With the release of People Picture's 99, the great filmi depression has finally come to an end. Three cheers and a huge round of applause for that! Cinema can breathe in peace for now.
99 reminded me of Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. It isn't as brilliant as Spielberg's film but it does have that tinge of wickedness, one that is thoroughly entertaining and rare in Hindi cinema. The film is silly and intelligent at the same time and it belongs to the 'tadka laga ke' class of comedies, if you know what I mean by that! 99 is about match-fixing, bookies and people who spend fortunes on illegal betting. The film takes reference from the 1999 cricket match-fixing scandal to create a delightful comedy of errors.
The actors are a real asset to this film. Kunal Khemu and Cyrus Broacha are immensely successful in spicing up every frame that they occupy. Quite possibly, their characters, Sachin and Zaramud are inspired by Laurel and Hardy. Boman Irani is at his usual best and his trademark comic timing is visible throughout the film. Mahesh Manjrekar, Soha Ali Khan, Simone Singh and yesteryear-actor Vinod Khanna essay their roles with ease. That said, the biggest scene-stealer of 99 is a relatively less known actor called Amit Mistry. His delectable act as the flashy Delhiite and his hilariously awkward English dialogues will entertain you completely, thanks to the crisp dialogues by Sita Menon, Chintan Gandhi and Raja Sen.
Directors, Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru, are not new to this genre of film-making. Their last film, Flavors, was an impressive crossover product which had received a generous amount of positive reviews from the foreign press. 99 provides a bigger canvas to showcase their skills at comedy and they make full use of it. I found their style of film-making very refreshing and unlike anything I have seen recently. Undoubtedly they are now part of the elite club of contemporary filmmakers which include directors like Raj Kumar Gupta, Neeraj Pandey and Dibaker Banerjee. 99 is a technically proficient film too. Rajeev Ravi's photography is crystal-clear, making the capital look good on screen once again. Particularly, the opening credits have been shot and conceptualised very well. Roshan Machado's tangy background score is another highlight which gels in perfectly with the characters and the setting.
If you are tired of the clumsy, slapstick humour that Bollywood churns out so frequently, then 99 is for you. Highly recommended to all those film buffs who yearn for a good entertaining comedy. I'm honestly thrilled that those unbearable 'sex comedies' are finally losing steam in the film business.
I go with 7* Stars Highly recommended to all those film buffs who yearn for a good entertaining comedy.
99 reminded me of Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. It isn't as brilliant as Spielberg's film but it does have that tinge of wickedness, one that is thoroughly entertaining and rare in Hindi cinema. The film is silly and intelligent at the same time and it belongs to the 'tadka laga ke' class of comedies, if you know what I mean by that! 99 is about match-fixing, bookies and people who spend fortunes on illegal betting. The film takes reference from the 1999 cricket match-fixing scandal to create a delightful comedy of errors.
The actors are a real asset to this film. Kunal Khemu and Cyrus Broacha are immensely successful in spicing up every frame that they occupy. Quite possibly, their characters, Sachin and Zaramud are inspired by Laurel and Hardy. Boman Irani is at his usual best and his trademark comic timing is visible throughout the film. Mahesh Manjrekar, Soha Ali Khan, Simone Singh and yesteryear-actor Vinod Khanna essay their roles with ease. That said, the biggest scene-stealer of 99 is a relatively less known actor called Amit Mistry. His delectable act as the flashy Delhiite and his hilariously awkward English dialogues will entertain you completely, thanks to the crisp dialogues by Sita Menon, Chintan Gandhi and Raja Sen.
Directors, Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru, are not new to this genre of film-making. Their last film, Flavors, was an impressive crossover product which had received a generous amount of positive reviews from the foreign press. 99 provides a bigger canvas to showcase their skills at comedy and they make full use of it. I found their style of film-making very refreshing and unlike anything I have seen recently. Undoubtedly they are now part of the elite club of contemporary filmmakers which include directors like Raj Kumar Gupta, Neeraj Pandey and Dibaker Banerjee. 99 is a technically proficient film too. Rajeev Ravi's photography is crystal-clear, making the capital look good on screen once again. Particularly, the opening credits have been shot and conceptualised very well. Roshan Machado's tangy background score is another highlight which gels in perfectly with the characters and the setting.
If you are tired of the clumsy, slapstick humour that Bollywood churns out so frequently, then 99 is for you. Highly recommended to all those film buffs who yearn for a good entertaining comedy. I'm honestly thrilled that those unbearable 'sex comedies' are finally losing steam in the film business.
I go with 7* Stars Highly recommended to all those film buffs who yearn for a good entertaining comedy.