could so well relate to Rahul -- the Hansie Cronje, if you will, of the movie -- A character you could only pity. Boman for me was the highlight of the movie.

Cricket is such an integral part of the movie that you have a 'reel' Sachin with a 'reel' Dravid (although a fatso) -- Keeps Sachin good company throughout the movie -- much like the Sachin, Dravid partnerships that we are accustomed to on the cricket field. Kunal is impressive and seems to have taken his acting to the next level from his previous movies. Cyrus evokes enough laughter to keep you engaged. Soha, as her role demands, was very suave and subdued.

Import-Export business king Kuber is another highlight -- his one-liners are bound to become popular in bollywood cinema in the years to come -- "Checking"..."Cut Again"..."Give Respect" etc..much like Vivek in Flavors, if you remember, -- "You Grow Up"...Accompanying him is "Dimple", taking me back to "Michael Madana Kama Rajan's" Kamal-Bheem combo.

Talking of one-liners, there's no dearth of those in the movie -- be it AMG leaving a 'message' after the 'beep' OR the wannabe in the hotel lobby threatening to buy the 5-star hotel or the popular theory about how cell phones would hurt your entire body, heck I even liked the dude on the street giving TV interview of what he saw of the culprits.

Another aspect of the movie was the subtlety with which certain things are shown -- be it the kids flaunting their bounty hunt on the road or Rahul's "oh!" at the fall of a wicket on a match he bet on, while in the Y2k meeting room -- the directors quality of letting small events tell a story of its own shows up as a highlight.

Although not having songs interrupt the story flow is a welcome change -- having listened to the music album, you almost wish that you see the full version of the songs play out..most people stay in the theater through the credits because of the "What's up" song...come to think of it...shouldn't't "Whats up"? song be the opening credit as a way of the débutant directors saying Hello to Bollywood? may be they are setting us up for a sequel, who knows...LoL..

Background score is slick and cocky and suits the mood..

This "99" is bound to cross Lara's 400 and become a "trend-setter" for future Bollywood generation.

Imagine I asked you to describe what your life was like a decade ago... Right, me neither - so instead, Imagine I asked you to make up a story of your life based on key events that happened to you 10 years ago but fill in the rest as you like... Now imagine how much harder it would be if I asked that the story you were creating also had to bridge to the current day events back then

It is a daunting task and one which the writers of 99 have done with flair and function. The script is whip-smart in the way it combines popular trends (cell phones, bhojpuri movies, the onset of cafes) of the time with the news making events (y2k, cricket match fixing) of the time to narrate a truly innovative story. All this while adding twists and turns to the main plot that will keep you buckled to your seat for the 2hr ride.

The casting was genius - Especially true of, Soha Ali Khan (as the girl next door that you want to take home to mom) Kunal Khemu (as 'NOT the bigger-than-thou hero who doesn't need your rooting for him to make a century'), Amit Mistry (as the lil guy with a big stick - aka dimple) and Boman Irani (as the most frustrating, gambler-husband-who-you-love-nevertheless ever).

Kunal is a natural born actor and in Amit, a star has just been born.

Why you will love it : Sharp dialogues, sharper delivery, excellent acting all round, awesome cinematography, fantastic music Why you might settle for liking it : The movie is in a genre that is new to Bollywood - "What, I don't have to be awed by the hero's machismo and the heroine's svelte body?", "What, the lead characters are the underdogs that I will want to root for, rather than supermen who drive Lamborghinis and live in palaces?", "what, I will hope that the hero escapes from the bad guy rather than making mincemeat of the villains face?".

The genre is called a 'crime caper' but 99, refuses to be boxed neatly into a category and insists on being a comedy-historical fiction-and-much-more

This movie wont change your life - don't expect to leave the movie inspired and moved. It will be more like you stepped off a roller coaster ride and you want to go back to the end of the line again.

Ladies, It would be like eating a perfectly whipped chocolate mousse - Enjoy!

Krishna DK, Sita Menon and Raj Nidimoru deserve a pat for writing and attempting something like '99' in Indian Cinema.

How interesting to think of, '99' takes you a decade back and makes you feel the year. Often we've seen people in Cinema, taking us to yesteryear's that have something to do with history, be it Independence, a moment of Violence, mostly something like that. But in '99', the 3 intelligent writers take us back when the Cricket World-Cup was going on.

Directors Krishna DK & Raj Nidimoru make it a point, that you remember the decade on celluloid with Pure Fun. '99' is a winner all the way... in all respects in wins your heart! The film was a decent success, and the following the film will achieve in the nearby future is nothing short of 'Cult'.

Expectations are limited; Entertainment, here is unlimited.

Performance-wise: Boman Irani & Mahesh Manjrekar steal the show. Boman, is fantastic as always. Manjrekar is simply superb; his one-liners are hilarious. Kunal Khemu suits his part to the T and delivers a confident performance. The plus point of the youngster, is that, he's natural all through, in all of his films. Soha Ali Khan is good. Cyrus Broacha is funny. Simone Singh is decent. Amit Mistry is another surprise packet; he's excellent and his broken English is hilarious to hear. Sudesh Berry is alright. Vinod Khanna needs no mentioning, the veteran is superb as ever.

on the whole '99' is smart, witty and really entertaining. A joyride! Thumbs Up!

A brave and an honest attempt. Its indeed a fresh concept which deserves to be applauded. Easy pitfall for the Gen-X for the film-makers to go overboard and end up with a product thats shares similarity to a text- book. In simple words it ends up being a GM fruit/ veggie. The director duo manage to retain the natural "flavour" to the proceedings.

Ө Kunal Khemu:: He was good in most parts and does need to polish his skills. The character was a bit "too posh" for his background.

Ө Cyrus:: Either his character was bad or Cyrus is a bad actor (owing to which his role got massacred on the editing table). Regardless, should have taken inspiration from Circuit.

Ө Soha:: As usual, nothing was expected out of her or the character. So its "status-quo". Neha-Pooja reference was good.

Ө Boman Irani:: Well can be safely said that the entire movie rests on him and he manages to bear the weight effortlessly. The name Rahul was a bit too modern for the character.

Ө Simone Singh:: The role could have been safely purged from the plot. There is nothing the character contributes to the storyline.

Ө Vinod Khanna:: Well, what can be said of Mr. Suave. He is suave in the role.

Ө Mahesh Manjrekar::Infuses life into the character owing to which manages to draw good laughs. And very authentic look indeed.

Ө Amit Mistry:: Make way for this fresh talent, he is surely to stay and give tough fight to Rajpal Yadav (similarity in size too!).

99 can also be classified as a period film as it attempts to recreate the 1999-2000 scene (mobile, betting, Clinton's visit & the out-of-the- box idea of Coffee shop). There are a few goofs which can be safely ignored.

Clearly evident is the inspiration from Pulp Fiction. Gentlemen the "rabbit-out-of-hat" is no doubt Tarantino'ism.

When the audience were practically dying of starvation owing to the multiplexes strike, wonder why "99" wasn't lapped up as manna from heaven. Beats me!

Bottomline:: This John Doe deserves more recognition.