99

"Chakka kisine Maara...Paisa kisine haara" -- haunts me even after a day of watching this super thriller...I could so well relate to Rahul -- the Hansie Cronje, if you will, of the movie -- A character you could only pity. Boman for me was the highlight of the movie.

Cricket is such an integral part of the movie that you have a 'reel' Sachin with a 'reel' Dravid (although a fatso) -- Keeps Sachin good company throughout the movie -- much like the Sachin, Dravid partnerships that we are accustomed to on the cricket field. Kunal is impressive and seems to have taken his acting to the next level from his previous movies. Cyrus evokes enough laughter to keep you engaged. Soha, as her role demands, was very suave and subdued.

Import-Export business king Kuber is another highlight -- his one-liners are bound to become popular in bollywood cinema in the years to come -- "Checking"..."Cut Again"..."Give Respect" etc..much like Vivek in Flavors, if you remember, -- "You Grow Up"...Accompanying him is "Dimple", taking me back to "Michael Madana Kama Rajan's" Kamal-Bheem combo.

Talking of one-liners, there's no dearth of those in the movie -- be it AMG leaving a 'message' after the 'beep' OR the wannabe in the hotel lobby threatening to buy the 5-star hotel or the popular theory about how cell phones would hurt your entire body, heck I even liked the dude on the street giving TV interview of what he saw of the culprits.

Another aspect of the movie was the subtlety with which certain things are shown -- be it the kids flaunting their bounty hunt on the road or Rahul's "oh!" at the fall of a wicket on a match he bet on, while in the Y2k meeting room -- the directors quality of letting small events tell a story of its own shows up as a highlight.

Although not having songs interrupt the story flow is a welcome change -- having listened to the music album, you almost wish that you see the full version of the songs play out..most people stay in the theater through the credits because of the "What's up" song...come to think of it...shouldn't't "Whats up"? song be the opening credit as a way of the débutant directors saying Hello to Bollywood? may be they are setting us up for a sequel, who knows...LoL..

Background score is slick and cocky and suits the mood..

This "99" is bound to cross Lara's 400 and become a "trend-setter" for future Bollywood generation.

99 is a success! First time mainstream directors DK and Raj pull off with great intelligence this smart witty new age comedy. The movie engrosses you from the opening scene with a rip roaring chase that builds upon the background of this masterful story line. The plot takes on so many twists and turns that viewers will be kept guessing throughout the film.

The beauty of this story is that it weaves fiction into fact using the India's cricket scandals back in 1999 as the background scene. It is intelligent, smart, and entertaining.

The casting is superb with Boman Irani, Mahesh Manjrekar and Kuber Mistry. Boman Irani is perfect in his portrayal as an addicted gambler. It is easy for the viewer to feel the full plight and depth of his situation as he digs himself into deeper and deeper holes.

Kuber Mistry steels the comic scene of this movie with his hilarious antics. His dialogs are delivered with expert precision that it is hard to believe he is only acting the part. Expect to see this actor in many more movies to come.

Kunal Khemu and Cyrus Broacha, the heroes of the film, are pure fun and their characters get into a sticky situation from the start of the movie. Both draw the viewer in making you root for them to succeed in their plight in the end no matter what happens.

I do not want to ruin the ending of this movie, but be prepared for some surprises. Trust me, as strange as it sounds, they will have you rooting against Indian cricketers too.

99 is a solid film that should do well in the box office. It is definitely not a movie that should be missed. I rate it a thumbs up and give it 5/5.

A brave and an honest attempt. Its indeed a fresh concept which deserves to be applauded. Easy pitfall for the Gen-X for the film-makers to go overboard and end up with a product thats shares similarity to a text- book. In simple words it ends up being a GM fruit/ veggie. The director duo manage to retain the natural "flavour" to the proceedings.

Ө Kunal Khemu:: He was good in most parts and does need to polish his skills. The character was a bit "too posh" for his background.

Ө Cyrus:: Either his character was bad or Cyrus is a bad actor (owing to which his role got massacred on the editing table). Regardless, should have taken inspiration from Circuit.

Ө Soha:: As usual, nothing was expected out of her or the character. So its "status-quo". Neha-Pooja reference was good.

Ө Boman Irani:: Well can be safely said that the entire movie rests on him and he manages to bear the weight effortlessly. The name Rahul was a bit too modern for the character.

Ө Simone Singh:: The role could have been safely purged from the plot. There is nothing the character contributes to the storyline.

Ө Vinod Khanna:: Well, what can be said of Mr. Suave. He is suave in the role.

Ө Mahesh Manjrekar::Infuses life into the character owing to which manages to draw good laughs. And very authentic look indeed.

Ө Amit Mistry:: Make way for this fresh talent, he is surely to stay and give tough fight to Rajpal Yadav (similarity in size too!).

99 can also be classified as a period film as it attempts to recreate the 1999-2000 scene (mobile, betting, Clinton's visit & the out-of-the- box idea of Coffee shop). There are a few goofs which can be safely ignored.

Clearly evident is the inspiration from Pulp Fiction. Gentlemen the "rabbit-out-of-hat" is no doubt Tarantino'ism.

When the audience were practically dying of starvation owing to the multiplexes strike, wonder why "99" wasn't lapped up as manna from heaven. Beats me!

Bottomline:: This John Doe deserves more recognition.

Krishna DK, Sita Menon and Raj Nidimoru deserve a pat for writing and attempting something like '99' in Indian Cinema.

How interesting to think of, '99' takes you a decade back and makes you feel the year. Often we've seen people in Cinema, taking us to yesteryear's that have something to do with history, be it Independence, a moment of Violence, mostly something like that. But in '99', the 3 intelligent writers take us back when the Cricket World-Cup was going on.

Directors Krishna DK & Raj Nidimoru make it a point, that you remember the decade on celluloid with Pure Fun. '99' is a winner all the way... in all respects in wins your heart! The film was a decent success, and the following the film will achieve in the nearby future is nothing short of 'Cult'.

Expectations are limited; Entertainment, here is unlimited.

Performance-wise: Boman Irani & Mahesh Manjrekar steal the show. Boman, is fantastic as always. Manjrekar is simply superb; his one-liners are hilarious. Kunal Khemu suits his part to the T and delivers a confident performance. The plus point of the youngster, is that, he's natural all through, in all of his films. Soha Ali Khan is good. Cyrus Broacha is funny. Simone Singh is decent. Amit Mistry is another surprise packet; he's excellent and his broken English is hilarious to hear. Sudesh Berry is alright. Vinod Khanna needs no mentioning, the veteran is superb as ever.

on the whole '99' is smart, witty and really entertaining. A joyride! Thumbs Up!

99 is targeted at youth and multiplex audience inspired by real life events of match fixing that happened in year 1999 that took cricket world by storm. The movie has the right script, good actors and the humor at right place, which is able to take the movie ahead especially with unconventional music and Cricket being involved. The story is about two small time goons – Sachin (Kunal Khemu) & Zaramud (Cyrus Broacha) who work for AGM (Mahesh Manjrekar), a known name in bookie world as they have to clear their long owed debt to him. The story gets candid as both Sachin and Zaramud are send to Delhi from Mumbai to bring Agm's money from Rahul (Boman Irani) who is obsessed with betting and is big time looser like Sachin & Zaramud. The trio is known to struck at 99, a step before they could make it big–time. The story moves forward as they get to know about JC (Vinod khanna), a match-fixer and the trio gets befriended seeing each others financial and sympathetic condition and agree to take a life changing bet that would clear off all their debts and make their dreams true.

MY RATING: 7/10