Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai

This is a Hindi language film starring Naseeruddin Shah with the title role.

The film has a good premise, trying to pick up a man on the street and portray the conditions around him that frusThis is a Hindi language film starring Naseeruddin Shah with the title role.\n \nThe film has a good premise, trying to pick up a man on the street and portray the conditions around him that frustrate and anger him. Such a film can be made as applicable for a given time and place, as in this case done for Mumbai in 1980. No wonder, the film has been remade recently, and it can and should be, globally by film makers everywhere, as a reflection of society at that slice of time and place.\n \nThe star cast is brilliant and talented and all have shone in whatever scenes they got. It is also clear that the story writer did have some messages to give. How the anger of the protagonist was towards more trivial issues earlier, and more impulsive. To how it grew into well moulded and towards bigger issues, in a sense more liberating.\n \nBut the way it has been executed is really very poor. The movie moves at a very boring pace.. And even at less than 2 hours, which is far shorter than an average film length in those times, could still have been either better executed via creativity or better screenplay. Or better edited..\n \nMany of the scenes had nothing to do with the theme of the film. Nor has a good flow been maintained to keep it entertaining. I wouldn\'t be surprised if many couldn\'t just lost interest in the film and stopped watching it half way..\n \nI rated it 6/10 in IMDB.\n \ntrate and anger him. Such a film can be made as applicable for a given time and place, as in this case done for Mumbai in 1980. No wonder, the film has been remade recently, and it can and should be, globally by film makers everywhere, as a reflection of society at that slice of time and place.

The star cast is brilliant and talented and all have shone in whatever scenes they got. It is also clear that the story writer did have some messages to give. How the anger of the protagonist was towards more trivial issues earlier, and more impulsive. To how it grew into well moulded and towards bigger issues, in a sense more liberating.

But the way it has been executed is really very poor. The movie moves at a very boring pace.. And even at less than 2 hours, which is far shorter than an average film length in those times, could still have been either better executed via creativity or better screenplay. Or better edited..

Many of the scenes had nothing to do with the theme of the film. Nor has a good flow been maintained to keep it entertaining. I wouldn't be surprised if many couldn't just lost interest in the film and stopped watching it half way..

'Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai' revolves around the Pintos and the people connected to them. There's Albert who's pretty much angry at everybody. His brother Dominic who thinks it's better to be jobless than to work an underpaid job, his patient sister Joan who works at a sarishop, his independent girlfriend Stella who feels under-appreciated by her boyfriend, his father and his colleagues, client and Stella's family. The film is very much a social commentary about Middle-class life in Bombay during the late 70s and the conflicts arising in the labour force because workers were getting severely underpaid. Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Kundan Shah don't follow a story with a distinct resolution. It's more of a collage with the Pinto family at the center and how the conflict in labour force affects them and the people around them. The writers give it a touch of comedy satire but they're also serious about making a relevant point. Akhtar Mirza succeeds in his approach to bringing the story to screen. Naserrudin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Arvind Deshpande, Sulabha Deshpande and Om Puri deliver outstanding performances. I particularly liked Smita's straight to the point Joan who has to live with a physical handicap and yet she manages to keep her head high and go to work. While everyone around her is either worried or in chaos, she remains calm and patient and has the answer to all questions.

Probably, the biggest contribution of this movie is the name "Albert Pinto". You would find references of this name in many other occasions, most of the times mockingly, often targeted towards a short-tempered man.

In my venture of discovering the gems of yesteryear and also, in this particular case, to find the legend behind the legacy, I watched this movie with great anticipation. And as one of the other reviewers has said in this forum, I was disappointed because of my wrong expectations. The movie is more of a mockumentary on the socio-economy situation of 70s/80s Bombay especially the life and strives of working class people, than a full-fledged movie with a plot exploring the idiosyncrasies of the hotheaded Abert Pinto. It's not that the movie didn't have any characters. Rather, it had many parts enacted by the legends of parallel cinema in India, the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Om Puri, et al. But, most of the characters are underdeveloped, solely because the intent of the movie has never been to tell a story, rather to depict life in its rawest form, in the slums, in the garages, in the mills of Bombay. Be it economic exploitation of the under-privileged by the capitalists, or the sexual abuse faced by the working women by the unscrupulous bosses, or the rise of mafia and paid-goondas in order to curb the rising rebellions, or the constant striving of the young men chasing dollar dreams, or amidst all these chaos how existence holds on to equanimity – the movie chooses carefully not portray any biased picture, but to present to the spectators the true sense of life and struggle. The movie doesn't show anything that we don't see in our everyday life – and that's simultaneously the plus and the minus of the movie.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't fulfill the huge expectations I had. If you really love it, probably you belong to the intellectual class who appreciate movies on various other aspects than mere story or performances. If you are looking for only entertainment, stay away.

Its a simple film, but takes a turn after the first half where they mention the seious issue regarding Millworkers. I dont wanna give away the film entirely in this review, but I'd say that every character's story was incomplete in a way, which is not bad but unique especially in 1980s I believe, as during that period many movies were of Romance OR Action genre, and this seems to be a bit different, which is why I used the word Unique. I really enjoyed Naseeruddin's acting, his persona in the film was fun to watch. There is basic humour in dialogues (without bgm laughters/claps), which some might find off, but I liked it. For example Joan's response to the guy who says 'Aap meri behen jaise dikhti ho', Albert's dialgoue which follows Mr. Braganza's words after their conversation, 'Ye sab strike wike sab gunda logon ka kaam hai'. If you get it, you get it. Wrapping it shortly, one beautiful film this was portraying a life of a Mechanic who has anger issues but is funny by nature as well with a social issue entering in his and the city's life.

Directed by the creator of the rags to riches story "raju ban gaya gentleman" and the excellent tongue-in-cheek comedy "Yes Boss" this is a superlative movie about the life of the Indian lower middle class of the late 70s. The angst, the issues are portrayed in a poignant manner. The acting is memorable with Naseerudin Shah as the titular character overshadowing everybody else. There are also other great actors like Om Puri in a two bit role, Satish Shah in a small but effective role as a local ruffian, Smita Patil as the handicapped sister of Albert(absolutely intense performance) and above them, Shabana Azmi as the girlfriend of Albert who has to bear his tantrums and face his insecurities regarding her. The movie plays on the backdrop of the Mumbai Cloth Mill strike. It perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the 70s like Dev D. did for the the first decade of the millennium. A must watch for every lover of good cinema. This is one movie which Indians should be proud of. The technical details could have been better but it has its heart in the right place. 4 out of 5 for this. A shame that no channel carries such socially relevant movies any more.