Mumbai Express

Saw this Kamal flick a week after it released on DVD. I intended watching it in theaters, but I guess it would not have made much difference to this review. I really enjoyed the movie, which is an out and out total comedy flick.

What's New?

In Pushpak, we do not hear anything from anyone, here Kamal does not hear anything from anyone, unless of course he has his earphones locked into the groove!

We have seen several movies in which everything goes right for the hero, here, for atleast half the movie, everything goes wrong!

Pasupathy plays a comic role for the first time. He has done a good job.

Noticeable

Manisha has trimmed down and is looking gorgeous in her role as Ahalya. She has put on an acceptable performance though we have seen much better from her. This role was not all that demanding for an actress of her calibre. One of her dialogs that I will surely remember is "AC room la fan madiri....". This is a great analogy, that she draws when she speaks with the father of her Naajayaz aulaad, an Asst Commissioner (AC), on the way he uses her whenever he likes.

Nassar, the common denominator between Chandramukhi and Mumbai Express, has done a great job and looks like it requires a Kamal Hassan to realize the genius in this man. His performance and role in this movie is far more superior than the one in Chandramukhi.

Kamal himself has done a great job and this will be one of his more innovative movies for which he has also written the dialogues very well. The A,B,C sequence and the AC room are two dialogs not easily forgettable. Some of the stunt sequences are pretty good, e.g the one with the motorbike. It is tough not to notice his ghost direction throughout the movie.

This is almost another Kurudhi Punal in terms of the number of songs. There are two and neither of them are crucial to the plot. The school prayer song sequence was really funny and very memorable. All those kids have put up a very natural performance.

The support cast was average. Nothing much for Kovai Sarala. Saxena looked funny because of his role and Nassar, nothing much in terms of his own performance. The Daddu kid was a touch better than the fat kid in Panchatantiram. Vaiyapuri's performance is hyped in reviews, I did not find anything spectacular in his role as Johnson. I think the dialogs played a major part in making him funny, so the credit should go to Kamal.

I could not understand the rationale for the last scene. It could have been very well avoided, but I guess it does not make much of a difference.

Verdict
(suspense.... interval... watch Anniyan Trailer.. click below... BUT DO COME BACK!!!)



Verdict (for Mumbai Express... not Anniyan!)

A very good movie if you enjoy comedy. This time it is not vulgar, although some concepts are not suitable for children. It is also not an idealist movie like Kaakha Kaakha, so if you belong to or hold the police force in high esteem, avoid this movie. If you cannot keep up with the pace of Panchatantiram, watch this movie on DVD/VHS since you may need to repeat a few chapters if you don't follow. The plot could be fairly confusing for several average viewers and it requires reviewing to understand completely. I'll probably edit parts of this review if I watch it again.

Look for a comparison of the Tamil and Hindi versions of Mumbai Express... coming soon. Wednesday, June 01, 2005 at 9:35 AM