Johnny Gaddar - Movie Talk

[Danfe]

Reluctantly I watched this movie, initial 20-30 minutes was just as usual and thought it’s a bakwas movie and I was blaming for the producer, director and even dharampa. But half an hour before the movie it took a twist and the way movies goes is very interesting. I never thought I would enjoy the movie that way some where I paused out of excitement. Some of the sequence was so natural I mean this movie is good for those who want different test.

Movie has been plotted on the real background of “money is a dirty game”, a chain of reactions after a devil thought crosses vikram’s mind the Johnny Gaddar. Nandita Das has given the best shot of her life all the actors have justified for their roles. And the way secret reveals and exposed is unthinkable. I think the director wants to give new test just like "Ek Haseena Thi" Urmila and Saif.

I enjoyed this movie and thought to pour out my views,followings are its reviews:

Cast: Dharmendra, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Rimi Sen, Zakir Hussain, Vinay Pathak, Daya Shetty, Ashwini Kalsekar
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Jhamu Sugandh
Music Director: Vishal-Shekhar

Remember ‘Ek Haseena Thi’, yes..the Sriram Raghavan directed flick that showed power packed performances from Saif Ali Khan and Urmila. Now, Adlabs has announced that it will be producing and distributing Sriram Raghavan’s latest film JOHNNY GADDAAR.

The film is a suspense thriller from the same technical team that was part of EK HASEENA THI. The story of the film has been adopted from various pieces of work such as FARGO, PULP FICTION and LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS.

The cast of the film includes Dharmendra, who is making a comeback after a long gap. The movie is also the launch pad of Neil Nitin Mukesh, who previously worked as an assistant director with Yash Raj for four years and has an impeccable film lineage as the son of Nitin Mukesh and grandson of singer Mukesh. Also, Rimi Sen, Zakir Hussain, Vinay Pathak, Daya Shetty and Ashwini Kalsekar play important characters in the thriller. The music has been composed by Vishal-Shekhar.

The movie basically revolves around a gang of five men, Dharmendra playing the eldest and Neil playing the youngest. They face a bright prospect of making a fortune through what seems to be a simple exchange of contraband for money on a train. The story takes a somersault when one of the gang members gets killed before he can make the exchange and the money he was holding, disappears.

Official Website: Johnny Gaddar
Duration: 2:20 hrs (approx.)
Genre: Suspense Thriller
Director, Story: Sriram Raghavan
Lead Actors: Neil Nitin Mukesh, Dharmendra, Vinay Pathak, Zakir Hussain
Supporting Cast: Ashwini Kalsekar, Rimi Sen, Shiva
Music Director: Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonca
Lyrics: Nilesh Mishra, Hardkaur, Jaideep Sahni

Story - brilliant, colors - vibrant, camerawork - creative, sound - unobtrusive, editing - slick, entire team - smart! Sorry, director saahab, I have run out of adjectives, so choose a superlative for yourself and I’ll agree.

What do I say? Where do I start? I must admit, it is the most difficult to write about a suspense thriller “without giving the movie away”. Any specifics that I would like to talk about will contribute to you knowing a bit about the movie. And that would be a crime in this genre. So, here is my attempt at being as unambiguous as possible.

This movie will be talked about a lot for the stylish homage the director pays to the people/styles of movie-making that have inspired him. And for a good reason too. The beauty with which the tributes have been interwoven with the narrative is not something one should write or read about. It has to be watched and applauded. Watch out for the way the subtle tribute to Anand has blended with and become a part of the story.

Acting - one of the departments missing from the list above - is not at its best. Dharmendra deserved far fewer lines considering his dialogue delivery was rather monotonous. Neil Nitin Mukesh is quite flat in some scenes, but overall, he has grasped and enacted the nuances of his character really well. For me, Vinay Pathak was the show stealer. In general, the versatility of this actor is just incredible!

Dialogues - my disappointment with this area might have more to do with the expectations set by the first 15-20 minutes of the movie. The general mysterious tone set in the beginning is missing at certain points later on. Especially, in the climax, keeping the dialogue enigmatic would have had much more impact. But, I am sure it was a balance the director must have struggled with - leave it to the audience to decipher or spoon-feed them.

What impressed me the most was how much I enjoyed the movie despite being a little dissatisfied with the two main departments of the movie - the two most visible ones. Though acting and dialogues are not necessarily the selling points of a movie in this genre. Just goes to show what a long way treatment of material can take a movie.
Review - Johnny Gaddar » without giving the movie away…

Introducing Johnny Gaddar
Director Sriram Raghavan’s debut film Ek Haseena Thi, starring Saif Ali Khan and Urmila Matondkar was average at the box-office but won rave reviews from the critics. After three years of hiatus, the director is back with yet another suspense thriller titled ‘Johnny Gaddar’. Many films that released this year are inspirations of Hollywood movies or Bollywood classics. Johnny Gaddar is no exception. The title of the film is Raghavan’s way of paying homage to veteran director Vijay Anand. Some of the script is borrowed from James Hadley Chase novels and the Big B starrer Parwana, which is clearly revealed in the movie as Johnny is show watching the movie and takes inspiration to double cross his business associates.

Johnny Gaddar Story:
Seshadri (Dharmendra), Prakash (Vinay Patak), Shardul (Zakir Hussain), Shiva (Daya Shetty) and Vikram (Neil Mukesh) are five business associates, who plan a conspiracy. All have one common interest and that is making fast money. The eldest of the group is Seshadri and he gets an offer to make a fortune in four days and the rest of the gang agree to pitch in their share as this would put them in the big league. The youngest of the group Vikram decides to double-cross and elope with his love Mini. What ensues is an accident that they all try to figure out.

Johnny Gaddar Movie Review:
Director Sriram has chosen to make it different. Unlike other thrillers where the identity of the culprit is kept a secret till the climax nears, in Johnny Gaddar there is absolutely no beating around the bush. The audience knows right from the outset what transpires and who the culprit is. Johnny Gaddar takes the audience on a journey full of suspenses. With just three short songs, no cry and drama, the movie follows things a caper thriller should. But the movie slackens in pace and hence suffers to do complete justice as a suspense thriller. The script is interesting, with twists and turns, one accident leading to many crimes but the sequence could have been better scripted by making the suspense even more intricate.

Johnny Gaddar Performance:
Dharmendra as Seshadri does justice to his character. But his role could have been improved to match his magnetism. The one scene that looked quite artificial is his death scene. Neil Mukesh, the debutant is commendable in a role that doesn’t demand histrionics. We can expect to see more of him in the future. Having seen Vinay Pathak in comic roles, this new avatar of his comes as a surprise. He is brilliant. Zakir Hussain is excellent. He executes the role with ease and comfort. Daya Shetty’s (Daya in TV Thriller CID) role is limited. His performance is average.

Indicine Johnny Gaddar Verdict
Overall, Johnny Gaddar is half planned suspense thriller but manges to entertain.The movie will be reveived with mixed reviews. It’s business at the multiplex will be good.
Review: Johnny Gaddar Movie Review (Johny Gadar)