99 - Movie Review

Cast: Kunal Khemu, Cyrus Broacha, Boman Irani, Soha Ali Khan, Vinod Khanna, Mahesh Manjrekar, Simone Singh, Amit Mistry

Director: Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK

Rating: ***

First of all, it is certainly a relief to have a movie releasing after so long, even as the producer vs multiplex feud continues. And you can go out to watch this one not just because it is the first movie after a long time but because this one is smart and what we could call ‘fundoo’!

‘99’ is based in the year 1999-2000, around the time when the betting scandal broke out. And the story is very much based on the same theme along with some hilarious instances thrown in to make the whole scandal very human. Interestingly, it was around the same time last year we had ‘Jannat’, based on betting and match fixing and it went on to become a hit. This one is a completely different film though – a comedy in contrast to the love story that ‘Jannat’ was. And this one definitely has much more memorable characters, something that has always pulled more audiences in. Characters like Zaramund (Cyrus Broacha) and Rahul (Boman Irani) will keep you laughing even after you leave the theatres. To add to it these characters are fed with lively and spontaneous dialogues that make you smile or even laugh every once in a while. Indeed it’s a very good work by dialogue writers Sita Menon and Raja Sen.

Delhi based Rahul is a compulsive gambler who owes a lot of money to different people, one of them being Mumbai based bookie AGM (Mahesh Manjrekar) and when he does not pay up, AGM sends two of his men Sachin (Kunal Khemu) and Zaramund to extract the money out of Rahul. Sachin and Zaramund are defaulters themselves and hence are made to work for AGM. But as they reach Delhi they themselves get entangled in some problems or the other. The story holds good as characters are woven into real situations. It is indeed a clever bit of work as the story leads to the revelation of how the match fixing scandal may have actually been uncovered. It is good-paced throughout except at times when Rahul interacts with his wife Jahnvi (Simone Singh). What’s striking is Rahul and Jahnvi are given more screen space than Sachin and Pooja (Soha Ali Khan) leaving a lose end to the Sachin-Pooja romance.

Technically the cinematography is efficient and the film has been edited really well. The background music works but the playback sounds familiar. One of the numbers is quite evidently inspired from the title track of ‘Pulp Fiction’. But the film does not have much scope for playback music anyway due to the required pace. Songs only slow down the story.

Undoubtedly, performances are something you can look forward to. Boman Irani and his antiques and Cyrus Broacha and his funny bone are highlights. Kunal Khemu and Soha Ali Khan get their comic timings right too. Mahesh Manjrekar is smooth as he continues from where he left, his recent Marathi film ‘Mee Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy’. Vinod Khanna who is seen on big screen after quite some time is a complete charmer. He continues to look as good as he ever did.

Director Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK have put in a fresh approach to the film and it shows. It is not easy to make a film which is periodic because you need to take care of a lot of things not to be seen on screen, which may have made their way to the market after all those years. The film continuously shows a Toyota Qualis in the year 99 though the car was launched in India only in 2000. Otherwise they have actually been able to keep it pretty clean.

Overall, we think this movie has enough spunk in it to not just get you back to the theatres but also fulfil your expectations. And hey, get the popcorn too!