Metro
wogma rating: Add to 'must watch' list (?)
Great performances accompanied by smart lines. Irrfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma show versatility by succeeding at comedy too. The script has nice, consistent characters. And the songs have good lyrics too (for a change!). Unfortunately, everything is ruined by the most inept climax, leaving the audience with a sour after taste.
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Did the whole world change while I was on vacation? Or maybe I am just naïve. When did the singular motto of every married person become to try and have an extra-marital affair? And even if that happened, do we really need to blame a city for our promiscuity? However, once you get past these two basic plot premises, you begin to appreciate the performances and the flashes of clever dialogue.
The most remarkable achievement of the director and the actors is the chemistry between each couple, whichever part of the triangle they are. Be it - revulsion, indifference, love, intimacy - all emotions convey (at most times) what the character feels. Also, the characters are pretty consistent, which is an achievement in itself.
And Irrfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma playing comic relief is so refreshing! They keep the mood light whenever the other characters start taking themselves too seriously, giving the required impetus whenever the pace begins to slacken. Shilpa Shetty gives an elegant performance and Kay Kay Menon plays to perfection the-guy-you-would-love-to-hate. And we are back to a suicidal Kangna Ranaut, but at least this time around, she looks good. Sharman Joshi's talent desperately needs to be treated with meatier roles. And somehow, the Dharmendra-Nafisa Ali track seemed very forced and contrived, especially because of the shabby treatment their dialogues were given.
The movie starts off with some brilliant lines that almost sound like poetry, but soon enough doze off to inane-land. Thereafter, the brilliance is pretty much sporadic.
Similarly, the lyrics are a welcome change from the nonsense we have been served in the name of poetry, of late. They reflect the mood of the characters and flow well with the overall situations. However, all the songs sound like they have been composed by a rock band. Which would have been tolerable but for the picturization. In an attempt to avoid lip-synching they went overboard. Give me the unnecessary songs, with barely-clad men and women dancing for me, I will take that. But, three men - none of whom have seen a comb or a razor in the past year, but know a lot about greasing curly locks - coming at me like objects do in a 3-D show, in every single song. Not done! Even in the name of fashion.
It is the climax of movies that do not have any particular purpose in mind that can make or break the movie. And the culmination fails here big time. It feels like the writer got bored towards the end and just wanted to get it done with one way or the other. If not for the cumbersome climax, the movie might have been well worth a watch. But, alas...
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, by N K Deoshi, Apun Ka Choice : ...Each story is stacked with another in a meaningful, well thought way... full review
Thumbs up, by Baradwaj Rangan, Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express : ...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... full review
Thumbs up, by Sanjay Ram, Business of Cinema : ...While the entire film is believable it is the climax that seems larger-than-life... full review
Thumbs up, by Bikas Mishra, DearCinema : ...Its not that Indian audience is not ready for love between oldies but the teenage-ish expression that their love takes gets difficult to digest sometimes... full review
Thumbs up, by Aprajita Anil, Express India : ...although it's a reaction-packed film, the melodrama is kept out... full review
Thumbs up, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...Crisply edited and suitably paced, Metro loses its steam only occasionally when the screenplay veers towards cliché.... full review
Thumbs up, by Renuka Vyavahare, indiatimes : ... Songs are touching and are bound to be popular... full review
Thumbs up, by Abhijit Mhamunkar, indya.com : ...narrative style reminds one of European cinema, a novel thing for Indian audience... full review
Thumbs up, by Gaurav Malani, J.A.M : ...has no idealistic heroes but points out imperfections in characters... full review
Thumbs up, by Manisha Vardhan, Movie Talkies : ...strikes the right note from the beginning, and except for an occasional fumble, the note is carried forth right through till the end.... full review
Thumbs up, by Anupama Chopra, NDTV : ...turned out to be an unexpected delight.... full review
Thumbs up, by Hanumant Bhansali, Radio Sargam : ...The songs have an exceptional blend of rock in most of its tracks... full review
