The plot of the movie is very straightforward.
A terrorist is trained in Afghanistan and is taught that all Indians are against Islam. He has been brought up in such a way that he just cannot tolerate any Muslims doing any of the non-Muslim things (like drinking).
He is a person who believes totally in Islam and it's teaching. Of course, he believes that it is a Muslim's duty to kill every other person from any religion apart from Islam.
He comes to Delhi as Numair Qazi (Anurag Sinha in a role of a lifetime) and is staying with some other terrorists in Chandni Chowk. He poses as a person who lost both his parents in the Gujarat Riots even though he was actually born and brought up in Afghanistan. He meets up with a lot of other local guys who are supporting him and proved him all the details and everything.
During the first meeting, he kills one of them just because that guy says that he got drunk the previous night.
In the same area lives Dr. Rajan Mathur (Anil Kapoor) and his wife, Roma (Shefali Shah). He is a much loved and respected figure. He is a Hindu who teaches Urdu at the Zakir Hussain University. He has studied the Koran deeply and believes that it preaches non-violence.
Numair Qazi eventually ends up driving his own team away from him because of his hardcore and extreme beliefs of Islam. He needs Dr Rajan Mathur and his wife's help to get a pass to get into the Red Fort on 15th August to bomb it.
He gets close to them and is very influenced by Roma and Dr Mathur. Roma is a very hot headed female and very vocal abt some issues. She doesnt hesitate to pick sides and stand for what she believes is right.
She gets into a big argument with a Muslim and slaps him and some of the Muslims are very angry at this.
She gets killed later (because of something totally unrelated to this incident) and her husband doesnt want to mourn her death loudly as he fears the others will realise she has died and the Hindus will blame the Muslims and riots will break out in his area which he has tried to prevent throughout his life.
This still doesnt stop him from going to the Red Fort to see the ceremony on 15th August and he goes with Numair Qazi (who is the only person apart from Rajan Mathur and his daughter) to watch the ceremony.
This the climax and I dont want to reveal anything more.
There is a slight romantic angle involving one of the girls from Chandni Chowk and Numair Qazi, but this isnt much. Some reviewers have called it half baked but I think it was perfect just to show Numair Qazi's dedication to his "religion", his beliefs and his mission.
The direction is absolutely superb. Having never seen a single Subhash Ghai film but after hearing a lot abt them, I would have never believed this movie has been directed by him. There are only 2 full length songs and both are very appropriate.
Cinematography is excellent !! Some of the monuments like Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Jama Masjid, Qutb Minar have been shown brilliantly !! Honestly, this movie just makes me want to go visiting in Delhi again !!
The actors and actresses are brilliant. No other words to describe their performances. Anurag Sinha as Numair Qazi shines in his debut. Absolutely superb. He speaks more through his eyes than his mouth. He hardly has a few dialogues and those are delivered superbly. His voice has a rich baritone and I think he has great potential in him for the future.
Anil Kapoor as Dr Rajan Mathur, the Hindu professor of Urdu is superb. the last movie I saw of him was "Welcome" and this is such a pleasure to watch after that over the top performance. His sincerity is astounding.
His wife's character is played by Shefali shah and she has done a superb job as the loudmouth hotheaded wife !! she reminds me a lot of the Shrew from Shakespeare's play "Taming of the Shrew". There are a lot of funny moments in the movie. Most of them involve Dr Mathur and his wife.
There are quite a few touching scenes too. Especially one between Dr Mathur and Gaffar Bhai. Gaffar Bhai is a very old man in whose house Numair Qazi is staying while he plans the explosion. Gaffar Bhai makes it clear that his children arent very nice people and he isnt proud of them. He feels that Numair Qazi is a really nice boy but when he overhears Numair Qazi and some of the other terrorists discussing the details of the explosion in his house, he is shocked and this leads to his death.
The music is just abt ok. There are only 2 full songs and even otherwise, the background music is pretty decent.
I would recommend this movie to just abt every Indian only because of the story as it deals with Hindu-Muslim relations. Every Indian simply has to watch this movie. A lot of times, Muslims are stereotyped as terrorists just because of their religion. This movie takes that issue head on and confronts it. There are so many other Muslim characters in the movie who really touch your heart.
The only lame parts are the graphics on the terrorists computers showing stuff like "Explosion Date: 15th August" and all sorts of green crap trying to make it look like a high tech thriller. That was really not needed.
Anyway, that was just nitpicking. This is a superb movie.
Sadly, the theatre was more than three quarters empty when I had gone (monday evening show). This pains me. Crappy movies like Jodhaa Akbar are hits because of some meaningless controversy, but sensible movies like these are box office disasters.
My nightmare is that soon, people will stop making such sort of movies.
Do your bit and go watch this movie in the theatre.
