332 Mumbai

Actors: Ali Asgar,Chetan Pandit,Vijay Mishra,Sharbani Mukherjee

Director: Mahesh Pandey

Not that I had any expectations out of this film but then after watching it there are quite a few questions in my mind. First being - Was the movie really required? 332 Mumbai to India is a film which has a fictional plot created around a real life incident that happened in Mumbai two and half years back. A young man, tired of the constant attacks on North Indians in Mumbai by regionalist forces, hijacks a city bus. The movie claims that his intention was to put forward a point rather than hurting someone. But then he is shot dead by the police.

The film is bad piece of writing. Scenes leading nowhere, meaningless dialogues and irritating characters - there are too many blunders. Sample this - a girl who has her own wrist watch asks a person standing beside for time; There seems to be just one news channel and too talks only about Mumbai; an office boy is rich enough to print expensive marriage invitation cards and distribute it among everyone; the media reporting live on the hijack and yet there are no media persons around the venue! And these are just a few examples. Serious scenes end up being comedies due to the dialogues. The fanatic hijacker explains Mumbai and cites examples like 'hamara Sachin" (Our Sachin), which means the master blaster cricket is a national property. Not sure if the famous cricketer will enjoy this bit of attention!

The film is weak on technical front too. Shoddy cinematography, random editing and jarring music make an amateurish product. The actors are no good too. The hijacker with his frowning face seems to be in a trance all through. Even experienced actors like Ali Asghar and Chetan Pandit let down. Towards the end one of the character ask another if the hijacker deserved death that he got. A question arises in my mind too: Did we really deserve this film? The only thing I am in agreement with the director is the end slate that mentions 'A thought by Mahesh Pandey'. This definitely is a thought and not a movie. A movie would have a script too!

It wasn't too long ago when the infamous real life incident took place in the city of Mumbai where a young man had hijacked a bus, announced that he was in the city to kill a political bigwig and was later shot down by the cops. Apparently, his aim was to gain country's attention towards the migrant issue of North Indians in Mumbai that had been the cause of tension for a few months then. However, now that there is peace with no more talks about this 'issue', a film like '332 Mumbai to India' only appears as ill timed. Yes, agreed that the intent here was to bring home the message of 'One India one citizen' here but the way it is conveyed isn't hard hitting enough to stay with you even moments after the curtains come down.

This is not all. There are multiple stories which play in '332 Mumbai to India', most of which don't quite work though there is an intent is to tie them all together. A couple with a man from Bihar and a girl from Maharashtra are trying to get married but the former is worried if he would be accepted. A man from Bihar is worried if his son would get harmed in Mumbai due to prevailing tension. A young screen writer believes that Mumbai is his home though he comes from Bihar. A student from Maharashtra studies in a college up North. An auto rickshaw driver believes that survival is the name of the game. And then there is the young man who hijacks the bus.

There are rough edges in each of the tracks though, partly marred by poor writing and partly due to below average acting. Ali Asgar projects the image of happy go lucky but it doesn't bring in much empathy. Regional politics in college doesn't create a much required impact. The hijacker episode, the most important in the film, is also patchy as it works in some scenes (the first time hijacker brings out a gun and then most importantly when he speaks to media) while falls flat in others (where he threatens and then assures the passengers).

Also, the entire cop encounter drama is half baked and one can clearly sense that there is heavy amount of editing here so that there is no trouble from politicians and cops. In fact what also makes '332 Mumbai to India' doesn't quite come across as the kind of cinema that one was expecting it to be as it doesn't even try to get into the underbelly of what would have possibly transpired between the powers-to-be when the entire incident was taking place. On the contrary whatever that the characters speak in the film is also constantly beeped out or muted, hence resulting in further loss of impact.

'332 Mumbai to India' is one film that could have been much better than what it eventually turns out to be. Reason being that it just scratches the surface and then just leaves it there. No, one wasn't expecting a solution from director Mahesh Pandey here. However, he could have presented this film (which deals with the core issue of 'Whose Mumbai is it anyways?') in a much dramatic manner. Alas, that doesn't quite happen, hence making '332 Mumbai to India' a dull affair that just works in some bits here and there but that's about it.