For most of us, larger events in the world are just headlines in the newspapers but these events can change our lives… forever. New York is one such story of 3 young friends whose beautiful lives are turned upside down by larger events beyond their control. It is the story about how one of them strays to become a terrorist due to the needless FBI torture on him after the 9/11 attack. New York movie review…
Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh), a middle class Indian boy from Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, is a bright student who gets a scholarship to come and study at the NYSU. He has gone abroad for the first time in his life and soon enough he begins to see and love America through the eyes of his American friends – Sam (John Abraham) and Maya (Katrina Kaif).
Samir or Sam (John Abraham) as all his university mates call him is the ‘star of the campus’. Athletic, good looking and bright he is one of the most popular boys in New York State University.
Maya (Katrina Kaif), an Indian girl born and brought up in New York is Sam’s classmate and fills the campus with her cheer and fun-loving bohemian attitude.
Omar is in love with Maya. Towards the end of college days, Omar finds out Maya is in love with Samir. The dejected Omar decides to leave the New York city.
It is the story of these three friends discovering a new world together.
But one day, the world around the three friends has changed after the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers in NY. At this point enters Agent Roshan (Irrfan), an FBI undercover agent who sets the ball rolling for a series of tumultuous events that turn the lives of these friends into a dangerous and thrilling roller coaster ride.
Seven years later, Omar is falsely arrested of carrying ammunition and explosives in his taxi. During the course of his interrogations, he is informed about the fact that his friend Sam is a terrorist. Omar cannot not believe it. Roshan, the FBI Agent offers him a choice to free himself of these charges by going back into Sam’s life (who is now married to Maya) and then expose Sam’s attack plans. Thus, Omar accepts the offer only to prove Sam’s innocence.
Omar soon finds out that Sam has some connections with the terrorists, and then Sam unfolds his past experience of how he has turned to terrorism only after the innocent Sam was unnecessarily and most gruesomely tortured by the FBI following the 9/11 incidents.
Roshan the FBI undercover agent of South Asian descent who is ready to go to any lengths to protect the freedom that he believes everybody in America enjoys.
The first half is very refreshing, though a bit long and stretched. Post interval, the film catches up with the pace witnessed in its clips and trailers. Without typical Bollywood style music and dance, this serious drama follows the ragged life of an Indian kept down by his own skin color and religion with nostalgic retrospect on life in New York City.
Disappointingly, the film New York has an ordinary climax. No blasts as anticipated with the building up of the tension by the characters. No damage at all to the FBI tower as planned by Sam and his gang. Just at the end of the film, Sam and his innocent wife Maya are shot by the FBI.
Cast of New York:
John Abraham – Sam
Katrina Kaif – Maya
Neil Nitin Mukesh – Omar
Irrfan – Roshan
Rizwan Alvi – Yasir
Samrat Chakrabarti – Yaqub
Obaid Kadwani – Malik
Ginger Kroll – Sarah
Biren Patel – Daylan
Cody Ross Pitts – Yohan
Justin Stern – Jack
Jon Stosal – FBI Agent
Aidan Wagner – Danyal
David Winning .- Steve
JaQuinley Kerr – Student
Credits & Crew of New York:
Directed by: Kabir Khan
Produced by: Aditya Chopra, Yash Chopra
Director of Photography: Aseem Mishra
Screenplay & Dialogues: Sandeep Shrivastava
Story: Aditya Chopra
Action Director: Sham Kaushal
Music: Pritam
Background Score: Julius Packiam
Lyrics: Sandeep Shrivastava
Production Designer: Norman Dodge
Executive Producer: Aashish Singh
Editor: Rameshwar S. Bhagat
Sync Sound: Debasish Mishra
Sound Designer: Ali Merchant (YRF Studios)
Costume Designer: Rocky S
Line Producer: Yogendra Mogre
Line Producer (USA): Sri & Company, INC.
1st Assistant Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Casting: Rita Powers, Sean Powers
Production Design: Norman Dodge (as Norm Dodge)
Art Direction: Michael Crenshaw
Production Managers: Pankaj Malik, Shaun Rogers
Publicity Design: Fayyaz Badruddin (YRF Design Cell)
Playback Singers: KK. Sunidhi Chauhan, Mohit Chauhan, Pankaj Awasthi
New York, movie review