• Friday, November 06, 2009

• Language:

  Hindi

• Runtime:

  103 min

2009

Parag Dixit is living a dream life with a great job and his loving girlfriend Maansi! However things take an ugly turn when after a series of unfortunate events he suddenly wakes up in jail; handcuffed and randomly beaten up by the cops.

Parag is perplexed and in a place far from his utopian life. He tries hard to face jail away from the ugly truth and wish it's all a bad dream but soon succumbs to the prison anarchy. The jail salvation he finds is in Nawab, a convict and a warden who believes that Parag is innocent.

Soon, Parag discovers the inner mechanism and the science responsible for the wretched status inside the prison and hordes of broken hearts and shattered souls which managed to find comfort amidst the four prison walli in jail. He is left with a choice, to either live a life in jail that controlled and exploited or fight against the system!

Characters:

Neil Nitin Mukesh as Parag Dixit
Parag seriously believes he's God's chosen child. In his mid-twenties, Parag already has everything going in his life, loves the luxuries of high living and is willing to work hard and party harder for it. He has his path carved out for him up ahead and is very impatient about getting there...until one fateful evening when everything changes!

Mugdha Godse as Maansi
Parag's love interest and an independent woman who lives life on her own terms. Maansi has never asked for the commitment yet because she would like Parag to arrive at the decision himself and she loves him too deeply to question the imminent commitment. A bond that only gets deeper and sealed across the bars because Maansi is Parag's only ray of hope outside the Jail and the reason to go on despite all hurdles. Maansi is Parag's resolve.

Manoj Bajpai as Nawaab
No one knew Parag's strength except for Nawaab. In his mid- forties, Nawaab is considered honest and humble. He has already served 10 years of his 20 year jail sentence. Very few people know Nawaab's real story and fear him for it. Compassionate yet ruthless when required, Nawaab is the conscience of the story and Parag's moral compass provided; Parag is willing to listen to him.

Arya Babbar as Kabir Mallik
In his late twenties, Kabir is a sweet faced, wily character who works for the underworld inside the jail and is their chief recruitment officer. Everyone knows who he works for, yet there is a humane side to his character that is his charm.

Rahul Singh as Abdul Ghani
In his early thirties, Ghani is a tough looking, silent, brooding type. A natural sense of superiority and jail brutal strength keeps him away from the herd, including Parag who he simply can't stand by face, till an unexpected camaraderie develops. He’s an under trial in jail who is often lured by the underworld inside who want to use him for their malicious interests. His only love in life is his beloved wife.

Manish Mehta as Ghalib
In his late thirties, Ghalib is a poet who does ‘shayari’ (poetry) on random things inside jail. A lovable character that is friendly with everyone, but dreams of seeing life outside Jail.

Maxabout Review

A reality in true Madhur Bhandarkar style.. .

People who know Madhur Bhandarkar are also aware of his through provoking ideas and his ability to display the bitter reality of life on celluloid. He is superb with his direction and takes the cinema to highest level. With his well researched and authentic treatment, Madhur makes us feel the pain and anguish of what a person must be undergoing when he is put in jail. The dialogues are razor sharp befitting a Madhur Bhandarkar film and the large number of character actors carefully chosen justifying their parts with their natural act.

Mugdha Godse in a non-glam part is good. Manoj Bajpai in his intense act is simply superb. His meaningful gaze conveys a lot. Playing jail inmates - Rahul Singh as Gani bhai is excellent, especially in the sequence when he confronts his wife. Arya Babbar as the underworld recruiter are excellent in their parts. Atul Kulkarni impresses in the two scenes he gets during the climax. Chetan Pandit is first-rate. The actor who plays the part of Joe D'Souza is effective.

Trivias

• The research Director Madhur Bhandarkar was doing for the movie jail was interrupted by The 26/11 Mumbai attacks as the jail is based on Indian Jails and he wanted Neil Nitin Mukesh to visit Tihar Jail, Delhi. But Neil was refused due to security reasons and increased security in Tihar Jail after the attack.