Life in a Metro

Lives, led in a metro. That8217;s basically it. Anurag Basu picks a superb ensemble cast to spin out a collage of little stories about people, love and lust, trust and betrayal, truth and lies. Some of those people know each other, some come together in unexpected ways, some bid a sad farewell, and some just brush past each other, never to meet again.

Result: an atmospheric telling of a tale that8217;s not really a tale, that8217;s not really new, that8217;s not really profound, but that8217;s engaging all the same. Pick out the strand you8217;ve lived through: a lying husband Kay Kay who says he has to be out of town on work, and the wife Shilpa who chances upon a text message from his lover about an assignation; the confused wife who gets this close to sleeping with an attractive man Shiney but draws back at the last minute; an ambitious young lad Sharman who will go to any lengths to get ahead, including lending his apartment to his two-timing boss, and who draws the line, finally, when it comes to the girl he loves Kangana.

Several moments in Basu8217;s bitter-sweet ode to Mumbai and romance resonate deeply. Despite its underlying cynicism, it is a movie with heart. And that8217;s the strength of his film which borrows from so many sources 8212; Jack Lemmon8217;s The Apartment, Wong Kar Wai8217;s psychedelic cinematography, and of course Alejandro Inarritu8217;s distinctive layered story-telling.

Ever since that supremely gifted Mexcian came up with Amores Perros, and reprised his own idea in Babel, filmmakers around the world have been in love with the idea. Richard Curtis Love Actually, Mani Ratnam Yuva, Nikhil Advani Salaam-e-Ishq, Reema Kagti Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd. Time to move on. And for Basu to do something original: the deftness with which he handles some bits of Metro prove that he is ready.

One completely delightful segment looks to be the director8217;s own: Irrfan and Kangana, who meet courtesy an internet matrimonial site for a first date, go their separate ways, and come together in a madcap finale, are right at the top of this very talented class. Followed, very closely, by the others; Sharman as the win-at-any-cost call centre executive, Kangana as the small-town girl in a big city quickly adapting to its brutal demands, Kay Kay as the duplicitous Indian male who will willingly stray outside his marriage, but will not countenance his wife with another man, Shiney as the loser-in-love, and Shilpa, who is torn between the two, but remains a loyal wife, in the end: Ms Shetty may be a born again reality show queen, but she can act, too.

The tracks that run through the movie are quite wonderful, but did we have to see so much of the musicians? As in some parts of the movie, less would have been more.