Mumbai Express

One of most unnoticed classic comedy, Even though the film won good reviews, the cinematography had been done experimentally with a digital movie camera and mainly due to the digital film implementation resulting in a slight dark output which left the viewer uneasy. The film, although widely considered a loss, was a great success technology-wise in the Indian cinema industry.

The National Award-winning critic Baradwaj Rangan praised the movie in his review as "one of Kamal Haasan's most tight-knit, most convoluted screenplays, where every pratfall, every pun, every preposterous moment seems to have been spat on, polished, and precisely positioned into an overall jigsaw pattern". He added that "Mumbai Xpress isn't exactly an all-out comedy. Like Pushpak, it's the blues with belly laughs, a stack of serious issues coated with smiles."

Take and mix a bit of the essential ingredients of classics of Buster Keaton, Peter Sellers and Steve Martin - Indianise them by using a strong screenplay as a base cook it in a humor 'microwave' and spray it with a nice tangy flavor of native accents and colloquial phrases a.k.a. one liners, embellish it with a (music) score that mocks and laughs at the performers on the screen (!) - and that should tickle you, besides the movie itself!!- And you have a classic - MUMBAI XPRESS.

Still From Mumbai ExpressAfter reading the array of mixed reviews, yours truly watched the movie without an inkling of a bias, but with oodles of anticipation based on the confidence that Padma Shri Kamal Hassan has nurtured in people like me over the years - it was a different experience - but be warned, this is no APPU RAJA, no PUSHPAK, or CHACHI 420 - in fact, the slapstick elements are so inconspicuously inserted that you wouldn't notice that they are slapstick after all! A story of a kidnap gone awry could have gone wrong in 'n' number of ways - but a cleverly scripted screenplay takes care of it.

James Bond says to the new Q in one of the recent 007 flicks "You are cleverer than you look" for which Q replies "it is still better than looking cleverer than you actually are"! Much of the 'mishy mashy' Indian filmy comedies belong to the latter category - the entire feel and aura of MX (and most movies of Kamal for that matter) makes you think that it is "cleverer than it looks".

Therein lies the intelligence of the humor in the movie, an intelligence that does not test and exasperate the commoner, yet shows itself as intelligence nevertheless.

Kamal has a penchant for discovering and nurturing audaciously talented people in the film industry.

Atul Kulkarni was picked up from Marathi theatre/Indian National School of Drama - his performance in HEY RAM made history and opened up new vistas for him. 'Vikram' Dharma was yet another so-so stuntman, until Kamal set his eyes on him and gave him a new lease of life. Likewise, Raaz is yet another amazing talent - his performance in MX on several occasions, far outsmarts Kamal's - but then Kamal has deliberately underplayed his role as Avinash. This underplaying of each character is yet another strength of the movie, which gives the movie its much deliciously enjoyable 'poker-faced' feel - every character in the movie, on most occasions delivers the dialogue in such deadpan fashion with a poker face, and yet make you laugh! Buster Keaton was a poker-faced actor used to delivering dialogues in deadpan fashion and send the audiences roaring in laughter! A classic example is that of Sarat Saxena with a 'please-no-expressions' face, asks Avinash (MUMBAI EXPRESS) to go after speaking to Om Puri over the phone - you know what is coming, and you start laughing in anticipation, even before he even starts speaking to Avinash! The soundtrack - being a veteran music aficionado connoisseur, I cannot but gasp at Ilaiyaraaja's inexhaustible bag of tricks! The audio tracks of the movie have by themselves given a feel for the movie and after watching the movie, let me assure one and all, lock, stock and several barrels, anyone other than Ilaiyaraaja for the movie, it would have been an actual "Bhandar aur phool maala" experience - the intelligence with which the tracks have been used to gel with the storyline and script is something upcoming film music composers ought to learn from! So where does the movie 'appear not as clever as it seems' then?! The romance angle between Avinash and Ahalya seems to have been a rush job infused into the storyline as a last-minute decision, but be assured, you don't notice its oddity in the bigger melee of fun and laughter - it can be pardoned - why even recent big Hollywood comedy flicks like SHALLOW HAL or JUST MARRIED are 80% odd and 20% plausible! With a top-notch work like this, by all means, the cash register should be ringing loud and clear - it has been declared a wholesome family entertainer even in inaccessible Ahmedabad and Kanpur - the success of this movie should spur Kamal's single-minded obsession with creating more classics and entertain us more.

Excellent Movie. Everybody acted good in the movie. Songs and BGM in the movie were not so good. The comedy scenes in the movie were hilarious. This movie is one of the Best Movie of Kamal Haasan. The movie did not lagged or bored at all. Excellent Movie.

This is one of the funniest movies I have ever watched. I have not seen Tamil version but I have seen Hindi version. I watched first 20 mins of this movie and my jaw is already hurting. This movie has too much fun just like Hera Feri and Anadaz Apana Apana. I totally disagree with other commenters who mentioned that Kamal hasan's acting is not great in this movie. Kamal and other team members did amazing job. Don't expect all movies like Sadma. This is comedy movie and you should not expect some serious acting in it. This is not kamal hasan movie. Just watch it as a funny movie. This movie has all the masti/laughter/enjoyment. I seriouly do not understand problem of other commenters. This is very under-rated movie. Must watch movie. This is one of the funniest movies I have ever watched. I have not seen Tamil version but I have seen Hindi version. I watched first 20 mins of this movie and my jaw is already hurting. This movie has too much fun just like Hera Feri and Anadaz Apana Apana. I totally disagree with other commenters who mentioned that Kamal hasan's acting is not great in this movie. Kamal and other team members did amazing job. Don't expect all movies like Sadma. This is comedy movie and you should not expect some serious acting in it. This is not kamal hasan movie. Just watch it as a funny movie. This movie has all the masti/laughter/enjoyment. I seriouly do not understand problem of other commenters. This is very under-rated movie. Must watch movie.

Thoroughly enjoyable movie. I especially appreciated the acting of Kamal Hassan which reminded me of one of the very old French movie about the kidnapping of a child done by French comic Fernandel. It is especially tough to play a dummy, it takes more intelligence to play a fool. I have been to India on a few occasions, in Tamil Nadu, for work on AIDS with the MGR University, and this movie reminded me of everything I found charming and everything I found exhilarating or unbearable in India, such as the bureaucrats, quite as bad as the French bureaucrats. There is nothing profound in the movie, why should there be? It's just enjoyable all the way through and I am a real fan of funny movies. Seems to me that's often the best way to reflect back on life. Best is that it's a good slice of life in India. Like the international bestseller book "Shantakaram" the Australian (G.D.Roberts) bestseller, in a different register, since it is both adventurous, lively, and a good painting of Indian life.