David

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..

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.

I just came home after watching David and i can't help but keep thinking of the 2 davids.David is a film about two very different persons and their journey.Most of the viewers find that there was no connection between the two stories while i felt that it is indeed connected deeply and its real content lies within and it is to be understood, for those who do understand its the journey of a lifetime.

David(Vikram) is a carefree youth who was dumped by Annie,his bride to be and he lives with that scar on his heart hating marriages.His best friend Peter informs him about his love whom he is going to marry and how that girl is deaf and dumb.Problem starts when David falls for his best friend's fiancé.David's dad as the wandering spirit and Tabu are quite good including Vikram. The only drawback is that Vikram is seen drinking in all the scenes from start to end and that is somewhat tiring.

The second plot revolves around David(Jiva) who portrays an aspiring musician and at a later stage an angry youth searching for answers. Jiva is exceptional and this is his best performance till date.Nasser is very good and he evokes a sense of empathy when he come to terms with himself and with others.

Overall this film is connected in the way how both David's initially refuse to accept the way of life and find themselves at troubled waters not being able to handle pain,how they come to terms with themselves and accept life forms a major part of the story which others describe as slow and a weak screenplay.In my opinion David is one of those films that is not to be missed and i recommend this to all of those who wish to see a meaningful movie which will touch your heart.

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.

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