They say Urban Indians are living life in fast lane. They say people
from Metros are becoming self-obsessed paranoids with no feelings,
emotions and any desire for relationships and commitments. They wait
for weekends more than anything else. They enter and come out of a
relation at the drop of hat. True in a way though not wholly. Young and
rich lads. Sexy and smart ladies. High profile jobs. Top class hang out
places. A good script and crisp direction. That is Mumbai Salsa. Manoj
Tyagi’s directorial debut after scripting some good movies like Page 3,
Satta, Apaharan etc.
The
movie can undoubtedly be taken as a rip off on famous US sitcom
“Friends”. It’s a story of eight individuals Vir Das(Rajeev a.k.a
Raj), Ray(Shaji), Dilip(Subu), Indraneil(Karan), Linda(Pam),
Manjari(Maya), Amruta(Neha) and Neelam(Xenobia). They are divided
into two groups. Pam along with four guys makes one group and rest
three girls are part of another group. So, these eight people have
their lives interlinked to each other. Raj had one night sit(yes,
that’s correct, sit not stand, quite hilarious but you need to watch
the movie to understand it) with Maya.
Maya’s friend Neha is a
tattoo maker and falls for Raj’s friend Shaji after asking him whether
he is good in bed or not? Smart question(to the point) I would say.
Xenobia who is room-mate of Neha is a Salsa teacher and one of her
student Karan who is also Raj’s friend and also who is married with a
kid makes a pass at her and finally manages to win her confidence.
Karan has hidden his marital status from all his dates but his friends
are aware of it. Subu who is Raj’s colleague is the most orthodox
amongst these eight high testosterone people and doesn’t agree to
other’s way of living. Pam who works along with Raj and Subu secretly
likes Subu whilst Maya after her one night sit thinks Pam is Raj’s
date. Pheeeww. Seems confusing.
But not, it is quite simpler
when you watch it. So, you have bunch of people here representing
current youth who won’t think twice before jumping onto bed with
someone they like but at the same time they all have their priorities
well defined. They all have their own share of heart-breaks,
confrontation with betrayal and yet they live life as there is no
tomorrow. The first half of movie is beautifully shot with superb one
liners especially from the main lead Raj(Vir Das). The guy has been
doing stand up comedy for a while now and as usual his expressions are
to laugh for. Even in the most bizarre situations he will make you
comfortable with his smarty pant talks. The high point is definitely
its dialogues. They are contemporary and every bit enjoyable.
The
movie is made keeping the multiplex crowd in the mind and audiences of
B and C centers won’t be able to understand most of the dialogues and
state of affairs. Another plus point is the music of the movie. It’s
catchy, modern and suits the scenarios perfectly. The lows would be the
second half. The director loses grip in the seconds half and tries to
bring old age Bollywood formula with emotions and a bit drama.
Yet,
he doesn’t go completely off track. It may sound as on the line of Page
3 and Metro but the movie is as fresh and different from the two
mentioned as it can be. The similarity ends at the location ‘Mumbai’.
All in all a good time pass. This movie is sandwiched along with No
Smoking and Jab We Met. What lack here are the known faces. Most of
them are new comers even so good at their job. It has more style than
the substance albeit quite entertaining.
