99 – The movie

I saw the promo of the movie and thought it might be worth a visit to the movie hall. 99 comes as a breather for all the movie buffs who have been deprived of hindi movies this summer. However, I did not have much expectation from the movie. The “Multiplex movies” can be either too good or too bad. When I saw the names of the producers & directors of the movie, Anupam Mittal & Krishna/Raj Nidimoru , I got excited. These guys had made a movie called Flavors earlier, which is still one of my all time favorites.

It’s tough making a thriller. And it is tougher making a comic thriller. 99 is just that. From the first scene to the last, the movie keeps you glued to it. I have never seen Kunal Khemu on screen before. And I was mighty impressed with his acting. An actor can be best judged with his comic timings and expressions. And Kunal has got the right blend of both. Paired along with Cyrus Brocha, these guys go the dumb and the dumber way. The directors could not have got a better cast to pull of the characters in the movie. Boman Irani playing the gambler -Rahul, Vinod Khanna playing the bookie, Mahesh Manjrekar playing the gangster – AGM and Soha Ali playing the hotel manager. And add to it the small little characters like that of the collection agent, Kuber played by Amit Mistry, who keeps trying to speak in English. The way cyrus has been made to look in the movie is amazing.

The movie revolves around the Match fixing scandal that happened in 1999. And the script keeps moving from one character to another smartly. Rahul owes money to Kuber and AGM. Sachin and Zaramud (Kunal and Cyrus) owe money to AGM. Sachin and Zaramud go for collecting AGM’s money from Rahul. And all of them together lose the money Rahul flips from his office. Confusing? Well, that is the whole crux of the movie and the whole confusions are handled awesomely well in the script. Add to it the amazing dialogues, which is the heart of any good comedy. Raj & Krishna has just got it perfect. Like for example the dialogue that Cyrus says. “Dilli mein sala march mein Tand padti hai. Aur Har koi ladkiyon ka naam Pooja ya Neha hota hai”. Soha Ali Khan plays the character of a hotel manager, Pooja! She strikes a chord with Sachin who stays in her hotel and helps them bail out of the fix.

Amazing dialogues, intelligent script and perfect portrayals of the characters makes 99 a must watch movie. I would even recommend buying a DVD for a second time watch of the movie. A special mention on the songs that run on the background throughout the movie – I am sure they are worth listening to again. I hope the director/producer combo comes up with more movies like this in the future too.

Star of the movie: Krishna/Raj Nidimoru & Sita Menon

Point Table: 3.5/5

Reco: Must Watch