City Lights

Definitely not a bad film, watch it for the acting by everyone.

This is a film of the downtrodden families and the helplessness of the people living that life. There are lot many compulsions and obligations they shall be having. Mostly, they are in forced circumstances making them go for desperate measures to improve their life style. The protagonist Deepak Singh is one such poor should who is driven to take desperate steps to improve the living of his family.

Rajkumar Yadav becomes Deepak Singh literally. From the Rajasthani accent to the demeanor, to the attire and even body language, everything is pitch perfect with him. Its good to find a new-age actor who becomes the characters rather than just playing the part. Rajkumar Yadav has gone way beyond many of his contemporaries. The next best part was of Manav Kaul who played the tight security guard "Vishnu". Manav was damn good in his role, just refreshing to see a new face play a character with such conviction. Also, the heroine of the film Patralekha was commendable. While others did their job well. So this film was a lot about acting above all else.

This is an official remake of the British-Filipino film "Metro Manila". It's heartening to see a lot of credit being given to the original film. Never saw the original film, but this film was weak at places while it was brilliant at some places. Deepak comes back drunk and asks his wife, (who takes up the job of a bar dancer) to dance for him. That was a brilliantly performed scene I felt. Coming to the weakness, it lies in the writing that defies logic.

It's a film that tries hard to be as real as possible. Real locations, realistic characters and more-so the scenes that could have possibly happened. But, there are a few things that did not satisfy my logic. So I was a bit disappointed by what was offered by this team of "Shahid" which I think was a brilliant film.

Hansal Mehta did great job in extracting acting, but he stuck to the script so tightly, that he might have forgot to ask a few questions to the writers and producers. So thus, he had presented some flaws unintentionally. The editing should have been more precise. The film though 2 hours in length seems long with not much happening. The intimate scenes of the main leads could have been trimmed down is what I strongly felt.

It's a good film still, but not a thoroughly satisfying venture to me as a viewer. A 3/5 for a film that's good and could have been so better.

After MURDER 3, here is another official remake from Vishesh Films, of a widely acclaimed gem titled METRO MANILA directed by Sean Ellis (made in Tagalog language) in the year 2013. And the end result is almost the same as I felt while watching MURDER 3, wherein also the original film remained far better and a must watch classic indeed, as compared to its weak Indian adaptation focusing more on the commercial elements.

So as the film is an adapted version, therefore we need to analyze it from two distinctive viewpoints as below:

As an individual film Watching it as a new Hindi film with some fine tracks already popular before the release, this has a mixed bag to offer, impressing the viewer only in parts. Surprisingly beginning with a sensual scene itself, it clearly gives you the message that this is not an 'Art House' kind of drama, but has got every essential ingredient of a Hindi film following the routine. So we have good well written songs, long emotional sequences, tense revolting scenes featuring the underdog and bedroom insertions too as usual.

CITYLIGHTS begins calmly focusing on the couple's poor state of living in the village and their decision to move to the city for a better future. The energy first comes in with the sequence of them being robbed on the very first day and then it all goes back to the same slow mood as per the theme. The pace returns with the dance-bar scene and when the male protagonist manages to find a job in a security firm along with a great song. So till intermission it manages to impress the viewer only partially and one expects for something explosive to come in the next half.

However sadly the post intermission film disappoints mostly due to its various downers such as a few deliberately added songs, a long avoidable (but well-acted) dramatic scene, a heist scheme mystery revealed too early, the missing logic in the proceedings, a lifeless background score, all seen before feel and a muddled unexciting climax with many sudden twists ruining the overall impact of its exceptional performances.

To put it straight, CITYLIGHTS have few outstanding acts, two great songs and a fine story base to play with. But what annoys you is the over-polished presentation of the subject wherein neither the poverty makes you feel for the couple nor the city comes out as a cruel part of the film like a major character.

Director Hansal Mehta made a masterpiece SHAHID (2013) when he didn't care about anything else and just followed his script, vision and dream. But when he tries to make a theme based commercial movie having a wide release, he again stumbles like DIL PE MAT LE YAAR (2000), with many uneven highs & lows in a project which could have been another potential trendsetter for sure.

Musically it would have been better if the director had used only one brilliant song "Soney Do" repeatedly in the film to make a larger impact. Though "Muskaranke Ki Vajah" is equally good but the song doesn't give you the expected emotional high when it gets played on the screen. The background music also could have added a lot with something innovative and DOP is not able to give the much desired dark feel to the subject as required.