Thumbs up, by Eye TV India Bureau, SmasHits.com : ...It was a pleasurable experience in viewing Dharmendra in a sensible role after his brilliant performances in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's film... full review
Thumbs up, by Saakshi Juneja, To Each Its Own : ...Shilpa appears to be well-rooted to the ground inspite of her instant stardom off late.... full review
So-So, by Rachel Fernandes, Bollywood Mantra : ...Shilpa Shetty delivers a fine performance and oozes poise and dignity... full review
So-So, by Deep, Deep's Home : ...Kangana, is she some kind of Barbie doll or something? Looks so beautiful...she really needs to improve her Hindi accent... full review
So-So, by Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM : ...the handling of the multiple stories concurrently is praiseworthy... full review
So-So, by Subhash K Jha, IndiaFM : ...a highly original film with a voice that seems to reverberate across a limitless canvas of feelings derived from the juices that flow and irrigate the people in the concrete jungle.... full review
So-So, by Vaibhav Wankhede, M TV : ...reminds you of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's films - different stories intertwined together where the climax usually takes place in a crowded public place... full review
So-So, by Raja Sen, Rediff : ...While Basu joins the dots unambiguously during his first act...there are shades of predictability to each story arc... full review
So-So, by Naomi Datta, Times Now : ...is a fairly unusual attempt, even though it's not all there... full review
So-So, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ...Indeed a good attempt, though does not sweep you off your feet completely.... full review
Thumbs down, by Jaspreet Pandohar, BBC : ...Emotions run amok and hearts are broken, but somehow this doesn't translate into tension and high drama.... full review
Thumbs down, by Gauri Warudi, Desicritics : ...we didn't have to waste time watching characters go through an entire song doing nothing much!... full review
Thumbs down, by Martin D'souza, Glamsham.com : ...I dare say that this film is brilliant, but only in patches... full review
Thumbs down, by Prachi Singh, MovieWalah : ...it seems like they have been only put in the script to heighten the melodrama but really it peeks on to boredom... full review
Thumbs down, by Narbir Gosal, Planet Bollywood : ...the direction is good but the writing needed another run through... full review
Thumbs down, Upper Stall : ...The script fails to develop the various tracks convincingly... full review
Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Warning: this section has some details that could distort your experience while watching the movie. I strongly recommend reading this only after you have seen the movie or if you have decided not to see it.
Plot Summary
Various characters and their combinations lead to relationships with varying degrees of complexity. Ranjeet (Kay Kay Menon) and Shikha's (Shilpa Shetty's) marriage faces peril while Rahul (Sharman Joshi) woos Neha (Kangna Ranaut). But, Neha has her own complex relationship to handle. Shruti (Kangna Ranaut) and Monty (Irrfan Khan) are still figuring out theirs.
What Worked
- The strain in the Shikha (Shilpa Shetty)-Ranjeet (Kay Kay Menon) marital relationship was covered in barely two minutes, without the audience having to go through the details of their tiffs.
What did not
- The leap in dialogues from Shikha complimenting Akash (Shiney Ahuja) about his talent and him starting to talk about his wife.
Nitty-Gritty
- What was it that Shikha throws in a box on the road? Was it a letter in a mail box? If it was, why was it not in an envelope? And anyways, if they were not going to bother telling us what it was, why show it in the first place?
- Amol (Dharmendra) crosses railway tracks by jumping platforms. When he climbs onto the other platform, he does so like he is climbing a 6-inch step! A 60 year-old climbing a platform without support of his hands, when he needed support to jump down?
- Why is Shikha, the wife of a senior officer at a BPO, commuting by bus?
- Amol tells Shivani (Nafisa Ali) that he is terminally ill. And before asking what was wrong with him, she asks him how long he has to live. Is that really the natural flow of questions?
- Was the Ranjeet-Neha relationship a year old or two years? At one place they mention one year and at another two.
- Was there a specific reason why Amol wrote his diary in Urdu?
![[Facebook page of Metro]](/static/images/icons/facebook_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Wikipedia page of Metro]](/static/images/icons/wiki_small.png){kind=icon}
![[IMDB Page of Metro]](/static/images/icons/imdb_small.png){kind=icon}
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Comments (18)
[...] Meetu : ” Life In A Metro starts off with some brilliant lines that almost sound like poetry, but soon enough doze off to inane-land. Thereafter, the brilliance is pretty much sporadic.” [...]
by the way meetu who designed your site, it has a "COOL" look. different from the blogs i hv seen around.
