New York

hindi movie
cast: john abrahm, katrina kaif, neil nitin mukesh

New York comes with a promising premise, a dependable cast, a trusted banner and a tested director.
The expectations were bound to be high. And the film, though not bad, doesn’t match to the high expectations it sets.

The story deals with how the world has changed forever after 9/11, especially for the three protagonists of the film. You cannot believe your best friends, the world looks at the south Asians with a different perspective… someone got to change all this. Different characters of the film have their different ways to change. If one (Katrina) prefers wait for the day when things are better, one (Irrfan) is on a mission to put things right, one (John) has gone offensive and one (Neil) is confused till the end.

They had a strong storyline in hand, but somehow couldn’t execute what liked a gem of a film on the outset. In the first 10 minutes of the film they reveal what could have been the well kept secret and could have been used to astonish the audience. You tend to loose interest as you know who’s who from the beginning. There’s nothing new that you expect to know in the end. And the sluggish pace in the first half makes life even more difficult. If you manage to sit thought he interval and see the second half, you’ll be awarded with some good cinema. The story starts to grip you. The loose ends start to meet. But just when you start getting interested it ends with a little illogical climax.

Kabir Khan, who showed immense potential and talent in his directorial debut Kabul Express is looking out of sorts here. He tries to be more stylish than intelligent unlike his earlier venture. Music also nothing to take home about.

Actors have done a fine job. It’s a relief to know that Katrina can act. John Abraham is fine mix of all emotions. Watch him in the song when Katrina stops to say something and he just moves on, lost in his past. Neil Nitin Mukesh has a boyish charm that works for his character. How far this charm would take him in his career, remains to be seen. Irrfan Khan is form like he is most of the time.

A better complied storytelling, a little more intelligent direction and we had a great cinema in hand. A missed opportunity I would say.

My Rating: * * (2 out fo 5)