• Friday, June 26, 2009

• Language:

  Hindi

2009

New York is a contemporary story of friendship set against the larger than life backdrop of a city often described as the centre of the world. Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh) has gone abroad for the first time in his life and soon enough he begins to see and love America through the eyes of his American friends - Sam (John Abraham) and Maya (Katrina Kaif). It is the story of these three friends discovering a new world together.

But one day the world around them changed...

For most of us, larger events in the world are just headlines in the newspapers but these events can change our lives... forever. New York is one such story of 3 young friends whose beautiful lives are turned upside down by larger events beyond their control.

At this point enters Agent Roshan (Irrfan), an FBI undercover agent who sets the ball rolling for a series of tumultuous events that turn the lives of these friends into a dangerous and thrilling roller coaster ride.

Omar: Neil Nitin Mukesh
Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh), a middle class Indian boy from Delhi's Lajpat Nagar, is a bright student who gets a scholarship to come and study at the NYSU.

Maxabout Review

Must Watch for many Reasons, Grab a ticket today.. .

Khan’s subject feels a little old (there’s been a ton of 9/11 related stuff in the last eight years, including Naseerudin’s debut 2006 feature ‘Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota’ ), but it is still relevant. NEW YORK is a triumph for Kabir Khan, who deserves distinction marks for handling the subject with remarkable maturity. Also, this film should be a turning point for John, Katrina and Neil.

In the best Bollywood tradition, this is a triangle: Omar loves Maya who loves Sam. They watch the planes crash into the towers in shock and horror—Omar goes his way, the other two get hitched.

The movie is not a college romance, nor is it an intense fast action thriller. It is a mixture of both. It's predictable and yet, you wouldn't still be ready to sleep while watching the film. It has it's moments of laughter and excitement although sparingly. Director Kabir Khan tries to delineate the insidious process of the making of a terrorist – how a security-obsessed nation, in its bid to prevent terrorism, ends up creating new terrorists. Alongside it unravels the dilemma of Omar who can’t betray his friend but is willy-nilly drawn to prevent him from committing any terrorist act.

New York can easily be considered the best film to come out of the Yash Raj stable after Chak De India. Shot entirely in the US, the film not only is on par with the best of the Hollywood films made in this genre but is a completely different experience which the Bollywood audience is not used to. You are completely hooked from the first scene of the film when Neil is arrested by FBI and the interrogation that follows by Irrfan of Neil’s.

The first half is extremely well narrated and keeps you constantly guessing as to what will happen next. The interval point is a shocker and you look forward to an exciting second half. But then the pace of the second half somehow doesn’t match up that of the first half and there are some predictable things in store. But nonetheless it is packed with some really great moments. The whole frisking episode of Katrina Kaif by a cop on the road late at night and the sequences that follow it linger on your mind for long. The climax though a bit word heavy is superbly shot as well. The torture scenes shown immediately post the interval send a shiver down your spine.

John does well in his frail characterization which could have been much more convincing, intense and effective. You could say that this film is the turning point in John's career. The scene where he is surrounded by the FBI on the terrace of their headquarters and asked to surrender is super. His face portrays a range of emotions which say, I'd rather die than go through that torture again.'' In one fleeting moment, Kabir transfers Samir's emotions on to you. If the first half belongs to Neil, John takes over the second hour completely. John is superb when he recalls the past. You can feel his pain, that effective is his performance. Also, note his expressions towards the end. This is a different John, for sure. Just one word for his performance -- fabulous!
Neil looks rehearsed in some scenes but doesn’t disappoint. Irrfan Khan never misses any punch in his lines and is as expressive as ever. Katrina Kaif has finally got the meatiest role of her career and she has taken full advantage of it. She is very good in emotional scenes as well. 

But NEW YORK has its share of loose ends. The film dips in the second hour. It tends to gets lengthy before it reaches a powerful, brilliantly executed climax. Also, a few sequences only add to the length of the film, which could've been curtailed in the writing stage itself.

The end will blow you off your feet. You leave the theatre, deeply disturbed asking questions to yourself. What's more, the film stays with you the morning after as well. NEW YORK affects you like no other Hindi film has done so far [on 9/11]. In fact, there are portions that give you goose bumps, especially towards the second half of the film, when John recounts his past.

New York takes up a topical theme and perfectly exposes the wily ways of the American FBI to which over hundreds of innocent Muslim people had fallen prey to post 9/11. It is a must watch for many reasons so just don’t miss it. Grab a ticket today!

Taglines

• Three friends ready to face the world... and then the world changed.

Trivias

• In January, 2009 one of the film's crew members invited John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Kabir Khan and other crew members to his birthday party at a local nightclub in New York. While the crew members, who arrived in one car, were allowed into the nightclub, the actors, who had arrived in another car, were denied access by security who did not recognize them and who demanded identification. Neither they nor some crew members (who came from inside to help out) were able to convince security that they were important stars in India. By the time Abraham, Kaif, Khan, and Mukesh had returned with identification, the party had ended.
• According to director Kabir Khan, the film had the full support of the New York Film Commission, "as it is not an anti-something film. It is a very balanced story and not a jingoistic film."