Film Review of Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai

As it has been quoted by the renowned director Jean Luc Godard that ”films are not merely the reflection of reality, it’s the reality of reflection”, truly incorporate with the hardcore reality in a vivacious manner. The Bollywood film industry is certainly not an exception in this regard. Evolving from the genre of melodrama and fantasies, now it’s much closer to reality. Whether it may be Black Friday, A Wednesday, Mumbai Meri Jaan or others, all of these films ardently bear relevance of the above mentioned fact.

Milan Luthria’s “Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai” is a periodical film, which excavates the various traits of the city, set amidst the background of a cataclysmic society. The film eminently portrays the dark and gloomy days of the 1970’s, when the entire city was suffocating from the burdens of unemployment and poverty. The minorities were inflicted with an immense hatred and rage against the contemporary government. Thus, all of these factors played a pivotal role in the further enhancement of crime and the rise of the underworld gangsters all over the city and even in its suburbs. Sultan Mirza (Ajay Devgan), a reel life portrayal of the legendary gangster Haji Mustan was certainly the need of the hour in this whole scenario. Being imposed with his self ideologies and principles, and possessing a Robin Hood imagery among the masses, Sultan Mirza soon became the epicenter of attraction in underworld. And hereby, the film mainly deals with the romanticized telling of the rise of sultan and his protégé Shoaib Khan (Emraan Hashmi), a contrasting character which bears resemblance with the vicious mafia leader Dawood Ibrahim. Shoaib possesses all those attributes that a stereotyped gangster does- bloodshed, treachery, gang war, disloyalty, for his insatiable hunger for acquiring more power. Thus, quite expectedly he betrayed even sultan in respect of establishing his sole authority in the crime world of Mumbai.


Unlike, the other gangster films, here the director didn’t emphasize too much on dabbling with guns and gore, instead he focused on the various subtleties of emotions and the nuances of the relationships. Quite invigoratingly, the entire aspect of violence took backseat in this film, and the emotional quotient gained much predominance. However, from the point of view of direction and several technical aspects, there exist certain drawbacks. There are hardly any astonishing and eye-catching shots. Although the colors and lighting have a hint of retro, but the camera has been pretty ordinary.


However, both the protagonists of the film have live up to their expectations. Kangna Ranaut, through his ambiguous dialogues and metaphors, successfully presents herself as the renowned Bollywood actress of the 1970’s, while Prachi Desai also successfully portrayed the effervescences of a middle-class girl. In addition, there has been an ensemble cast which consists of Randeep Hooda- a cop who possess, principles accompanied with high moral and ethical values and the loyal sultan aide Naved Ahmed.


Irrespective of being good or bad, “Once Upon a time in Mumbaai” can be regarded as an agenda based film, which effectively grasps the attention of the audience till the end and herein lays the success of the entire cast and crew of this film.

Film Review of Inception

Film Review of Inception

Perhaps a new era of Freudian psycho-analysis commences through the magical hands of Nolan. With an impeccable blend of myth and mystery, “Inception” can definitely be considered as one of the most spellbinding creation in the last few decades. Hollywood has been rarely so exceptional in regard of breaking the confinement of the commerce and cliché ridden stereotyped nature. After “Memento”, “Doodlebug”, now it’s the turn of “Inception”, which will leave you agonized, tormented, awkward with its utter complications and hallucinating effects. And never expect to get rid of this conundrum in just one shot, as it consists of too many levels of reality accompanied with an astounding concept.

Leonardo Di Caprio, the chief protagonist of the film once again proves his stature and enigmatic presence onscreen as a special agent who possesses the capability of stealing ideas and dreams from the subconscious minds of human beings. Thus he has been widely acclaimed as an idea extractor, which contributes a pivotal role in making him as one of the most wanted men in the espionage system of the corporate world. And so, the renowned businessman Ket Watanabe appointed him in the motive of diminishing one of his business rivals. But this time, it’s not extracting ideas or dreams, instead incepting or implanting it in an individual’s mind. Di Caprio alias Cobb with his companions needs to implant the germ of a vicious idea in the mind of Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), who must be compelled to stand against his father.

Following the dictions of a thriller movie, here also the protagonist of the film engages himself in an emotional tryst with his beloved wife Mal (Marian Cotillard), who unfortunately becomes a tragic character of the former’s experiment. This not only makes Cobb a fugitive from his haunted past, but at the same time forms a parallel reality that repudiates to let go. Thus when Ariadne (Ellen Paige) explores the dark side of the protagonist, she realized that how hazardous it is to share dreams with this troublesome soul, who must brawl with his own demons from the past, before inflicting into other’s minds.

Inception is one of those films, which imbibes a deep psychological influence among the masses. Undoubtedly, it’s one of the most exhilarating creations in the recent past. In aspects of cinematography, mise-en-scene and the usage of emblematic shots, the film truly stands apart from the rest and creates an identity of its own. Wally Pflister, the cinematographer of this film is immensely praiseworthy and truly deserves an appraisal, while juxtaposing the two separate entities of the real and surreal in a single platform with utter professionalism and craftsmanship. The editing unit and the special effects have also reached the level of proficiency that can be expected from this master director’s film.

Inception portrays a cinematic language of excellence and perfection that Christopher Nolan has weaved with his skillful hands and eternal magnificence, which once again places him among the most enthralling and unfathomable filmmaker of the contemporary cinema.