Life in a Metro

I heard about this Indian movie's release in Amsterdam, and later knew that it was made by Anurag Basu. I like this Director – who has made a decent mark with his earlier flicks - Murder and Gangster. Apart from that the cast included Shiny Ahuja, Irfan Khan, Kay Kay and Konkona Sen – all of my favorite list of actors and actress.

The movie is about several people's lives in Bombay who are linked with each other in some way or the other. It includes a young couple 1) Kay Kay and Shilpa Shetty passing through a terrible marriage crisis, 2) an old couple – Dharmendra and Nafisa Ali who after leading their separate lives meet each other after 30 years, 3) another man and woman – Irfan and Konkana who are seeking life partners, 4) ambitious corporate executives boy and girl – Sharman Joshi and Kangana Ranaut (Gangster fame) who wants to achieve materialistic success through whatever means they can, and finally 5) there is a lonely guy - Shiny Ahuja who meets Shilpa and they fall in love with each other.

The movies revolve around these peoples' lives - the key binding link among all of them is a rainbow of love, sex, romance and selfishness.

Anurag Basu has himself scripted and written the screenplay of the movie, and because of the tight script each character emerges as real. The whole movie is sprinkled with many moments of emotional range, laughter, smiles and cries. He has handled the characters very well and executed masterly.

All the actors have given brilliant performances, but in my preference of rating - Kay Kay, Irfan, Konkana and Shilpa rate the best. Sadly Shiny's role is not long enough to give him the scope for a great performance (the character did have the depth which the Director failed to exploit). A special mention needs to be made of Dharmendra, who pleases us after a long time – with his charm and acting. The most light and best funny moments are given to the pair of Irfan and Konkana. This story line had such a big potential of even making a full length feature film like Chasme Baddoor.

There are about six songs in the movie and all of them are sung by male singers. They are composed in special Pritam styles with Sufi touch. I loved the songs and their placements in the movie.

I like the light and shades, color and tones used by Anurag Basu in all his movies and in this movie too – he has used great camera angles to capture some beautiful shots of Bombay.

Overall a good movie experience.

(Stars 7.5 out of 10)

Inspired by Love Actually and that genre of storytelling, "Life in a Metro" is a sometimes insightful and sometimes predictable movie that is well worth a watch for its performances. The narrative featuring Kay Kay and Shilpa Shetty is genuine with many insightful comments -Shilpa Shetty's about the "deafening silences in marriages", the interesting question of which between physical or emotional infidelity is worse. Kay Kay's character of being a loving father who is adored by his daughter was a further dose of realism. Nothing is black and white. Special mention to both Kay Kay and Shilpa Shetty (didn't realise she had it in her) for really pulling it off. Shiny Ahuja is adequate without being special.

The other narratives were more predictable. Sharman Joshi and Kangana Raut - which is sort of a take off from "The Apartment" with Jack Lemmon and "For Love or Money" with Michael J Fox. So were Dharmendra and Nafisa Ali as the loving elder couple.

The track with Konkona Sen and Irfan is very entertaining. Irfan Khan is outstanding - an adjective one has started to use very often with him. Konkona adequate. However the circumstances make for some genuinely funny moments. Konkona as the 30 year old virgin dying to be with her idea man and Irfan - as about the most unlikely of men she could ever see herself with.

While I would not go so far as to herald this movie as either a path-breaking or life-altering Hindi movie (as some of the more dramatic leanings have suggested), I would say it is well worth a watch. It has a good music track - but could have done without the really hairy guy singing, as we changed from one narrative to the other.

I Really enjoyed this film, i think that it is better than the reviews it has been given, all the actors gave great performances , and the story line is superb,this film takes you on a journey of life,love and all its ups and downs that people can go through.

I really like how the director has shown the lives of all the characters, and at times he used split screen to do so. I think the film is wonderful how the music is played during the dramatic scenes,with an actual live trio guy band, i think they are famous , but I'm not sure since i am not that educated in Asian films,but i take it they are because they are great!!! the effect is just fantastic, it is a film that has shown much of a creative side that makes you more drawn as you watch.

A must see film

Life In A Metro, and touching almost every aspect.

After long Hindi cinema has finally taken the jump and started dealing with more in depth emotional subjects. We get intelligent dialogue that looks and comes across naturally. Real issues faced by the modern Indians of today brought to life in this brilliant thought provoking films. that leaves you questioning several aspects of the movie. Shilpa's acting is the best I have seen out of all her movies. Konkona, Kangana, Irfan, Shiny, Kay Kay and Sharman have all acted brilliantly. the scenes between Shilpa and Shiny have been done brilliantly as have the scenes between Dharmendra and Shivani. The film starts of interestingly and engrosses you further, as the story unfolds. the soundtrack lends itself beautifully to the surroundings and you get a sense of a modern vibrant moving city with real people leading real lives (not your usual song and dance sequences around the world) This film portrays a deeper unexplored side of human nature that is very rarely addressed in Hindi films. Brilliantly shot and acted. A must see film.