The Journey Becomes Disappointment. Review on Mumbai Xpress - Bollywood

When Crime meets Confusion, what do we expect then? Obviously, something really hilarious or a real disaster. This is what Mumbai Express is all about.It is neither too hilarious nor is it a complete disaster. It lies, somewhere in between.

Mumbai Express takes you on a humuorous ride but at times it seems a real boring and long journey and you just want to get off. When you actually get off you suddenly realize this was not what you had thought your destination to be.

The Story

The story is about Digambar (Vijay Raaz- code-named A) and his two assailants code-named B and C who plan to kidnap the son of a rich & corrupt builder, sitting on a rooftop in Mumbai's Dharavi. However due to some circumtsances C backs out & his place is taken by the multi-talented deaf brother-in-law of C, Mumbai Express(Kamal Hassan-Of Course!!).

After going through several mishaps(the scenes do make you smile but not LAUGH) he finally succeeds in kidnapping the child. However, the child actually belongs to the DCP(Om Puri) and his mistress Ahilya(Manisha Koirala). This leads to panic among the kidnappers & they plan to kill the kid. But our very

own Mumbai Express comes as a samaritan for the child & rescue's him from the jaws of fellow kidnappers.

However the DCP does not know that his child has been rescued & this creates more confusion & leads to more chaos. What follows is a bit humourous ride of unnerving comedy. Some scenes do induce humour but it lacks the tinge that Kamal's other comedies(Chachi 420) had induced.

The Cast

The supporting cast is brilliant but the lead characters are a complete letdown.

The biggest disappointment is Kamal Hassan. Whatever happened to his comic timing of his previous movies(Chachi 420, Pushpak, Appu Raja...).He certainly lacks that ability in this one. Although some of his scenes do amuse a bit but still don't expect more.h

Manisha Koirala is also unimmpressive with her lack of comic timing.

Well however the people who save the day are supporting actors.

Vijay Raaz with his cameo in the first half does give you giggles, but he suddenly disappears in the second half & you wished you could see more of him.

Also Daggu(the kidnapped child) delivers his comic role with perfection.

But the film finally belongs to Om Puri & Saurabh Shukla (the constructor). These two have given complete justice to their roles. Had not been them the ride would have been a disaster. The scenes between the two are the soul of the movie. They actually evoke laughter & the journey becomes

less painful.

The rest of the cast- less said the better(Raza Murad, Sharat Saxena... have been wasted)

The film is quite high on hi-tech & computer graphic scenes which are nothing but superfluous & could have done with. All in all its an average film & it is upto you whether you want to go on a ride or not. If you don't have anything interesting, do go on this ride this weekend. I have been a fan of Kamal Hassan & may be expected more & hence was let down by this venture of his. However after Kamal's previous works this one is a sure LETDOWN. Box Office collections will tell the story soon. I have recommended the movie in comparison to movies released nowadays that are huge disasters.