Review: Life in a… Metro
HIGH CAST
A set of superb actors puts over an affecting drama about loves lost and found.
MAY 13, 2007 - AFTER YEARS of trawling through Hindi cinema, I saw in Anurag Basu’s Life in a Metro images I never thought I’d get to see. A woman standing before a mirror, putting on lipstick to prettify herself for her man. A woman in bed, getting kissed on the lips by her lover, and waking up the next morning being spooned by him, in the afterglow of a night spent in his arms. And get this – a woman so giddy in love, she runs out into the rain in a white sari, getting drenched in the process. No, don’t ho-hum just yet – for this woman I’m talking about, she’s a senior citizen. Finding love in one’s autumn years isn’t exactly new – and we just had an instance of that in Pyaar Mein Twist, where Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia fell for one another while being surrounded by grownup children. But that was Dimple Kapadia, for God’s sake – and this is Nafisa Ali (as Shivani). Her hair has gone grey, she wears grandmotherly glasses, and that Miss India figure from Junoon shows its years with the wrinkles and the added weight. But that isn’t the point so much as this being a physical love. Even a today director like Farhan Akhtar kept things merely platonic between the twentysomething Sid and the fiftysomething Tara Jaiswal – while there’s a situation here where an elderly woman and an elderly man aren’t just in it for, you know, the companionship; they actually may be getting it on, putting the ‘sex’ back into sexagenarians. Go Bollywood!
There’s a lot about Metro that makes you want to get up and cheer. The story is a loose lattice of crisscrossing episodes about finding (and also losing) love – the film really should have been called Love in a Metro; there’s nothing much here that talks about life (in that existential sense) – and it plays like Salaam-e-Ishq with a heavy dose of hormones. As with Shivani, there’s a refreshingly physical component to the love stories. Shikha (Shilpa Shetty; I haven’t seen Phir Milenge in a while, but from what I recall, this is at least as good a performance, if not better – plus, she looks fantastic) is stuck in a loveless marriage with Ranjeet (Kay Kay Menon, who locates impressive reserves of humanity in what is essentially an unsympathetic character) – and in one of the many well-shaped lines of dialogue, she remembers about the past, “Bistar pe galti se bhi pair takraate to sab kadwahat pighal jaati.� (What’s unsaid is that even the sex has dried up now.) Her sister Shruti (Konkona Sen Sharma) is nearing thirty, and one of the things that makes her unhappy about this situation is that she’s still a virgin. Ranjeet, meanwhile, is sleeping with Neha (Kangana Ranaut, once again portraying a damaged-goods soul; she may be hitting the same notes in all her movies, but she does hit those notes extremely well).
So you have adultery and betrayal and a lot of admittedly banal (in the sense that there’s not much you can’t predict) relationship drama, and it’s inevitable that Metro ends up resembling nothing more than a rather sophisticated soap – but no soap you’ve seen has had this kind of cast, these kinds of performances. This is high-end ensemble acting, and I’d hate to single anyone out – but with a gun to my head, I’d probably admit to liking the story arc with Konkona Sen Sharma and Irrfan Khan the most. By now, it goes without saying that these two actors are terrific in whatever they do, but here they play that most heartwarming of rom-com staples: opposites who end up discovering that they may be destined for one another – and they’re just so good together. They’re funny and sad and confused and philosophical and they almost make you wish for an entire movie about their characters alone. The other performer who made Metro for me is Dharmendra, who’s really quite wonderful as Shivani’s late-life love Amol. (They were sweethearts a long time ago, but they got married to different people and drifted apart.) In his very first scene, he’s at the railway station, on a platform that’s across the tracks from the one Shivani is on. He sees her, his face lights up, and he jumps down and hops over the tracks, as if the mere sight of her has brought back the spring in his step. And after he clambers up the other side, he bends ever so slightly and looks up at her face, apparently absorbing every single detail that’s changed since he saw her last. Dharmendra has played action heroes for such a large portion of his career that when we think back, the flashbacks we have are from Hukumat and Dharam Veer and Sholay. But his gentle performance in Metro reminds you of films that did not feature the clenched-teeth dialogue delivery that became a (rather endearing) cliché – films like Anupama and Devar and Bandini.
Along with Dharmendra, Anurag Basu resurrects another sixties’ icon – Dylan, whose raspy wail on the soundtrack (I want you, I want you, I want you so bad) underscores a moment of desire perfectly, if somewhat strangely. (I mean… Dylan?) And a second music cue that comes out of nowhere is when Shikha’s mobile phone goes off to the ringtone of Ilayaraja’s immortal theme for Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan. (How nice that between this and his upcoming soundtrack for Cheeni Kum, the maestro is finally having himself a little multiplex moment!) The ringtone may be an inadvertent touch, but the director makes very deliberate use of Pritam’s excellent score. (The sound could be approximated to that of the big-hair power ballads – Don’t Stop Believing by Journey or Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison or pretty much anything by the Scorpions in the eighties.) Pritam and two other musicians (or are they just actors?) are actually part of the cast, for they appear throughout the film, mouthing lines about love and loss in the tradition of wandering minstrels (or a Greek chorus commenting on the action). In the theatre I saw Metro in, the audience began to hoot and holler as these balladeers showed up repeatedly, but if you pay attention, this is a stylistic gamble that pays off – especially with lyrics that paint an overarching backdrop of emotion that the individual love stories draw from.
Basu made his name with films produced by Mahesh Bhatt (Gangster, Murder), and there’s a lot of that school – for lack of a better word – of filmmaking in Metro. There’s the very casual, frank and unapologetic depiction of topics that are usually taboo in mainstream cinema. Rahul (Sharman Joshi, who underplays beautifully) is in love with Neha, and it doesn’t matter to him that she’s sleeping with someone else. In other words, the fact that she’s not a virgin is a big non-issue as far as he is concerned. There’s also— in one of the movie’s few missteps – a homosexual angle, one that’s rushed through rather unconvincingly. But more interesting is how Basu channels Bhatt’s facility to splatter the screen with angst. Shikha finds herself attracted to theatre artist Akash (Shiney Ahuja, rather good in a smallish part), and at one point, she attends a performance of his in an almost-empty auditorium. It looks like an experimental play, and he’s acting his heart out, when a mobile phone goes off amidst the audience – and Akash stomps off the stage in a huff. That one little incident tells us how much he suffers – both for his art and because of it (all his peers, who opted for rat-race careers, have zoomed ahead in life).
But the major Bhatt imprint in Metro may be that it’s an uncredited mishmash of various films, beginning with The Apartment (which becomes the Rahul-Neha story arc). There’s, of course, an ethical angle to this (which, perhaps rightly, affects people’s perceptions of a work), but – the way I look at it – it’s still been made very well. So many adaptations come our way that are clueless regurgitations, with so little effort to adapt the premise, that I’d rather not shrug off something that works so well. Maybe the writing was easy because there was an original to jump off of, but there’s still the directing – the staging of scenes, the shepherding of actors, the blending in of the music, the shaping of flow and texture and mood – that deserves to be recognised, even if, time and again, you wish they’d just credit the damn source(s). And Basu – like Bhatt – does move beyond the original, adding enough evocative flourishes to make us see that Gangster was no fluke. He establishes early on that the Shikha-Ranjeet marriage is in trouble, and soon, during a downpour, Shikha bumps into Akash. (There’s lot of rain in Metro, an indicator, perhaps, of the bad weather the relationships keep running into.) Her umbrella is ruined in a gust of wind, and Akash uses a safety pin to fix it temporarily. And that’s the point, really. It – the fix with the safety pin, and the subsequent relationship with Akash – is only a temporary solution. The real issues still need to be tackled head-on. They won’t go away because you put a band-aid on them, and that’s as true of life in a metro as anywhere else.
Copyright ©2007 The New Sunday Express
Was eagerly awaiting your verdict on this film.Have yet to see the film but I just feel that all your observations will ring truew ith me.Basu was impressive with “Gangster”.But one still wondered if he had the sensibility to portary educated upwardly mobile urbanites in a realistic manner. I was apprehensive that this will turn out to be yet another well packaged soulless multiplex product. Looks like he has done a reasonably good job. And is there any role that Konkona and Irrfan are less than brilliant in ?
Seems worth a watch.
oh I dont know… watching the scene being set - in the first half, I got the sense of a plot so convuluted, I was half expecting Shiney Ahuja’s wife (who is mentioned but never shown) to be sleeping with, say, Irfan. Everyone is connected to everyone else in a house of cards that appears so flimsy you just sit back and wait for it to fall apart… but for all that, the performances were excellent - I cannot think of one mediocore performance in the movie.
the first time Pritam and his bad of boys came up on screen was well, novel - and then I hooted with the rest of the audience.
and ah, the rain - I saw it less metaphorically - as a direcr reference to the title - metro - one of things that define Bombay - the rains, the local trains, the black and yellow cabs…
I hope the movie lives up to the review. Not just the thumbs-up, but the quality.
