David

Many a times there are instances when we receive a very attractive & elegantly designed print advertisement or invitation mailed to our address, informing us about a new lavish restaurant in our locality with some tempting offers. Impressed by the look of the card, we opt for it in the next weekend and really love the ambiance of the place, decorated beautifully with many well chosen props and great music playing in the background along with a pleasant staff. But after a while when we are finished with our dinner and dessert, we don't feel like having served something exceptional or out of this world. The taste is just the same as usual and the food fails to rise above the routine, which doesn't allow us to say that it was an entertaining evening well lived or enjoyed.

Now exactly same is the case with David, which has everything fine in technical terms but still is not able to convince or entertain the viewers at all as promised by its well designed promos. Director Bejoy Nambiar (of SHAITAAN fame) chooses a script which must have looked innovative and exciting on paper talking about 3 different Davids in 3 contrasting eras of 1975, 1999 and 2010 connecting with each other in the climax. And he also begins quite well with the 1975 era shown in grey tone making way for the other two in bright colours. But as the film progresses, the narration neither gives you any entertaining moments nor has any unexpected shocks stored for the viewer till the intermission.

Actually as soon as we know that the film is about 3 different Davids, its anybody's guess that the three will eventually find a connection with each other in the climax and that's precisely what David offers in the end without making any kind of solid impression on the viewers. The second half has some better moments in comparison to the first but those too are not able to pull you in collectively. Moreover few insertions in the script are really absurd like the spirit of 2010 David's dead father entering into various persons in order to talk with his son and 1999 David's meaningless relationship with her gorgeous student. Also there is a scene in which a kid is shown drinking straight from the bottle like an adult which strangely was not objected by our honorable censor board who strongly thinks that cigarette smoking should not be shown on the screen without any warning notification.

The different stories of 3 DAVIDs keep coming in one after another indicating towards a conclusive end but none of them is engaging enough to provide you the much needed excitement resulting in enough boring moments in its both halves. Having said that, I really loved watching & hearing the maestro REMO after a long time and this made me remember all his hit songs of the 90s once again. The man really eats, sleeps & lives music literally and it was really sad that he decided to isolate himself from the industry after that tragic unfortunate event in his life.

Coming back to David, its undoubtedly a technically polished product with a stunning cinematography experimenting with different colour tones and an energetic background score composed well. Its frames are interesting and characterisation intense which unfortunately fails to deliver an equally amusing film in totality. Musically too David is unable to hit the right note and I really didn't like the forced & energy-less remixed version of the famous "Dama Dumb Mast Qalander" used unnecessarily.

Content wise, the story of 1975 has the same Mafia Don's family affairs shot perfectly featuring a passionate love affair and the 2010 section has the ages old love and sacrifice formula used once again without any vision. Therefore the David in 1999 here has something new in terms of storyline depicting the real meaning of religion expressed in few well written dialogues in its second half. But since the film fails to en- cash these impressive moments further, it remains only a well attempted product in the end with few unjustified revelations made in its climax, questionably pointing towards the writers. For instance its really confusing to see the two middle aged intelligence people in 1975 suddenly shooting at unarmed David and his father like mafia dons and then a hardcore musician becoming a Father in the Church at such a young age.

Interestingly in the performance department too I have a different opinion than most of the reviewers since I found the acts of Vinay Virmani (1999) and Vikram (2010) much better than the one by Neil Nitin Mukesh (1975). Though Vikram was given the most clichéd plot to work upon (looking overage for his role of a one sided lover), the actor still delivers an honest performance along with Vinay Virmani who simply excels as the helpless youngster in front of the powerful politicians. Neil Nitin Mukesh performs well too but as I felt he couldn't move ahead that the other two Davids in the film mainly due to his routine kind of plot (1975) shot artistically. In the supporting cast there are many renowned names such as Tabu, Lara Dutta, Milind Soman, Satish Kaushik and Prahlad Kakkar (in a cameo) who all do well in their small roles. Monica Dogra and Isha as the love interests make an impact along with Rohini Hattangadi as the politician and Nasser as the targeted Father spreading Christianity. Plus Akarsh Khurana, Neil Bhoopalam, Nishan Nanaiah, Ajinkya Deo, Sheetal Menon & Shweta Pandit (Singer turned actor) all shine in their small acts throughout.

