Movie Review: Mithya

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This one is strictly for Multiplex movie types who are still caught between the erstwhile art and the nouvaeu experimental cinema. I admire Rajat Kapoor for having attempting this at all. But, but, but (Oh my buts, no pun intended) the movie begins and ends from nowhere to nowhere. Well that’s the feel I got. The story is there but not quite. The performances are great but from entirely unexpected quarters. The music is forgettable. The locales are fantastic. The photography is surrealistic at times but efficiently done. So like the movie where do I begin and where do I end this write up.
The words of the immortal James Douglas Morrison flashed through my mind while watching the movie and crystallized at its end.
“The program for this evening is not new
You’ve seen this entertainment through and through
You’ve seen your birth, your life and death
You might recall all the rest
Did you have a good life?
Enough to base a movie on?”
Apparently Rajat Kapoor thought so about his hero. This dark comedy is about an aspiring actor, brilliantly portrayed by Ranvir Shorey, emulating the countless wannabe heroes in the tinsel town of Mumbai. His idyllic struggle in the moviedom is rudely interrupted when he is becomes an unwilling witness to a murder attempt on an underworld don who, well, looks exactly like him. The don’s enemies devise a plan to takeover the business of reigning Don. So they kidnap our hero, terrorize him, threaten him, pay him and then train him to take the place of his look alike, who is then waylaid and shot. All the pieces are now in place or are they?
He settles down reasonably well in his new role and just when things seem to be going as per plan he falls down from a banister and loses his memory. I won’t play the spoiler and reveal the subsequent developments. The sudden twists and turns in the story keep the viewer interested but somehow one doesn’t quite find what one is looking for. Like I said, almost there but not quite.
The spectrum of human emotions has been explored quite cleverly. The character of Ranvir takes off from being a happy go lucky youth, to a contented family man, to a terror struck brutalized victim, to hopelessness and bewilderment with remarkable aplomb. Vinay Pathak walks through his role of a Mafiosi thug with consummate ease. Neha Dhupia, despite her rapidly expanding bottoms, was a pleasant surprise. Saurabh Shukla and Naseeruddin Shah were the two unexpected disappointments. The first was too loud and Mr Shah too quiet in a most insignificant role. Harsh Chhaya, as the dead don’s brother exuded the menace of a professional gangster.
Despite my reservations, my compliments must go to Rajat Kapoor for being there in frontline of the brave new movie makers. It is a fantastic effort and he can only get better. He has created a laudable mirage. Take what you can from it !