Nishikanth Kamat, why did you do this?. Review on Mumbai Meri Jaan

*To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.** * And I thought I knew it all!!! What did I know, I, sitting in my drawing room, watching on TV the news about Mumbai Train explosions.

Reading about it in the newspapers, discussing it a bit with my friends, and then moving on to other news-stories, other editorials, other topic. Basically, just moved on!!! Mr.Director, why did you shake me awake from my reverie?

Mumbai Meri Jaan is not about any terrorist, its not even about patriotism, it concerns ordinary people like you and me, people who are bullied everyday by every bully, people who have forfeited the right to walk freely, breathe freely.

It shows people in grief, creating more grief for themselves, and for others. How the train blasts affects each of these protagonists, whether they flounder or find themselves, forms the essence of the movie. It is about Nikhil (Madhavan), the socially conscious software professional, who religiously pays taxes, who refuses to buy a car because its more sensible to travel by train, who refuses to migrate to America,

The scenes that stand out in the movie are:

1. The 30 seconds of the actual train blast, they stay with you long after you have exited the multiplex.

2. When Tukaram tells Kadamb to watch but not participate. "***Mann ke ek kone mein seat par  baithne ka.***"

3. The climax, where the entire city came to a stand-still. Mushy? Yes, but it works for me.

4. However, the scene that stood out in the film is the one where Tukaram and Kadamb stumble upon Suresh, who’s drunk and whose anger towards Muslims has made him target a poor old man at night.

Suresh asks him what he’s carrying, and when the older man replies that it’s just pav, he snatches a bun and bites into it and asks sarcastically, “Pet mein jaayega to phatega to nahin?” Then he insults both the cops and runs away. Kadamb, unable to chase him, vents his frustration, on Thomas, who’s been a silent spectator all along.

He asks Thomas to do situps, and then, as a petty gesture, opens the tap of the coffee container.  With this, Kamat shows us the cycle of violence, of revenge – of wanting to get even with the one who’s readily at hand, if not the one who’s really responsible. This idea movingly comes full circle when, later on, Tukaram instructs Suresh on a variation of the Gandhi-ism that an eye for an eye only ends up in a world gone blind. The director deserves a pat on his back for keeping a tight leash on all the tracks in the story line.

The movie makes more of an impact because it does not preach. I feel that Soha's track just lost all fizz in the end though, and Kay Kay's ended up on a tad too cheerful a note. Ultimately you realize that this is not just about the Mumbai blasts. This could happen to you, me, anyone. It could be a riot, a flood, an earthquake, any catastrophe, man made or natural. Whether it makes you or breaks you, whether you choose to move on or hold on to the hurt, is the choice you have to make. The movie ends up wringing your gut and your heart.Yet, in the end, the message is simple. ***If only we decide to forgive and break the cycle of hatred, humanity will prevail. **