In all, David is technically perfect and a visual treat to watch with some impressive sequences post intermission. But despite of so many positive features in its making the film fails to hold you convincingly in more than two hours of its duration and thus cannot be rated more than an above average venture.

Bejoy Nambiar's Shaitan was terrific. David will entertain you (with some yawns here and there), but thought-provoking? No! David is mercuric.

The cast is well-endowed and all of them have done well. The three main leads have done absolute justice with their portrayals while the supporting cast is okay (with reference to Milind & Chinnappa), too. Raw talent Vinay Virmani looks promising. Now what detaches from the flick is the third element with Vikram and the Goa thing - it just didn't click for me. Yet the Isha-Vikram duo will get you eat the romance. Wonderful! Also, all the 3 stories had the panache for single films and like someone else has written it, is true - Two Is Company, Three Is Crowd! ;)

Direction is superb, screenplay might get you unhooked for some time and the plot about heartbreak and love - well, it is a good one but the melange of details will bore you as it has its big share of clichés from stunt scenes to superfluous comic timings. With keeping accuracy and magnificence, Nambiar could manage with the ecstasy and exoticism here. Yet, it feels like it lacked substance but the retrospection and oodles of style will make you magnetic.

Had the plot not been too draggy to tell you this wonderful story, David could have been a chart-buster - come February 2013! January couldn't impress me. You must give it a try though, because it is very different from the usual Bollywood trademark films and has the momentum to make you understand the underlying message the three stories depict singularly.

Bottom line: David is not for the red-reclining-couch but yes, if you haven't anything to do this weekend and are tired of the high-octane January releases (read Race 2), go for it!

WATCH OUT FOR: dapper Neil, the newcomer, some cheesy sequences, romance-filled songs, respite from masala movies/item numbers, etc.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Language: Strong | Violence: Strong | Sex: Mediocre | Foreplay: Strong | Mouth-Liss: Strong | Gore: Strong | Nudity: Strong | Alcohol: Strong | Alcohol: Strong | Smoking: Strong

Three different stories, of different periods, almost not intersecting, yet making an enjoyable, watchable movie. Vikram as Goan David is brilliant. Neil Nitin Mukesh as London David is good. Monica Dogra in her short appearance is breath-taking. Dance moves of Isha Sharvani in 'Tere Mere Pyar Ki' song is graceful . Isha is cute as always. Sheetal Menon looks as smart as she looked in Bejoy Nambiar's earlier original "Shaitan".. Regular Hindi movie watchers are used to longer and more meaningful roles from Tabu, Lara Dutt, Rohini Hathangady and Satish Kaushik .. So the viewers are likely to feel a bit disappointed..Sarika does not seem to have aged at all.. Two songs "Tere mere pyar ki" and " Yun hi re " are outstanding in tune and singing.. Photograpy is good.. The comic scenes of Saurav Shukla as Goan David's father is really good and original.. The movie could have done better with slightly more intense story and a shorter length..

In 2004 Mani Ratnam experimented with 'Yuva' which was an unusual tale of three different people and how their stories get entangled with each others. Later we saw many such types of films being made in our Hindi film industry. Most of them followed the similar path what Mani Ratnam has set apart, but then there were few who dared to attempt something different. After receiving fantastic reviews for his debut film 'Shaitan', Director Bejoy Nambiar comes up with his latest film 'David' which narrates the story of three different people sharing the same name but set in different era. So let's find out whether this movie too is on the similar grounds of 'Yuva' & other such movies or might set an altogether different benchmark.

'David' is story of Neil Nitin Mukesh {Set in 1975 – London}, Vinay Virmani {Set in 1999 – Mumbai} & Chiyaan Vikram {Set in 2011 – Goa}. All of them share one thing in common & that's their name –David. Certain changes happen in their lives making life complicated for them. What do all these David do & how the story does unfold is what the entire film is all about.

