Naseeruddin’s directorial debut breaks US myth

The director and his family were present at the world premiere of the film at the 8th Osian’s Cine Fan, Festival of Asian Cinema at New Delhi.

Woven around the tragic events of 9/11 in the US, the movie has four stories, wherein at least one individual character from all the four distinct stories, in order to pursue his or her dream, decides to go to the United States of America.

For instance Tilottima (Konkona Sensharma) is married to Hemant (Jimmy Shergill), who she met through the Net. Their honeymoon is cut short because he has to return to his job in the US. Tilottima is desperate to reach the US.

In another story Salim (Irfan Khan) is the stockbroker son of a Godmother (Saroj Khan) .This man who was indulging a much older but a sensuous Namrata (Suhasini Mulay) discovers that he was being cheated by her. As if this was not enough to shatter him, he gets involved in a killing (Boman Irani) and after all this, circumstances forced him to pack his bags and flee his country for US.

Rahul (Ankur Khanna) is an intelligent but poor student who has secured an admission into a prestigious medical course abroad but is unable to pursue it for want of money, however with the helping hand of his friend(Ayesha Takia) whose father arranges for almost everything that Rahul wants, he is also successful in flying to a bright future.

The fouth one to join this band of travellers was Rajubhai (Paresh Rawal) who is a small time organiser of stage shows in foreign lands. To join Rajubhai’s group a dancer or singer needs a few lakh rupees. One Tara (Ratna Patahak Shah) mortgages her house so that her only daughter (Shahana Goswami) could accompany Rajubhai on his foreign trip for a better future and be far away from her drunkard and abusing father.

Now, as all the above characters are excited to board the plane to enter the lands of their dreams, something very unfortunate happens. The whole concept of the story lies in this sudden change of events.

The film grips the audience when the plane carrying all these pursuers of individual dreams was hijacked by the terrorists who force the plane to crash into the pride of one of the most powerful nations of the world, to cut it short, in the soaring towers of the World Trade Organisation.

The dreams of all the aspiring travellers from India were buried under the mixed rubble of the mighty towers and the flying machine. Except Tilottima (Konkona Sensharma) who was forced by the constant bickering of her mother-in-law to join her husband in US, none survived.

What takes the audience by surprise is the fact that the film right up to the interval had the characters calling their country a very disgusting place to live in, even as they dream of and look forward to foreign destinations. But just before things could take a golden turn the film ends with a realisation that all faraway things are not a forever joy.