Reel Corporate Conundrums in Real Life

After a really long time, Vidhya and I managed to catch a full movie (via DVD at home) and I was sufficiently impressed to pen down a few thoughts.

I know there have been several other reviews on this movie, so I will abstain from writing about what has already been written and try and give you some of my personal thoughts derived from the movie. But first, some links to set stall for those who have not watched the movie yet:

For the Cast and Plot, you can’t say it too much better than Chandrashekhar’s review in MouthShut. For some stills from the movie, check out this link from IndiaFM.

1. Bipasha Basu – I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of Bipasha in this movie. Maybe the role suited her – but she does an excellent job of disproving those who think she is all oomph and no substance. Her understated portrayal of Nishigandha Dasgupta deserves kudos when it would have been very easy to go over the top.

2. Kay Kay Menon – Excellent performance! People who watch Bollywood more often than I do say it is no surprise and that he is a proven performer. The biggest praise I could shower on him is that he looked like a failure from the beginning and even during his successes you knew he was doomed to failure.

3. The subtlety – Despite the handcrafted suits and the mahagony board-rooms, the subtlety in depiction of several scenes was commendable. Kay Kay’s murder and the role of Devyani Bakshi (Lilette Dubey?) are good examples.

4. The clichés – the god-men who drive Mercs, the corrupt politicians who transcend party lines for personal profits, the puppet-like role of the overseas partners, the Ketan Parikh-esque stock broker, the conflict between the traditional Marwaha and the socialite, squash-playing and modern Sehgal – they may all be clichéd and over-used, but they brought in the earthiness and the bland humor that blended well with corporate sophistication

5. The Thin Line – between right and wrong, success and failure, profiteering and ethics, loyalty to your company and loyalty to yourself is well played out by Madhur Bhandarkar (MB)

6. MB ishtyle – I think he still carries the hangover of the successful Page 3 party. Several of the “asides” with the secretaries, drivers and security men are very much an extension of what happened in Page 3. So too the voice-over he uses to explain the nuances of the story that could not be brought out through the characters. Funny enough, but you expect MB to be classier. Also, I think he may have got stuck into a particular style of movie making – Chandini Bar, Page 3, Corporate and now Traffic Signal, all expose the seedy underbelly of one aspect of society. And just how did Bipasha get the password to the laptop to uncover her rivals' secrets?

7. The ending – I like the ending, well ensconced in reality. If the preceding story were true, this seems to be the most plausible ending. One reason why I am not such a big fan of Hindi movies is that the endings can often be predicted in advance and I hate that. Alternatively, the conclusion is so implausible that you not just have to suspend disbelief, but store your brain in formalin as well. I hate that as well.

8. Conclusion – Very good movie and well worth a watch, but Page 3 was probably better.