Guldasta

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Stunning for the most part, Aamir is a movie you should not miss. When a director shows so much promise and yet slips in a few places, you can only wish how much further he could have gone. I give it a clear 3.5 out of 5.

The movie belongs to two people – Raj Kumar Gupta (director) and Rajeev Khandelwal (lead actor). You know what is in store even before the starting rolls are midway. The shots are real and the camera seeks to capture it all with breathtaking reality. If you love that kind of cinema, Aamir will live up to your needs.

The story revolves around a young doctor named Aamir (Rajeev Khandelwal) who returns to Mumbai from UK and finds he is sinking into an almost outlandish weird situation. And he seemingly has no control. Yet the end defies (to some extent) the idea that one has no control over one’s destiny.

How real is the movie? VERY. Take the scene where Aamir has to fetch a phone number from a lavatory. 10 more seconds and I would have gone sick from the stench which the actor is shown to be in. The streets are real, the chase is real and the hotel rooms are real. No oxymorons of poor people wearing expensive designer clothes, no fresh painted staircases or rooftops. This is Mumbai’s underbelly shown up close and personal.

There are some irritating flaws but they do not snatch the movie away from being good. The red briefcase is completely out of place. Maybe the director wanted to highlight the briefcase, but then who goes around carrying secret stuff in such a conspicuous bag? The always sullen attitude of the bad guys is another repeated to death angle in Bollywood, so no freshness there. And the end could have been tighter. The last few minutes seemed to stretch beyond need and were a little predictable.

But all said there is no denying that Aamir is top class and probably the best to come out of Bollywood in this year. No songs to dilute the edginess, no female leads swooning and exposing. Just hardcore cinema.
Rajeev makes a superb portrayal of a young suave doctor, who, till the very end is unable to comprehend what is happening to him. His delivery of anger, exasperation, exhaustion and freedom leaves little to be said. The camera spans not too close and not too far. There are quite a few refreshing new angles. There are enough of mannerisms to give you a ringside feeling.

If you enjoy movies that leave you speechless for some time after you come out of the theater, then Aamir is a must.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aamir_(2008_film)

http://www.aamirthefilm.com/