26th May was always going to be a Red letter day for a special reason (check my profile to know why). Normally, I go along with a couple of other pals of mine for celebrations of this kind. Hence, a few days prior to the D-Day, I had booked online the tickets for the film ‘99’. However, as though watching one film didn’t suffice, one of my friends compelled me into partnering him in an insane activity-that of watching an abysmal film (the second of the day) for reasons unfathomable. He called it his ‘birthday gift’ to me (I didn’t know how to reply). 99 is worth a review, but as far as the second film is concerned, the lesser said about it, the better. I’d rather say nothing about it. Here is a comprehensive panorama on 99 and why you should watch it at the earliest:-
As the first letters of the film’s caption roll out on screen, your ribs begin to tickle and you know you’re in for a roller coaster ride. The film revolves around the two protagonists, played by Cyrus Broacha and Kunal Khemmu. The antics and the activities they indulge in throughout the film, acting proxy to a betting pooh-bah pretty much constitutes the entire film. Zaramud (yes…that’s a name), played by Cyrus Broacha and Sachin, played by Kunal Khemmu (I suspect the reason for the name is because of the film’s cricket connection) are two men of Mumbai whose job is mobile SIM card forgery, and making loads of money from it. However, they are discovered by the police one day and in their attempt to escape, they commandeer a debonair Mercedez Benz which gets shattered in the chase. The owner of the suave vehicle, AGM (pretty long name…don’t remember it), a betting kingpin played superbly by Mahesh Manjrekar, summons the two and demands 30 lakh…then 40 lakh…and finally 50 lakh for compensation. However, a confession of monetary incapability from the two protagonists follows their eternal employment by AGM and thus are at his disposal. The two are chiefly involved in the activity of procuring money from losing betters, who invariably flee or find a way to escape the burden of paying the exorbitant sum in time. One such unfortunate casualty is Rahul (played by Boman Irani) who comes up with seemingly ingenious ‘theories’ about luck but none of them manifest into reality. Thus, our two heroes are sent to Delhi upon the mission of forcing the money out of Rahul. Their indulgences in Delhi, courtesy their boss’s credit card and the various conundrums they (and their clients) fall into makes up the rest of the film.
The betting in this film is unsurprisingly on the country’s most widely practiced religion-Cricket. Conscientiously, the director chooses the India-South Africa series of 2000 (which was in reality the victim of a match-fixing scandal) for the backdrop of the film, which makes the scenarios feel even more plausible and realistic. The characteristic atmospheres of betting and gambling are all encompassed neatly in the film. Rival betters having sardonic conversations over alcohol, one actually helping the other and in return getting a false advise, the ‘I’ll beat you one fine day’ lines, surreptitious shenanigans are all veritably put in place.
I couldn’t have thought of a better caption for the film-‘Part Fact. Part Fiction. Pure Fun’. It embodies immaculately the spirit of this film. A film of this kind can create the impression it has only if all the elements are perfectly put in place and 99 is just that kind of a film. The film is fast paced and seldom gives you a languid sensation. The humour in this film is of the highest order, for which the dialogue writers deserve a pat on their backs. The cinematography looks sleek and well packaged, and the screenplay is crisp and enormously captivating.
Of the cast, JC, a prominent better and the person who is closest to being called the ‘villain’, is played with exactly the traits required, by Vinod Khanna. He is contemptuous and a little sluggish in demeanour and plays the role to perfection. Boman Irani, playing the ever-indebted Rahul, slips in to the role well as he always does. He is convincingly natural and as in every film of his, is never larger than his character. Soha Ali Khan, as the hotel manager Pooja, has a very limited role that is confined to sporadic smiles. Kunal Khemmu, as Sachin, is effortlessly jocund and frivolous in deportment and I’m sure he’ll be glad atleast one of his films has clicked. Cyrus Broacha as ‘Zaramud’ (we don’t know what his precise name actually is) is expectedly top class in this kind of a role. Given that his role in the film is considerably kindred to his comedian attitude in real life too, he puts in a pretty good performance. Actually watching Cyrus in this role is almost entirely similar to watching him in his weekly show, ‘The Week That Wasn’t. ’ But the real star of this film is undoubtedly Mahesh Manjrekar playing the betting top dog AGM. He is innately boorish and is profoundly adroit in the execution of his role. It is easy to get carried away in this kind of a role but Mahesh plays it to precision. It’s hard to take your eyes off the screen when he is on it.
At the end of the day, 99 blasts a quick fire 100…in far less than 99 balls.
Verdict:-4/5 (Makes me write an entire blog post raving about it!)
P.S:-I shall be flabbergasted if this film doesn't emerge as one of the significant winners in next year's Filmfare Awards.
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