All the three stories are unique & different. I personally loved the Chiyaan Vikram followed by Neil Nitin Mukesh's stories. Vinay Virmani's story starts on interesting note but as movie progresses, the story starts diluting in super speed. One might find bit uncomfortable in the initial moments of the film as there are lot of stuff happening in the silver screen. But as you get inside the skin of the film, you tend to enjoy it even more. Screenplay in first half is brilliant, second half is also good but is super stretched thus lowering down the impact of the film. There are some brilliant moments like the whole attack over Ghani, Vinay's daily routine, Naseer shaving in his passage, Vikram's chat with his friend followed by the whole brawl in the bar, Vikram & his mother looking for bride, Almost all Saurabh Shukla – Vikram scenes, Vikram convincing Prahlad Khakkar, Monica Dogra's support to Neil & many more.

On the the story of Vinay Virmani seemed bit weak in comparison to other chapters. Right from the reason of attacking Naseer to the cooperator revealing the truth to Vinay or even a stranger instigating him and few more did not turn up as they should have on the silver screen. At few places the makers goofed up over the date's issues but on overall basis played brilliantly with the different time zone. One of the major flaw of the film is that it's too long, especially in the second half where it seemed over stretched. Dialogs by Tariq Siddiqui {In Neil Nitin Mukesh chapter} deserve a special mention.

Camera work is fantastic. All the era's looked stunning especially the black & white era and the whole Goa chapter looking total warm and colorful. R. Rathnavelu, R. Madhi & Sejal Shah takes the cinematography to another level. The whole movie is a visual treat, thanks to these creative guys. Editing is crisp in first half, wish it was the same later on.

Music by various musicians bring the needed flavor in this film. One might enjoy 'Maria', 'Ghum Hue', 'Bande Ki Daastaan' & 'Damadum Mast Kalander'. Other songs fails to make impact.

Bejoy Nambiar chooses a different and stylish pattern to narrate his tale. He is total opposite of what we saw him in his debut film – 'Shaitan'. Out here he keeps you glued to silver screen with his creativity. The usage of different tones for all the different era goes well with the flop of the film. He takes forward the art of technical direction, just the way genius like Mukul S Anand, Rajiv Menon or Santosh Sivan did in their times. Wished the director would have controlled his love for the longer script and trimmed down the film by 20 Min's, the whole finale impact would've been more hard hitting.

Neil Nitin Mukesh looks fantastic and does his part with total justice. When it comes to Grey shade role he is perfect choice. Akarsh Khurana as Ghani was total impressive. Monica Dogra looked great. Neil Bhoopalam in small cameo does his part. Milind Soman might remind you of Kiran Kumar from Angaar. Ajinkya Dave, Nikhil Chinappa, Sarika does good special appearance. Vinay Vrmani looks cute and fits perfectly in his role, wished he had some good writing attached to it. Nasser is a veteran classic actor who shines even in small role. Sheetal Menon is great support along with Rohini Hattangadi & Shweta Pandit. Lara Dutta looked bit healthy in her guest role. Satish Kaushik was total wasted. Chiyaan Vikram was hilarious in his rascal type role. He keeps entertaining you with his screen antics. Tabu is superb in her small part. Isha looks beautiful. Saurabh Shukla was fantastic. Prahlad Khakkar, Remo and others were enjoyable.

Dumb Han in terms of brilliant direction, technical aspects, two entertaining chapters and some decent performances along with gala of great actors. A total treat for cinema lovers who love to see something creative and out of the box, But the overall theme might be bit confusing for the general audience as lots of stuff keeps happening around, making it hard for them to understand. Also the length of the film dilutes the theme of the film. Out of three stories I liked two, which reminded me of the famous idiom - Two's company, three's a crowd.

OK, many people gave negative reviews because they were not able to keep up with the plot. This movie has everything, action, drama, comedy, romance, tragedy, amazing cinematography, superb songs, and quite unique style of handling a movie.

Although superficially it may look like a movie with three protagonist with same name 'David', last few minutes really define the movie name and common string that holds all three stories together.

Some references to decide whether you'll like it or not

If you like Quentin Tarantino - Please go watch David

If you love rock music -just watch the movie for "Mast Kaladar" rock version

If you can like Neil Nitin Mukesh - this is a must watch

If you like art movies - you are on borderline

If you like Amir Khan's performance in Talaash - you are on borderline

If you like Karan Johar movies - this is waste of money for you

If you love Shahrukh Khan - you'll hate this flick

If you like Amir Khan in 3Idiots - you won't like this one

Overall I am kind of disappointed it got so less collection at box office. I might watch it again in theater.