City of Gold - Mumbai 1982: Ek Ankahee Kahani

Vaastav still remains Mahesh Manjrekar's biggest hit till date - City of Gold was not even half of what Vaastav was. I was so excited to see this movie however it turned out to be one of the biggest disappointment of the year. The hype behind the movie was an untold story and the director's name but to tell you the truth - the core message of the movie that should have been was lost between a family's problems in poverty. The mill-workers that it is supposed to be based upon were only seen as poor people and any other mumbai-based slum movie would have shown what it did. Many of the actors were look-alikes e.g. Naru (character name) resembled R Madhavan and his brother resembled another TV actor which made this a little on the funnier side. Some tragedy scenes were done so tragically that it turned out to be funnier at times.

Bad acting, bad screenplay, nothing new - just not worth the time and money. After having seen Vaastav and Satya (by RGV) this movie falls flat.

The movie starts as a flash back for a middle aged man who books a flat in Mumbai and recalls his younger days, when his father was a mill worker at the same property. Yes, it does sound like an Amitabh or Rajesh Khanna starer from the late 70s or 80s. The story line is simple, life and struggle of mill workers and their families.

The treatment is however new. Reminds us in parts of "Cidade De Deus" or City of God,an award winning Portuguese film on violent neighborhood of Rio De Janeiro. Mahesh Manjrekar is however no Fernando Meirelles, nevertheless it is a commendable effort.The movie may not be a 'Vastav' or 'Satya' but it is not far behind.The story line is fast paced, actions are real,emotional scenes do emote and all actors look genuine in their parts. I have personally liked the movie and am sure you would watch it and form your own opinion.

A lesser known movie by Mahesh Manjrekar. It's based on the several events in the life of mill workers after their capitalist young owner moves to put an end to their professions and more in 80s. What was derived from the impressive poster, the same lost its consistency during the course. You wait for the pace to pick up, you get disappointed. The narrator of the story is voice dubbed by Manjrekar himself. Everything can go wrong with poor people. While the story was leaving cold trails, the acting performances by the whole cast is awe inspiring. Seema Biswas as the role of the mother has struck gold. If only the story stayed in a constant path, it would have fetched larger audiences. Add the illogical dialogs at places, you get a two hours of disappointment. This movie has to be watched only for the outstanding performance by most of the cast and nothing else. Otherwise we can easily skip this one for another recent raunchy release.

Speaking from the heart, It was the first movie after Ram Gopal Verma's , "Satya", that brought tears to my eyes. I literally wept, although I consider myself to be "Macho" like every other Indian guy!

Hats off to "Mahesh Manjrekar".

The only thing I really didn't like seeing in the movie was the actress "Anousha Dandekar", I know it was probably to show that the "Writer Brother" did well in his life, but still, im sorry to say she looks like "na ghar ka na ghat ka" maybe that was what the director wanted.

But every time I see her on-screen, or tele(MTV), I remember her remark about Mahatma Gandhi, on a show she hosted so long ago, and well it hurts.

Overall, the movie was eye watering, and very close to heart. Thank you to everyone who made this happen.

I will go buy the DVD, although I can easily download it over the net, I won't, this DVD will be a part of my very small collection of favorite movies.

Thats how much I liked it ;D

Went with high hopes to see this one.Was truly disappointed. Bad is the only word which comes in my mind. Absolute terrible acting by some actors. Thought the director wants to show what the mill workers went through. Instead the movie revolves round a family with their personal problems. The second half is entirely pathetic.You will get a feeling when this will end.

Guess the director was a bit inspired by City of god.You can reflect that in some (terrible) scenes.

The opening song is unnecessary.The director i guess was caught in a dilemma, whether to make a serious film or a film for all types of audience. Save your time and money!