Metro... In Dino

A modern take that tries to recapture the charm of Life in a... Metro, but falls just short.

Anurag Basu, known for his heartfelt, layered storytelling in films like Life in a... Metro, Gangster, Barfi!, and Ludo, returns with Metro... In Dino - a film that attempts to revisit the emotional and interconnected lives of people in a bustling city like Mumbai. While it brings some strong moments and thoughtful themes, it doesn't quite achieve the narrative tightness or emotional resonance of its 2007 predecessor.

Plot Summary (No Major Spoilers): The film follows four parallel stories, each centered around love, loss, and rediscovery:

Akash & Shruti - A married couple on the brink of parenthood, struggling with financial issues and career setbacks. The stress convinces them to consider abortion, raising deep moral and emotional questions.

Parth & Chumki - Chumki, a corporate employee engaged to someone she's unsure about, meets Parth. Their relationship blooms amidst complications, offering a glimpse into modern love and hesitation.

Kajol & Monty - A married couple with a teenage daughter, facing emotional decay as Monty turns to dating apps in search of excitement. Kajol's quiet hurt is among the more affecting aspects of the film.

Shibani & Parimal - Shibani, the mother of Chumki and Kajol, is an older woman who finds companionship in Parimal after years of dealing with her husband's betrayal. Their story offers the most gentle and emotionally honest moments in the film.

Each story unfolds in its own arc but eventually intersects, mirroring the structure of Life in a... Metro, though without the same emotional impact.

What Works: Performances: The cast delivers solid, believable performances, especially the more experienced actors like Neena Gupta (as Shibani) and Anupam Kher (as Parimal). Sara Ali Khan somehow made a very decent comeback as Chumki, and Ali Fazal & Fatima Sana deliver a very nuanced performance.

Pankaj Tripathi performs immaculately, but Konkona & Aditya were very flat in their performance and didn't create much impact in the story.

Music: Pritam manages to maintain the live band sequence this time with Papon & Raghav Chaitanya, similar to Life in a Metro, and delivers a few emotionally resonant tracks that complement the tone. Zamaana Lage and Dil Ka Kya were the main highlights. But too many songs and the balance between scenes & music ratio was off compared to Life in a Metro.

Themes: The film captures relevant emotional and relational issues - urban isolation, generational gaps, infidelity, and the search for meaningful connection, but the 2nd half becomes extremely far-fetched and loses momentum later on, making the end very less tight and out of context.

Overall, this is a one-time watch. While it starts off with a good narrative, the second half becomes too stretched with too many songs, and the editing is less crisp. Maybe a tighter ending, this would've been my two cents of advice to Anurag Basu.

Metro In Dino opens with one of the best musical beginnings, where characters break the fourth wall and instantly pull you in. You do not even realise when twenty minutes have flown by. Everyone in the cast does well, though Ali and Fatima come across as slightly stiff in emotionally charged scenes. Adi is effortless and charismatic, and Sara pairs well with him. Neena Gupta and Anupam Kher remind you of their experience with ease. Pankaj and Konkona are the real standouts, with Pankaj bringing sharp comic timing through his subtle expressions and improvised bits. Pritam's music is wonderfully woven into the narrative. The songs do not just support the story, they carry its soul.

The first half is tight and keeps you thoroughly engaged.

It is the second half where the film loses some grip. The storylines begin to feel stretched, and the endings are not clearly defined. A few subplots could have been skipped to bring in more clarity and depth. That said, the camerawork and visual setups in some scenes are beautiful and worth appreciating. The film explores themes of infidelity and emotional detachment, and it leaves you with a feeling that this is the generalisation the film wants you to settle with. The resolution feels rushed and a bit too convenient. In the end, Metro In Dino remains a musically rich experience with a gripping first half, but the latter part misses the same emotional weight and leaves you wishing for a more satisfying conclusion.

OVERALL 7.5/10.

The songs are beautiful. Anupam Kher's arc has the most tragic outcome and he, like Shiney Ahuja in the first part, remains all by himself. Ali Fazal and Fatima's story has a lot of soul too. Basu could have snapped short on Konkona and Pankaj Tripathi's story because it drags after a point, drags to irritation. Sara and Aditya's story had a lot of wit and charm, but lacked soul. And there was ABSOLUTELY no need for horse-shoeing the Rainbow prpaganda. It murdered an otherwise fascinating film.

"Zamana lage" and "Aankh mudi, khwab aya" are the best picks among Pritam's melodies.

The cinematography, as always, is delicious.

I just wish Basu goes back to making little gems like Barfi and Jagga Jasoos.

His Gangster and Metro days are best left behind.

Its really touches the heart. Diverse character portrayed with blend of frankness, perplexed minds which truly represents the real life dramas. Watching it was like enjoying vacation that really refreshes your mind and give a new fresh energy to life that help us to connect with characters of the movies one way or another.

Not sure from where this movie is getting all those rave reviews. For someone who has watched first one like 10 times, it was easy to guess that the makers actually tried to make a failed and a toxic replica. May be in life of all these celebrities but stuff shown in this movie doesn't happen in real people's life. The funda of first casually sabotaging a relationship and then applying a bandage over it was new and used to work 18 years ago but not today. People understand the value of a relationship and what it takes to build it no matter what kind of past they have. I literally found the movie way too negative. Lots of cliched dialogs, deliberate attempts of including hidden adult content in songs, Sara Ali Khan.... I mean there were so many things that were wrong about this movie.