The film’s poster eerily looks similar to that of “Dostana” with only two different characters and the backdrop of the New York skyline instead of the Miami Beach. The movie’s completely different though. For a change, there’s a relevant issue instead of just college banter and the boy-meets-girl and they live happily ever after story. However, a relevant issue needs much more attention to detail which the movie has not achieved.
Its music, especially the track “Hai Junoon” is incredibly foot-tapping and rhythmic. The first half deals with the college life of the fresher, Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh) who comes to the New York State University for his masters where he meets his student counselor Maya (Katrina Kaif) who in turn introduces him to the college champ Sam (John Abraham). This college scene is a flashback from the recital that Omar’s giving Roshan (Irrfan Khan) who’s playing the FBI cop. Omar has been arrested by the FBI for being a terrorist suspect. However, the first half seems like a drag, with the pace of the movie being too slow, not performances to write home about and no dialogues that you’ll remember. One scene which struck me as odd was the one in which they’ve shown the students on campus reacting to the 9/11 blasts, the emotion displayed by the students is quite pale and not as dramatic as it should’ve been. Given the iconic stature of those blasts, that scene deserved better depiction.
In the second half, Omar returns into the lives of Maya and Sam, trying to prove that he and Sam, who the FBI suspects of having become a terrorist, are in fact innocent. It is here that one gets to glimpse some performances which will have an impact. John Abraham has for once shown some acting prowess in the way he’s portrayed the scene of a prisoner in the detention centre for being a terrorist suspect. The gruesome behavior of the cops and the trials of being a prisoner can literally give you goose bumps! Katrina has managed to portray her character fairly well, but she has not got a meaty character or a strong script to back her performance. Neil Nitin Mukesh was underplayed, which fits with the character, but I personally found his forced smile quite irritatingly unnatural. His performance in Johnny Gaddar was so much more stronger, I feel the director could’ve used his potential to perform in better fashion.
On the whole, the movie is worth a watch, especially since cinema-goers have been deprived of this excursion for so long!
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