David

David is a story of three lives in three generations that at the end cross each other's path. Bejoy Nambiar has directed this visually appealing and musically soothing movie in an attempt to hit the dart which he failed last time even after the exhibition of some fine artistic prowess in "Shaitan". At times joking, at times fighting and at times crying, it tries to say the same old story of revenge and love with slightly different recipe.

Neil Nitin Mukesh's David is a man-of-few-words-David, and may be the best story in all three. This one with its black n white tone sets the gritty mood right away. The actors here have acted their part well and even the story keeps you with it. A crime drama, which has its own set of twists brought to screen beautifully.

Vinay's David is a wanabe-rockstar-David. This one's a drama which could have been easily better with the potential the screenplay carried but the unconvincing portrayal by Vinay put it all off since the story fully rests on him. One as an audience will find it difficult to empathize with his character even when this is supposed to be more painful than the other two.

Finally Vikram's David is the drunkard David who is hated by his neighborhood for his unruly nature. Clearly not Vikram's best, he still has given something to the role which wasn't enough. The story tries to be funny with its unconventional screenplay like his dead father (Sourabh Shukla) coming to visit him after taking over a living person's body, randomly. The screenplay seems dragged and useless in many places.

Coming with the expectations for the director of Shaitan, surely left me disappointed. Shaitan by far beats this one, mostly for its lazy editing and poor acting. In general perspective though this is not half as bad as the usual Bollywood. (imeansuraj.blogspot.in)

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.

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.

It happens rarely... But whenever I watch movies like 'David' I always think that Bollywood would never improve artistically. Reason why? Well it's simple and sad to see movies like Dabangg & Ek tha Tiger or Race 2 performing on box office, while movies like David even don't get a screening in popular cineplexes. What an irony of this industry!! What a sad part!! I just finished watching David at my home theater and I am thinking to myself what if I have watched it on a big screen? It still feels great but it would have been greater. I hardly write reviews and in fact rarely on Bollywood movies as I don't follow it much now but this movie made me to right away visit here and write an honest opinion. I wanted to personally thank Bejoy Nambiar and his team as well as the whole cast for making such a masterpiece. This movie is by any standard not less then a Hollywood show, be it the story itself, the narration and twists, the acting and the most important thing of all, the Artistry of camera and lights. Honestly I haven't experienced such shots and takes in a Bollywood film before (Yeah may be a very few!). All the three stories were amazing but I would give a five star to the 1975 portion. Niel is always my fav actor due to his selection of characters and movies and he yet again did true justice to his role as a macho man. Each detail was perfect in there, it's whole environment, the sets, dresses, cars and above all how intelligently the black & white color! wow!! It gave me a true feeling of 70's.

Seriously guys, I don't have words to explain it, may be I can't find those words but I would only tell you that if you miss this movie, you are gonna miss a wonderful journey through time and artistry. I can understand that David may not impress the masses of Indian cinema but I am also sure that many deserving audience has already missed this flick due it's lack of presence in the theaters and marketing. This is a must watch for them all.

There's one more beautiful thing about this movie. It's 'Message'!! The climax is so amazing that it would leave you thinking on your seats for some time in silence and remind you of your own life decisions and errors that we make. How beautifully done Mr. Bejoy.. Thank you so much for that.. Thank you!

David (tamil) ( 2013 )

The making. That was the main attraction of director Bejoy Nambiar's previous project : Shaitan. I was so excited to see that movie in a totally new making style. Bejoy Nambiar was added to my favorite film maker's list and I don't miss my favorites' creations. That's how I got in for 'DAVID' , the tamil version.

Watched this in a local theatre near to my house. The main advantage of this is that there wont be a 'mass' presence to disturb the peaceful movie watching. It was released quite a few days back and I went for a noon show on a Tuesday. So there was no chance of a disturbance and I like it that way at times.

'DAVID' is a sleek n simple tale of two persons with the same name. though their life is shown on a parallel mode, it happens during 2 different times(1999 & 2010). Jiva as the aspiring guitarist and Vikram as the so called 'unlucky' fisherman of goa, tabu as his friend,his mother,his dad; all were great delight to watch. Isha Shervani does her part decently and the good moments in this were in the Vikram's story.

The album is awesome and I loved all the tracks in this. The film opens up with the theme song of 'DAVID' and that's very exciting to watch. The unconventional 'khoya khoya chaand' style (of Shaitan) is repeated in this also in a fight sequence.

The way I understood , 'DAVID' is about the identity that each one of us have and why its not possible for one to be someone else. We all have a name, a soul and a character and we are supposed to do certain things which only we can do. So we shouldn't be trying to be someone else. If we did, then who is gonna do our part?? I felt that's what the movie is all about. The name 'DAVID' was just a random pick ; it could have be anyone , any name..