Performances being the major merit of CITYLIGHTS, its really sad that the narration couldn't provide them the much needed support to shine brighter. After winning the National Award, Rajkumar Rao once again delivers a stunning act getting deep into the skin of his character & he is just 4 years old in the trade, unbelievably. Patralekhaa doesn't get much scope in the later part of the film, but she does leave a solid impression in her very first film boldly. The child artist remains the neglected one throughout but plays it well in her limited scenes and Manav Kaul makes a terrific entry as the supervisor. The supporting cast adds a decent value to the key scenes, like the owner of the firm loving silly jokes and Sadia Siddique does it well as Manav's wife.

In all, CITYLIGHTS manages to impress only partially and could have achieved a much higher status en-cashing the strong build up given by its good songs and the performers. But you can still watch it for the fabulous acts and a decent theme talking about the harsh poverty resulting in a crime in 8 out of the 10 cases in our society.

As an official remake Watching the film as the official remake of METRO MANILA directed by Sean Ellis, CITYLIGHTS is not able to give you the same feeling of empathy, suffering, love, drama and thrill, since it strangely makes many major changes in the treatment, which in fact was the real soul of the foreign film till its final scene. To give you the details, the major elements they have messed with, are its depiction of the metro city Mumbai - which doesn't become an essential character of the film as Manila becomes in the original, Background music - which has been beautifully done in the foreign gem with a minimum arrangement and exceptional use of sounds. And lastly the actual revelation of the truth, which all happens in the final 10 minutes of the film only, unlike the Indian version where everything is revealed much earlier, ruining the magical end.

Plus on a personal note, I couldn't understand why they deleted the most touching and emotional aspect of METRO MANILA, wherein the 8-9 years old daughter constantly complains about her toothache, but the couple doesn't have any money to take her to the dentist. So in case you like its basic theme then essentially watch the original at the earliest and do yourself a favour.

Citylights marks the collaboration of Vishesh Films and the award- winning duo of Shahid fame, director Hansal Mehta and actor Rajkummar Rao. The camp which has an enviable legacy of films portraying realistic issues and the harsh veracities of life adapts the subject from Sean Ellis's much celebrated flick 'Metro Manila'. With an unflinching inside-look at the harrowing experiences of a poor family which migrates to the maximum city for a better life, Mehta jolts the comforted.

Deepak Singh, played by Rajkummar Rao, is a poverty-stricken farmer who moves to Mumbai along with his wife,Raakhi(débutante Patralekha) and daughter Mahi with a hope for better survival. Little does he know that life is not a bed of roses, he gets duped by tricksters upon his arrival and even spends nights on the pavements. Penury forces Raakhi to take up the job of a bar girl while Deepak, trying his hands at daily wage work, eventually lands a job in an armored truck company. He befriends his seemingly compassionate superior Vishnu Sir(Manav Kaul)whose arrival signals a downward spiral for him. Mehta constructs this socially poignant drama with vivid moments only to culminate the story with a devastating end, while surreptitiously carving its way to become a thriller.

Maintaining dim-light atmospherics(Shahid Deja-vu) which gels with the mood of the plot, his treatment has a docu-drama feel. Yet the director is never impassioned. The selection processes of the protagonists for their respective jobs provides space for humor and giggle amidst the raw cruelty that they face in their daily fight for existence. Jeet Ganguly's music(a little overdone with those background scores) augments the proceedings to permeate the emotionally walled-up zones of our minds.

Lending emotional heft to the plot, Rajkummar Rao approaches his character with so much of realism that's bound to leave your feet numb. The phenomenally talented actor overcomes the lacunae evident in the form of no pressure-cooker urgency or repetitive maneuvers to project grimace.Patralekha pitches in with a sterling performance and makes her suffering palpable.Manav Kaul, who was last seen in Kai Po Che, is the real surprise package( Rajkummar and Manav teamed in Kai Po Che as well !)- quite unassuming yet ballistic.

There were days when parallel cinema reckoned with names like Bimal Roy, Satyajit Ray and Guru Dutt. Citylights discreetly takes us back to those good old times where filmmakers put the truths on the table with unapologetic ferocity. Quite heavy and gut-wrenching, yet it has a soul.

Great story line as well as star cast. Good screen play. Acting is really heart touching. Such a great movie to watch.

Rajkumar Rao once again scores high in this film. Really gripping story and cinematography with a flavour of excellent acting makes this movie worth watching.