I give this movie 9/10.
A terrorist is trained in Afghanistan and is taught that all Indians are against Islam. He has been brought up in such a way that he just cannot tolerate any Muslims doing any of the non-Muslim things (like drinking).
He is a person who believes totally in Islam and it's teaching. Of course, he believes that it is a Muslim's duty to kill every other person from any religion apart from Islam.
He comes to Delhi as Numair Qazi (Anurag Sinha in a role of a lifetime) and is staying with some other terrorists in Chandni Chowk. He poses as a person who lost both his parents in the Gujarat Riots even though he was actually born and brought up in Afghanistan. He meets up with a lot of other local guys who are supporting him and proved him all the details and everything.
During the first meeting, he kills one of them just because that guy says that he got drunk the previous night.
In the same area lives Dr. Rajan Mathur (Anil Kapoor) and his wife, Roma (Shefali Shah). He is a much loved and respected figure. He is a Hindu who teaches Urdu at the Zakir Hussain University. He has studied the Koran deeply and believes that it preaches non-violence.
Numair Qazi eventually ends up driving his own team away from him because of his hardcore and extreme beliefs of Islam. He needs Dr Rajan Mathur and his wife's help to get a pass to get into the Red Fort on 15th August to bomb it.
He gets close to them and is very influenced by Roma and Dr Mathur. Roma is a very hot headed female and very vocal abt some issues. She doesnt hesitate to pick sides and stand for what she believes is right.
She gets into a big argument with a Muslim and slaps him and some of the Muslims are very angry at this.
She gets killed later (because of something totally unrelated to this incident) and her husband doesnt want to mourn her death loudly as he fears the others will realise she has died and the Hindus will blame the Muslims and riots will break out in his area which he has tried to prevent throughout his life.
This still doesnt stop him from going to the Red Fort to see the ceremony on 15th August and he goes with Numair Qazi (who is the only person apart from Rajan Mathur and his daughter) to watch the ceremony.
This the climax and I dont want to reveal anything more.
There is a slight romantic angle involving one of the girls from Chandni Chowk and Numair Qazi, but this isnt much. Some reviewers have called it half baked but I think it was perfect just to show Numair Qazi's dedication to his "religion", his beliefs and his mission.
The direction is absolutely superb. Having never seen a single Subhash Ghai film but after hearing a lot abt them, I would have never believed this movie has been directed by him. There are only 2 full length songs and both are very appropriate.
Cinematography is excellent !! Some of the monuments like Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Jama Masjid, Qutb Minar have been shown brilliantly !! Honestly, this movie just makes me want to go visiting in Delhi again !!
The actors and actresses are brilliant. No other words to describe their performances. Anurag Sinha as Numair Qazi shines in his debut. Absolutely superb. He speaks more through his eyes than his mouth. He hardly has a few dialogues and those are delivered superbly. His voice has a rich baritone and I think he has great potential in him for the future.
Anil Kapoor as Dr Rajan Mathur, the Hindu professor of Urdu is superb. the last movie I saw of him was "Welcome" and this is such a pleasure to watch after that over the top performance. His sincerity is astounding.
His wife's character is played by Shefali shah and she has done a superb job as the loudmouth hotheaded wife !! she reminds me a lot of the Shrew from Shakespeare's play "Taming of the Shrew". There are a lot of funny moments in the movie. Most of them involve Dr Mathur and his wife.
There are quite a few touching scenes too. Especially one between Dr Mathur and Gaffar Bhai. Gaffar Bhai is a very old man in whose house Numair Qazi is staying while he plans the explosion. Gaffar Bhai makes it clear that his children arent very nice people and he isnt proud of them. He feels that Numair Qazi is a really nice boy but when he overhears Numair Qazi and some of the other terrorists discussing the details of the explosion in his house, he is shocked and this leads to his death.
The music is just abt ok. There are only 2 full songs and even otherwise, the background music is pretty decent.
I would recommend this movie to just abt every Indian only because of the story as it deals with Hindu-Muslim relations. Every Indian simply has to watch this movie. A lot of times, Muslims are stereotyped as terrorists just because of their religion. This movie takes that issue head on and confronts it. There are so many other Muslim characters in the movie who really touch your heart.
The only lame parts are the graphics on the terrorists computers showing stuff like "Explosion Date: 15th August" and all sorts of green crap trying to make it look like a high tech thriller. That was really not needed.
Anyway, that was just nitpicking. This is a superb movie.
Sadly, the theatre was more than three quarters empty when I had gone (monday evening show). This pains me. Crappy movies like Jodhaa Akbar are hits because of some meaningless controversy, but sensible movies like these are box office disasters.
My nightmare is that soon, people will stop making such sort of movies.
Do your bit and go watch this movie in the theatre.
I give this movie 9/10.
