New York - Movie Review

Cast: John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Irrfan Khan

Director: Kabir Khan

Producer: Aditya Chopra

Rating: ***

The day didn’t really start off too well with news of Michael Jackson’s demise. Arguably the biggest super-star ever... it is not easy not be a fan! Hence I was just wishing I am not dragging myself to watch a bad movie which ruins the mood even more. Thankfully New York lived up to the expectations and not only took my mind off the great MJ but also brought in some food for thought relating to a completely different matter – what happened with non-Americans and more particularly people from the sub-continent and Islamic countries after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US.

While one part of the US reeled under the terrorism scare and another possible strike, there was also this other part which had gone volatile. As the statistic given towards the end of the film reveals, 3000 non-Americans were detained by the FBI post attacks under the suspicion of being linked to terrorists and treated inhumanly. 1000 of them are released but many are still lying in captivity. Barack Obama’s historic decision to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention centre – one of the key centres where most of these people were kept and maltreated brings in a lot of hope. But most people who have been through the tortures have reportedly found it hard to live a decent life anymore.

The story of New York is based on one such person who could never get over his detention and chose the violent way to get even. At the centre of the story is Samir aka Sam (John Abraham) who has brought up in the US and is a US patriot, Maya (Katrina) who is a complete Amercian with a mother who would give up everything for Hindi films and Shah Rukh Khan, and then there’s Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh) who get into US from Delhi on a scholarship programme for a Master’s degree in New York State University. There is also an FBI agent Roshan (Irrfan Khan), an Indian Muslim who has found home in the US and wants to earn back respect and trust for his people. The film opens with Omar being arrested and detained for transporting ammunitions in his taxi. Omar denies any connection with terrorists but he is threatened to be thrown into the dungeons in some unknown forest if he does not cooperate. Omar is sent back to a happily married and settled Sam’s life as an informer on terrorists.

The movie shifts from present to past and back for most of the first half, setting up the characters and a backdrop for what is revealed in the second half. The length of the film becomes an issue as the first half seems never-ending. There is a fair bit of entertainment as the director shows the college days of the three characters (John-Katrina-Neil) and how their relationships develop but we could have definitely done with a shorter first half. The songs don’t really add up to much though the music is decent. The second half, however, gets faster with more action.

To its credit, New York has good performances from the central actors, sensible direction by Kabir Khan, superb cinematography by Aseem Mishra and good editing too. The scenes in the detention centre are heart rending and makes you cringe. Talking about performances, John Abraham comes up with one of his best works till date in one of his best roles so far. Even Katrina Kaif gets a chance to emote, something different than usual dancing around the trees. Neil Mukesh proves his mettle yet again and Irrfan is fluent as ever. They even give a reason for his bad American accent which makes him look more convincing.

New York looks well-researched when it comes to the way the FBI works, which is something that comes with Kabir Khan’s penchant for documentaries. He has indeed accepted that most of his ideas come from the research he does for his documentaries. There is enough detailing. But more than that, New York is about the emotional tussle that the three individuals go through. And the film does show that well enough. Proof is that a girl sitting beside me almost shed a tear. Don’t go to watch New York with expectations of being entertained with a college-time romantic story or a lot of action as the promos show. Go to watch it for the emotions and you won’t be disappointed.

PS: This is not influenced by Khuda Kay Liye in anyway. Except of course the fact that both show the way people are detained by FBI after the 9/11 and maltreated.