Thanks, amit. Well, we designed it ourselves. Still working on the colors.
I am glad the movie worked for you Ashima. Thanks for the revisit!
we as in? do u hv a team? hey posted my review yesterday... do bother to check out.
Read your review, Amit. So this time we agree on several counts!
We as in my husband - the all-in-one: CTO, promoter, editor - and me. That's the team!
I saw Metro today & completed enjoyed myself...Konkana & Irfan were the BEST.....Kay Kay was like totally into his ruthless character.
so ur husband also a movie buff. A great jodi u two seem to be.
Right, Mehak. Metro is full of good performances.
Thanks, Amit!
Thanks for taking the time to share your views, Sumit.
Hey morph! I was just beginning to miss you. So, let's get to what we enjoy doing best here - discuss :-)
"Black Friday" - am long done arguing. "Eklavya", we had issues with genre classification and I thought we pretty much sorted that one out here.
Now Metro, *whew*, I am glad we finally agree on a few things at least :-). The thing that disappointed me the most is the climax. The only story line with an end that did not seem contrived was the Ranjeet-Shikha track. That one was handled well.
Well, I for one, almost always can think of lyrics as poetry and music as a separate entity in itself. And I am pretty sure, I am not the only one who enjoys doing so.
"hai tujhe bhi ijaazat, kar le tu bhi mohabbat" - works for me whatever tune it is set to.
BTW, is it safe now to assume that I "get" movies that both of us either like or dislike? :-)
I am glad you liked the site's new design, still working on the colors though. URL - damage done. Nothing that was shorter and conveyed what I wanted to say was available. Might consider using WGtMA.com, but feel it will be equally difficult to remember.
Thanks again for stopping by! Keep coming.
morph wrote:
This is definitely not true for me. I definitely notice the lyrics and music as separate entities. For example, take the song "hai tujhe bhi ijaazat, kar le tu bhi mohabbat". I like the lyrics, but absolutely hate the music/tune - they make it sound like a background song being sung while the jilted lover is going off to commit suicide.
Hey, morph - Navin and meetu agreeing is a rarity, so I am just going to enjoy it while it lasts.
Morph wrote - i wont write here if i agree with you
meetu writes - bahut na-insafi hai (This is grave injustice!)
Wow, we agree again! :-) Script and character consistency are the most important part for me too - Be it Hindi or anything else. But it is unfair to expect that from everyone, right? Each person has his standard. Just like with children, it's wrong to expect every child to do well in academics. So, I try my best to appreciate how far the movie succeeded in what it set out to do.
Characters who behave and talk real appeal to me too. And that's where the climax literally shocked me. Are you sure people weren't laughing at the Monty/Shruti climax instead of laughing with it. I was laughing too, but at it, with my hand on my forehead instead of my stomach. It was hardly "real". There was a big leap from Neha wanting her lover to leave his family to doing what she did.
The climax is where the rating dropped from "Watch for sure, preferably in theater" to "Wait for video release". It is sad but true, that expectations vary depending on talent. I have a strong feeling that people who created the first 1 hour 50 minutes were creative enough to come up with the last 20 minutes that went with the flow of the movie.
BTW, the Shikha-Ranjeet track worked because that is exactly what I expected. And a lot of credit goes to the director/writer for this because Shikha's character was developed and protrayed very well. Having her do anything else would have been just to be "different".
No, dear Morph, Salaam-e-Ishq got the same rating as Metro, because the middle 2 hours were entertaining and that movie's aim is not to show me reality, it is to entertain me.
Thanks for the feedback on the site name. Will work on it.
Thanks again, for the time and energy spent on writing here.
it is good film
Alright Morph, I understand your point of view. BTW, I have sent you an e-mail on a different subject, can you please check? Thanks!
Hi Hiral,
Just writing to let you (and other commenters) know that meetu is away until mid-June attending a movie appreciation course in FTII so she might not be able to respond to comments for a while. She will get to them after she is back.
vry vry good movie
hey guys this movie is just amazing, outstanding....
It leaves a message behind saying that all this can happen in our lives ....... and
who knows this might happen in any one's life........
so watch it because it is good.........
I loved the movie a lot. I have a list of fav films and yes of course "Life in a Metro" is one within them.
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