Traffic- Ashdoc’s movie review
The task—
—to first convince the parents of a young man almost dead in an accident that he is no longer going to survive , and his heart is needed to be transplanted into that of a young girl desperately in need of a new heart .
—then to take out the heart after getting the parents’ permission and transport it from the city of Mumbai (where the young man is lying in hospital) to the city of Pune (where the girl is admitted) in double quick time, for time is running out.
—but the above task can’t be done by air because there is fog because of which all flights are cancelled .
—so the police have to clear way through the traffic of maximum city Mumbai and reach the Expressway connecting Pune, a task daunting enough for those who know the traffic snarls of maximum city.
—find a policeman having the guts to do the task of driving at high speeds without causing an accident.
—and be ready to face unforeseen dangers on the journey, for they will come; after all this is a film and what is a film without unforeseen dangers!!
The director had all the ingredients of a hit movie in his hands, plus he already had the film in his hands—for it had already been made in Malayalam language and according to those who saw the original film it is quite a good movie .
But somehow this remake in the Hindi language does not have the zing of the original—here I am relying on hearsay, for I don’t understand Malayalam and haven’t seen the original film .
The girl is daughter of film star Dev Kapoor (played by Prosenjit Chatterjee) and his wife (played by Divya Dutta), and the parents of the young man are played by Sachin Khedekar and Kitu Gidwani. The constable who drives is played by Manoj Bajpai and he has a point to prove to his own daughter who feels disgraced by him having been caught doing corruption and suspended earlier. The doctor (Parambrata Chatterjee) holding the icebox containing the heart has his own huge personal issue to deal with—something that erupts in the middle of the drive and threatens the whole enterprise. And an accident then derails the journey, forcing Bajpai to drive through a communally sensitive area- something that requires the co-operation of the local politicians .
The whole movie does keep you engaged but does not really keep you on your toes. There is no dull moment but the dangers that are going to come seem predictable. In the end it gives you a climax that warms the cockles of your heart; only somewhat though .
The photography and colours are not good and the proceedings were grim—after all, who likes the atmosphere of hospitals and dying patients? Not me, at least! Acting wise, the movie is better as everyone is convincing in his or her role. Best acting is by the confident looking Jimmy Shergill—who plays police commissioner of Mumbai. Music is not memorable .
Verdict—one time watch
Two and a half stars