Unbeknownst to her, your reviews now decide whether my wife has my company on movie nights.
And a point that Jai Arjun made a long time ago - Dharmendra had rare comic timing and delivery in films like “Chupke Chupke”.
J.A.P.
Abhimanyu: I’ve always felt the Mahesh Bhatt “school” has had more “soul” than the YashRaj school, for instance. They may not be original, but they do know how to pump up the angst and deliver absorbing drama.
Charu: So did you like it or no? Only I’m allowed to give these ambiguous reviews, see? What would happen if the commentors got ambiguous too?
J.A.P - Thanks. And yeah, Dharmendra has done quite a lot of comedy. Your reference to CC has made me remember the way Dharam say “pujjya jijjaji” (clenched teeth and all). Got to watch this again…
Charu: But Shiney Ahuja’s wife *is* shown, in a way. In the book that Shikha reads in bed (the one she got from Akash), there’s that picture torn in half… That’s his wife, right? And reg. “and then I hooted with the rest of the audience…” oh you heartless kids of today!
“Bistar pe galti se bhi pair takraate to sab kadwahat pighal jaati.� (What’s unsaid is that even the sex has dried up now.)
Doesn’t she mean “that even if our feet touched, all our bitterness would evaporate during sex”? Just asking…
shreeharsh: Yes - and what she’s implying is that that doesn’t happen anymore. Earlier, the slightest of things would lead to intimacy, which isn’t the case anymore. I just pointed to a larger interpretation, while your transcription is the *exact* meaning. Right?
Dharmendra was an exceptional performer. I wonder why he isn’t doing any more of that kind of cinema, the Bimal Roy-Hrishikesh Mukherjee kind, that is, not the kuttay-main-tera-khoon-pee-jaonga variety.
About the movie: in two minds whether to go and watch it in the cinema. On vacation these days so am intractably idle. So much time, so little to do.
Baradwaj:
Thanks for the fantastic review.
Excellent review man — I actually kinda loved the film. I’m actually a sucker for such moodily lit and filmed movies which tackle complex relationships (it happens so rarely in Bollywood). The cast was PERFECT (though my favorites were Khan and Sharma) — and aside from that very filmy ending I really loved the way the characters were handled here. Plus, the music rocked.
Also — I think most of the press reviewers are really being unfair to the movie. It deserves much better reviews (kinda reminds me of what happened with Naach, another hugely underrated film).
karrvakarela: “So much time, so little to do.” Dude, don’t rub it in…
Bhakit: Thanks.
Sid: “I actually kinda loved the film.” I’m glad. And I was a fan of Naach too. Haven’t seen it lately though. Maybe I will, just to see how it stands up today. And yes, the cast was very good. Even Nafisa Ali wasn’t bad, and that’s saying something
Why didn’t they name it Love in Mumbai instead?Haven’t seen it but it seems like it is only about the relationships rather than the life of people living in some city and not a metro in particular.I am not that old but I think,in a metro,everyone doesn’t think about hanky-panky all day.
Just curious,did this band come out at every five minutes or at regular intervals,just like is the case in other movies?
“Even Nafisa Ali wasn’t bad, and that’s saying something.”
WORD. Even Shyam Benegal couldn’t manage to pull off that feat!
A brilliant review… thanks for sharing!
Superb review!
And by the way Thalaivar is ready on May 31st, looking forward for a post on Rajini soon
It was a decent movie. My only beef is with the whole “gay” angle,its as if suddenly every non-mainstream filmmaker has discovered a yet to be exploited genre and decided to use it to embolden their themes!its sooo overdone and out of context!
I was planning to give this a miss - have become wary of Hindi movies with “metro” themes, what with Delhii Heights and all - but this sounds really good. Will watch!
By the way I was half-dreading I would find a review of ‘Good Boy Bad Boy’ here. Looks like good fortune was on your side this week
hmm, might be worth a look-see then! Chupke chupke was a fantastic one! They don’t make such movies any more. [I thought only old people said such things
]
Offtopic ,
have u reviewed “Main Meri Patni Aur Woh” before?
I might not always agree with your opinion about the movie but every review right from those blogspot days have been a walk down the memory lane. There are always umpteen references to other movies/music, titbits, and subtle things which I would have missed out completely in the movie. THIS is precisely what makes a movie lover like me visit your site religiously.
