REVIEW: Once Upon A Time In Mumbai (2)

BAK BAK BHAIS

Imagine High Noon, when the dramatic tension of the movie is created not by silences but by dialog. Or Citizen Kane where the whole story is narrated to you instead of leaving you with one word, 'Rosebud'... Well, the film Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai could have been fantastic, except for the unrestrained bak bak by the gangsters.

'Kashti agar samunder mein daal dee hai toh thapede sehne padenge, uske baad hee kinaare naseeb honge',

'Bambai ko aapne pulis chowkiyon se baant toh diyaa, lekin hum mein se kisi ki neeyat badal jaaye toh aap kya karenge?'

'dono ki photo apni dukaan mein taang do, phir ek bhagwaan chun lena'

Such dialog is great (and this is from memory), but only when accompanied by action. You remember 'Kitne Aadmi The' not because Gabbar says it in any particular style, but because Gabbar follows the dialog with such incredible unexpected violence that the scene becomes his hallmark.

This film is about violent people, doing violent things but you only hear them talk about it. Now I am not saying they should show bomb blasts and gunfights and killings, because we do that really badly (cardboard homes blown up, thermocol beams falling on people, and blood that is obviously fake). But there is so much room for action, you come away feeling that they were so impressed by the words that they forgot the very basic rule: show, don't tell.

But one thing's for sure, this film has the best, yes, the best background score I have heard in a Hindi film this year.

The art direction is good and slips only when Kangna Ranaut wears the Breakfast At Tiffany's style Black dress which is 1961 style and not something a star of the seventies would wear.

The two girls make great molls although Kangna's voice is like chalk grating on the blackboard. Emraan Hashmi scores huge points in the entire Bobby scene. But it Ajay Devgn who plays the gangster Sultaan to the hilt. He has the voice, the attitude, the style, and the 'look' in his eyes. I loved him in Apaharan, and now here! He is a darned good actor, and in this movie, he plays the bad guy with the heart of a lover brilliantly. 

The story of a smuggler who chose to rule the seas and managed to control gangs by dividing the turf but lost the war to his own protegee would have been a fantastic action flick with a soul, but it gets lost in a ocean of words.