Movie Review: Bombay Talkies

Bombay Talkies UA DRAMA Directors Anurag Kashyap Dibakar Banerjee Karan Johar Zoya Akhtar Cast Rani Mukerji Katrina Kaif Randeep Hooda Nawazuddin Siddiqui Vineet Kumar Saqib Saleem Ratings Bombay Talkies has four short films Karan Joharrsquos Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh Dibakar Banerjeersquos Star Zoya Akhtarrsquos Sheela Ki Jawani and Anurag Kashyaprsquos Murabba Each film comes with a distinct emotion Zoyarsquos film has a wideeyed innocent feel to it Dibakarrsquos film has muted passion Joharrsquos film is about helplessness and Kashyaprsquos film is about optimism and faith in the face of harsh reality It starts with Joharrsquos Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh and you almost want to rub your eyes to make sure it is indeed directed by the gloss prince KJo His film talks about a young boy Saqib Saleem who behind his flaky flamboyant exterior tries to hide the trauma of not being understood by the society including his father He meets a kindred soul in his boss Rani Mukerji who hides her lonely hollow life with a mask of normalcy The best scene of this short film is when Rani symbolically takes off her make up while talking about finally feeling free and happy Saqib is natural and spontaneous but it is Rani who steals the show with a mature performance Randeep Hooda as a man living a life of lie is pretty good too And then Joharrsquos way of paying a tribute to 100 years of cinema through two timeless songs Ajeeb Daastan Hai Yehhellip and Lag Ja Gale is endearing and adds to the overall mood of his film A still from 39Bombay Talkies39 The next is Dibakar Banerjeersquos Star Based on a short story Potol Babu Film Star by Satyajit Ray Banerjeersquos film talks about the life of a chawl resident performed excellently by Nawazuddin Siddiqui trying hard to make ends meet Even though the needs of his family which includes a wife a small girl and an Emu keeps him rooted to the ground and his passion buried he seems like a happy golucky man And then there is a twist in his otherwise hopeless story forcing him to look inwards Nothing changes outwardly but he is clearly a changed man Banerjeersquos Star has one of the finest climax scenes that I have seen in recent times and it is also the finest of the four films He gives it a delightfully irreverent treatment without compromising on the depth of the issue tackled Zoya Akhtarrsquos film Sheela Ki Jawani is about the life of two siblings Naman Jain and Khushi Dubey with dreams in their eyes and budding passions in their hearts In their innocent world gender stereotyping is unacceptable and they especially the little boy feel pressurised by their father Ranvir Shoreyrsquos straightjacket expectations The boy however finds solution through the most unpredictable source Katrina Kaifrsquos item number Sheela Ki Jawani which leads to a somewhat triumphant feel good climax Imaginative and simple Zoyarsquos story tugs at your heart Kashyaprsquos film Murabba talks about Vijayrsquos Vineet Kumar journey from Allahabad to Mumbai to meet none other than legendary star Amitabh Bachchan only to fulfill a strange wish by his ill father What seems like more or less a tribute to the superstar Kashyaprsquos entire film revolves outside his bunglow A story rooted in reality which we know is Kashyaprsquos strong point by now it also subtly reflects on the naivety of a person from small town as against the conniving city bred ones As soon as Vijay lands up in Mumbai he is fleeced by a taxi driver While the subject treatment and the attention to detailing is commendable this one didnrsquot really stir emotions as it should have And unlike Johar Kashyap chose to stay in his comfort zone which is a tad disappointing