The review about Iruvar around a year back was awesome but each of the other reviews never miss out on the “brangan” touch.. Thanks
Abhinav: “I think,in a metro, everyone doesn’t think about hanky-panky all day.” I wouldn’t use the word hanky-panky at all. These are people with serious emotional issues, not someone out for a noonday f**k. It’s just that the emotional attractions are compounded by physical ones.
Wanderer: Thanks.
Padawan: “looking forward for a post on Rajini soon” Why, is any film of his coming out soon?
perspective inc: Yes, that gay angle was tired, especially as it followed a very similar plotline in Page 3 - with Konkona, no less.
Shuchi: “I was half-dreading I would find a review of ‘Good Boy Bad Boy’ here” The dread, I hope, was for the film, not the review
munimma: Of course, they don’t make ‘em like they used to. In today’s frantic times, can you imagine a gentle, language-oriented comedy like CC?
Eswar: Never got around to reviewing that one. Sorry.
Mithun: Thank you. These reviews are a bit of a nostalgia exercise for me too, so I’m glad you find them the same way.
did you notice that the gay scene is done in exactly in the same way as it was in Page-3 and worse is the it is the same Konkana opening the door, how can I forget the line, ‘NExt time, lock the door’ from Page-3…
“The dread, I hope, was for the film, not the review.” - For your reviews, that goes without saying
sureshkumar: yes, it was the same scene. I’ve mentioned this in the comment earlier…
Very good review. Saw the movie yesterday. I found it to be one of the really good Hindi movies i have seen of late (did not see Black Friday). Great cast, you can watch the movie for the actors alone. .
Thanks for pointing out the Nayakan soundtrack, woiudl have missed it. Did you notice the Brokeback Mountain poster on the wall in the gay scene. Found that cute.
Wow! your review of the movie made me relive the experience, and has given words to appreciation i mayb felt but did not word out!
awesome…
Thank you, Vamshi and Deez.
A good movie, great performances, good direction and great review. Relived the movie through the review.
The initial ciruclar phone call conferencing to set things up was a bit too much, but was funny.
Great review, Baradwaj. The mishmash of cinematic influnces from Billy Wilder to Wong Kar Wai are quite apparent, though I say “influence” in the best sense of the word. This is like Salaam-E-Ishq without the flab and silliness.
I now want a “Thenpandi Cheemayile” ringtone.
Hari - that bit was quite funny, no?
Rakesh - There’s apparently a DVD version of SeI that allows you to track each story to its conclusion without criss-crossing between stories. It’s a terrible idea to undercut the very reason for making a movie, but I can’t help wondering how this will play without the tracks that bothered me.
Baradwaj - I’d like to think it would change my overall sense of the film. I certainly could have lost the Salman/Priyanka track and the whole thing wouldn’t have skipped a beat…
BTW, that scene with Konkona and Irfan by the sea (after the shopping spree) is one for the ages.
A very nicely composed review of the Metro.We were in a dilemma to watch it or not, you happened to turn us towards watching it .
Happy blogging.
Good review - as usual! Just one question: in what way did you think KK’s character revealed “humanity”_ he seemed an egotistical, exploitative so-and-so. BTW, another “influence” you can add o the list is that of “For love of money” in which Martin J Fox plays a concierge - the scene in which Rahul shows Neha his dream project is a complete lift from that movie
You’re right that the gay angle evokes a strong sense of deja vu, but did you notice the scene where Konkona’s boss is shown for the first time? A poster of Brokeback Mountain is partially visible in the background. I thought that was a pretty cool touch.
Amazing review!I’ve marked it as a reference point Baradwaji:)!
surprised you haven’t reviewed ‘black friday’
Warning: some spoilers…
Except the Garam-Dharam story, all other stories worked for me, the best being Irfan-Konkana. They both act out any character so naturally, you don’t feel they are acting. Smart writing on the whole. My gripe with Dharam was he was totally miscast, and the story doesn’t gel well with others’.
I felt if Dharam had restrained himself a bit, Shivani would have still seen more days
[...] is not a very new movie, and hence has had a fair share of stuff written about it on the internet, some of which had been exposed to me. From what I read, I believed it was pretty much the first [...]
That was a great revu. I liked the movie a lot myself, and saw it twice in a cinema hall. I loved the music and the appearence of the band on screen blew me away.
I wrote on the movie too and my opening line was - Actually no one ever gives up longing for love.