Coffeehouse for desis
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

Ashdoc's movie review---Citylights

Go down

Ashdoc's movie review---Citylights Empty Ashdoc's movie review---Citylights

Post by ashdoc Sat Oct 25, 2014 11:42 pm

This is truly a sordid tale as tales go , but it does offer a glimmer of hope in humanity as it shows to what extent a man can go for the sake of his home and his family and his hearth....

It is officially a copy of 'Metro Manila'---an english film . 

Rajkumar Yadav ( the leading actor's real name , though he goes by the name of Rajkumar Rao nowadays ) and his wife are down in the dumps in the worst way possible---financially of course....
So they decide to try their luck to the only place where immigrants come from all over India for their pot of gold---Mumbai , what else...and they travel all the way from their native place in Rajasthan . 

The naivety of these simple townsfolk from small places is exposed in Mumbai as they get fooled instantly---they are shown an apartment for rent , where they pay money without any papers being signed . Of course , the people who take money from them disappear and Rajkumar's wife is evicted from that apartment in heartless fashion by it's real owners....this scene is truly heartrending , and my father ( with whom I was watching the movie on TV ) walked out from the living room because he could not bear to see the movie any more....

They are helped by a bar girl , who finds them temporary accomodation . But the couple's future seems to be bleak . And desperation because of shortage of money can lead a person down any path....Rajkumar's wife finds a job as a dance bar girl using the contacts of the bar girl who helped them , or rather she is lured by the bar girl into that path....

The scene in which she meets the bar owner for the first time is another cringeworthy scene---a woman like her who comes from a respectable family is forced to show her body parts for visual examination by the bar owner ; the size of her belly and breasts and buttocks are visually eyed by the bar owner who leeringly approves and then forces her to dance in front of him on a bollywood number . She has to dance in front of drunk men who touch her inappropriately when showering her with cash .

Finally Rajkumar lands a job as a security guard who guards boxes of cash being transported for the rich in vans . He is helped by another guard who teaches him the intricacies of the job . The man also gives him an apartment to live . But obviously there is nothing like a free lunch , and the man has ulterior motives in helping Rajkumar Yadav . In fact , Rajkumar is going to be caught in a web which will ultimately lead to his doom....

So what web is Rajkumar going to be caught in ??
What are the motives of the security guard in helping Rajkumar ??
More importantly , will the couple and their daughter who is accompanying them survive in the big bad world of the big city ?? 

Watch the movie for the answers....

This is one bleak movie , and I fully understand why my father walked out....

Of course , acting by everybody is good . But the proceedings feel as if they are constantly moving towards impending tragedy....
Does not put you in a good mood , this movie....

Some of the scenes are meant to make you cringe , like the scene where the hero is taken by his security guard friends to a dance bar and he realizes that his wife must be dancing in a bar like this in another part of the city---and he begins to imagine her that way among leering drunkards and goes home frustrated and tries to taunt her about that , only to be slapped by her....

Ultimately the hero manages to triumph in the end , and it is the surprising climax that makes the movie a good movie . But the triumph comes at a terrible price for himself....

This movie has some art house movie features , but I found it hard to say whether it is an art film or commercial ; more art house I think...
But the second half of the movie is more like a thriller and the climax is actionpacked , something that would not disappoint commercial cinema lovers . 

Rajkumar Yadav is good as usual , and I am now looking forward to see his films in future . He spoke hindi in rajasthani accent all too well , as if he was a rajasthani .

In the end you walk out with memories of how a good but desperate man went to astonishing lengths to secure a future for his family/children and succeeded....but I didn't have to walk out , for I was in my own home watching the film in HD on big screen TV---The experience of watching was as good as watching in theater....

Verdict---sordid but good .

ashdoc

Posts : 2256
Join date : 2011-05-04

Back to top Go down

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum