Me and the Autorickshaw driver. Review on Collateral Movie

So there I was kicking my car like it were football. “I should have known you a complete Dhokebaaz I told my car” as if it were listening to me. I was going to be late, once again for my annual “Wish my friends Happy Diwali personally” rounds.

So you would ask what the heck is “Wish my friends Happy Diwali personally rounds”. Well it is like my chance to be a Santa Claus every year. You see I am a kind of guy with lot’s of friends but too little time and inclination to keep in touch with all of them. So like a ritual I go about the Baroda city every Diwali just to check out whether my friends are still alive and what’s happening in college and stuff (well I have very little time and inclination to go to college you know !”.

So this time I decided to do it in style. I decided to take my Dad’s car instead of my bike, but it was more of ‘steal’ my dad’s car to save my pocket money of precious black gold. How was I to know that the car was my dad’s faithful Ramu and refused to go very far, but far enough for me not to return back to my home and bring by bike.

So there I was in the middle of the sea of vehicles thinking about my next move. There were two options, one to call my dad, admit the crime and ask for him to rescue me and two the thing I dreaded all my life, take an Autorickshaw.

You see since my teenhood I have a hired vehicle phobia, which percolated within me when I was in my Primary school. When I was in Primary school all my friends lived near the school and either walked or brought a nice bicycle to school but since I lived too far off I was forcefully sent to school everyday in Autorickshaw, and somehow his unusual mode of transportation of mine made me a but of jokes in the school. Like the great Pyschiatrist Freyud’s theory, this childhood trauma still lingers somewhere around so much so that I was also repelled by the great three wheeler ! But today I had no option, option one was no option so I had to go for option 2.

So I stood on the edge of the road and rose my right hand and kept it like that for a minute or two ! For a minute or two I must have looked like one of those freedom fighter’s statue but even this well…strange posture no autorickshaw stopped. Well then I tried raising my hand and giving a smile. That didn’t help either. (Incase you are wondering why I am using such cookoo methods of stopping sutorickshaws well I learned it from a new close up ad !!!) Since none of my tactics where working and I had no intention of shouting “Auto” or “Rickshaw” or such and draw attention of people I ran like Maurice Greene as soon as I saw a auto stop to drop a pretty lady. Lucky for me the auto driver (or what do you call him auto peddler, or auto chauffer or whatever !) was busy talking with the lady even when she got off.

So I took a look left, a look right and got into the Auto so that no one could notice me. The auto driver was sitting day dreaming, so just for courtesy I asked him, whether he is interested in coming or not. He apologized and started him kersone driven machine and asked me, “Where too”.

“Well, take me to Alkapuri first. How much time would it take”

“14 minutes”,he answered.

“Why 14, not 13 or 15”, I asked just because I could. And gave me a detailed explanation and ended as “….so the total is 13 minutes and a minute extra if something goes wrong''

“You mind if I time you, what will I get if you are wrong”, I asked.

“An apology” he answered and accelerated his machine (as if it mattered) and started his tape which was playing some classical stuff.

“Well you see I have to meet a few friends around and travel a few more places. I would need a rickshaw all the time and I am not quite of shouting for an auto all the time so would you mind sticking around. I will pay you some extra.

Well so far…everything was normal…but as soon as I said this, he stopped his vehicle, stopped his tape and ran out of his auto. Why ? why did the man run out ? why did he freak out when I said this. Well apparently the auto rickshaw guy too had see the movie COLLATERAL.

This is the very plot of the story. Except for a few minor adjustments you know. The auto is a taxi, the driver Max (Jamie Fox) , Baroda is LA and I am Tom Cruise (cool I am Tom Cruise !!!) Okay I mean the Taxi passenger is Vincent played by Tom Cruise who is a serial killer.

Now the plot goes like this. Vincent has to spend only a single night in a city and kill a few victims. He hires Max, a sensitive, Mozart loving, Jazz hating type unique Taxi driver for driving him around. The story is all about how Max tries to escape from this trapped situation, how Vincent pscychologically plays him and how Vincent’s work moves in one night. It is almost like my favorite movie “Phone Booth”

And within a few minutes into the movie , I thought I was on for a mouthwatering treat. The movie concept would make up for a great thriller I thought. The conversation between Vincent and Max a subtle friendship, bond and understanding they develop for each other inspite of being apprehensive and doubtful of each other makes up a great story.

But I was wrong. The conversations meanders too long and becomes boring after a point and the worst part is the ending. The movie which starts as a mystery thriller ends as a low grade action movie !! The last half an hour is terrible especially the love angle of Max.

On the acting front both the lead characters play a great role, almost like the role was written for them. Tom Cruise as a man older than his real age, serial killer, kinda guy does a great job for it is Jamie Foxx who steals the show. When I saw him first in Bait I thought he was yet another African American actor, but in this movie he proves he is different. I have heard he is up for the Oscars with the movie “Ray” but I am sure this one too is one of his better performances.

But overall apart from the chemistry between the lead actors there is not much to see. Better watch Phone booth, this one could be given a miss.

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