Mumbai Meri Jaan is truly an exceptional movie which touches your heart, which can make you cry. It salutes the spirit of Mumbai and does it so effectively that the viewer can relate through the lives of ordinary persons in the film.
Director Nishikant Kamat’s film explores the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the mindset of people. It is about the infamous July 11, 2006 Mumbai train blasts and how these incidents affect the lives of different people in the city. The film simply presents the facts and reality of life and it does not try to be judgmental at all. It is upon the viewer to make his own opinion. The film has five different stories running parallel to each other which are bound by the same incident.
Nikhil (R. Madhavan) is software professional and a responsible citizen. Incidently, on the fateful day of July when there are serial blasts on different trains throughout Mumbai he doesn’t board his usual train compartment and is thus saved from the bomb blasts. This terror strikes so deep in his heart that he feels like leaving Mumbai for good.
These blasts also cause a shattering effect on Rupali (Soha Ali Khan) who is a brilliant broadcast journalist working for a news channel and whose beliefs about the fourth estate are shaken by the incident.
Mumbai Meri Jaan is about the angry unemployed Suresh (played by Kay Kay Menon) who is a Hindu fanatic and whose hatred for Muslims is only strengthened after the blasts.
Tukaram ( Paresh Rawal ) is a senior constable about to retire in a week when he is assigned the patrolling duty with a rookie cop Sunil (Vijay Maurya). There are brilliant instances showing the humour-laced apathy of a Tukaram and the disillusionment of Sunil, the new recruit, towards the corrupt system.
Also, there is a coffee vendor Thomas (Irrfan Khan) who is struggling for survival and lets out his pent up angst by spreading fear among people after the attacks.
Irrfan Khan and Paresh Rawal, as usual are brilliant. A surprise packet is Vijay Maurya who just stands out with a convincing performance.
Soha Ali Khan seems a bit loud in her performance in this otherwise episode which highlights the insensitivity of the TRP-hungry media, while Madhavan the techie, seems so really scared and terrorized by the blasts. The typical fanatic Hindu Suresh played by Kay Kay Menon who is in a fine form.
Mumbai Meri Jaan, the film follows their lives as they tackle the aftermath of this shocking incident that brings out the best and worst in them as human beings. Some noteworthy scenes are those of the aftermath at the blast site, the hospital and the morgue sequences which create an impact.
Cast of Mumbai Meri Jaan:
Rupali – Soha Ali Khan
Nikhil – Madhavan
Kadam – Vijay Maurya
Suresh – Kay Kay Menon
Tukaram Patil – Paresh Rawal
Vikesh – Anand Tiwari
Credits of Mumbai Meri Jaan:
Produced by Ronnie Screwvala
Directed by Nishikant Kamat
Story -Yogesh Vinayak Joshi
Screenplay – Yogesh Vinayak Joshi, Upendra Sidhaye
Cinematography – Sanjay Jadhav
Film Editing – Amit Pawar
Visual Effects – Rajiv Raghunathan (Senior Digital Intermediate Producer)
Dialogue – Yogesh Vinayak Joshi
Music – Sameer Phaterpekar
Lyrics – Yogesh Vinayak Joshi
Production Design – Mahesh Salgaonkar, Dhananjay Mondal, Parimal Das Poddar
Editing Amit Pawar
Audiography – Allwyn Rego, Sanjay Maurya
Mumbai Meri Jaan, movie review
