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Starring:
Rajeev Khandelwal, Jhilmil Hazrika, Gajraj Rao
Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta
Aamir is an impressive debut for Raj Kumar Gupta as the
director. In fact it is a first film for the music
director, the cinematographer, the leading man, the new
production unit apart from the director. Gupta stays
away from the clichés that a newcomer may be susceptible
to.
Instead of usually expected a la-Hollywood film-noir
style, Gupta places this drama-thriller which exposes
the Mumbai’s underbelly.
From here starts a game wherein Aamir is forced to
follow the instructions of an unknown man on the phone
in order to get his kidnapped family is released. He has
to collect a red bag from one destination and just
follow instructions from other side of the phone. In
between the ordeal, he is given a taste of how his
brethren are living, and also getting drilled into his
head the information on Islam. Forced to follow orders
on phone, Aamir is sent from one destination to another
as his movements are tracked, until he is to do the
final delivery of the red bag at Andheri station.
CAST & CREDITS
Aamir Ali -
Rajeev Khandelwal
Prostitute - Jhilmil Hazrika
Chief - Gajraj Rao
Presenter - UTV SPOT BOY
Produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Vikas Bahl, Siddharth Roy
Kapur
Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta
Writer Rajkumar Gupta
Lyrics Amitabh
Creative Producer - Anurag Kashyap
Co-Producer - Deven Khote, Zarina Mehta
Story, Dialogue, Screenplay Writer - Rajkumar Gupta
Associate Producers - Ram Mirchandani, Alpana Mishra
Supervising Producer - Rucha Pathak
Original Music by Amit Trivedi
Cinematography by Alphonse Roy
Film Editing by Aarti Bajaj
Production Designer - Wasiq Khan
Playback Singers - Qadir Khan, Murtuza Khan, Amit
Trivedi, Neuman Pinto, Shilpa Rao, Amitabh
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The film has been 'inspired' by the 2005 Filipino film Cavite and is essentially about a
Muslim doctor Aamir Ali who is returning to Mumbai from
London.
The moment Aamir (Rajeev Khandelwal) lands at Mumbai
Airport, he is extensively questioned by the Customs
simply because he is Muslim.
Our protagonist walks out of the airport and realizes no
one is there to receive him. He even calls home but no one
answers. More trouble so, when almost immediately two
unknown men on a motorcycle hurl a mobile phone into his
hands.
Aamir is now transported to a
world he never knew: The dingy areas of Mumbai. He is
dragged to the whirlpool of terrorism. His only crime is
that of being a Muslim.In its lanes and by lanes, cheap
restaurants and lodges, amongst nameless pimps and whores,
run-down buildings and over-crowded markets, filth and
squalor, Aamir sees a different world in those few hours.
The truth
dawns on Aamir that the bag contains a bomb.
He is left with few options: Either he succumbs to the
terror tactics or he bows down before God. Either he
follows their instructions and be labeled a suicide bomber
(for his family to bear the stigma) or let the worst
happen to his kidnapped family.
Though Aamir is a remarkable film, a minor flaw in the
plot: since there are several people involved in this
plot, so what was the need for the terrorists to randomly
select Aamir for the plan - especially since the plan was
never a suicide bombing. Alphonse Roy's cinematography
skillfully balances the concept of a frantic handheld
camera with tight, meticulously mounted extreme close ups.
The music by Amit Trivedi is joyful. We have an offbeat
album here which has received a positive reaction from all
genres. The screenplay is brilliant, it is a riveting
drama. Never before has any film captured the locations in
Mumbai’s mean streets and alleys.
Rajeev Khandelwal has an amazingly compelling screen
presence. He appears so natural that one tends to identify
with the character. He effortlessly plays the character in
a turmoil - vulnerable, helpless, frustrated, tired and
angry. It is easily the best performance of the year so
far. Gajraj Rao is frighteningly menacing. Even the
supporting cast appears so normal that the viewer feels as
if he is actually among them.
Though made on a shoe-string budget, the director is in
full control of his craft, his crew and his subject. Aamir
is an engrossing drama – thriller.
-
Shaami M. Irfan
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