Monsoon Shootout
John
Andrews
Amit Kumar brings us multiple films with his first film Monsoon
Shootout. Adi (Vijay Varma)
is a young cop in training to join the detective force in Mumbai. His
boss, Khan (Neeraj Kabi), is a powerful man in Mumbai who takes
matters into his own hands and worries about clean up later. Adi must
find the balance of making a good impression while remaining true to
his own morals and honor as the film retracts to one moment three
times.
The
conflict of the film arrises in the first scene when a man and a
blind beggar stop a car in order to kill a wealthy businessman for
not paying his “tax” to Slumlord. This hatchet killing is not the
first and it is Khan's job to find the assassin. When Khan locates
two accomplices of the murder, he shoots them in cold blood and has
Adi wreck their car to set up an escape attempt. Adi's first conflict
is having to choose between honor and the criminal justice.
As
Adi is patched up by an old girlfriend, Anu (Geetanjali Thapa), at
the local hospital, he asks her out that night. Adi returns to work
and is put back on the case. He is forced to miss his date to chase
a lead on the blind beggar and Shiva, the hatcher hacker.
Adi
and Khan are set up in the pouring rain. They watch the blind beggar
and another man talk at a food stand when another man makes a move on
Khan. Causing the unknown man to run, Khan puts down the beggar and
Adi runs after the man. As he struggles through thigh-deep water and
trash in the slums of Mumbai, Adi is caught in a dilemma as he pulls
his gun on the man climbing over a wall. Adi can shoot this man who
may not be Shiva or he can wait.
There
is a beautiful slow motion camera shot of the monsoon unleashing on
Adi, a dog and clay pots, and the water cascading off of his face as
he is forced to determine the fate of this man.
Varma's
performance deserves recognition. He plays Adi with a sense of
conviction and ease. Adi wants to be a great detective in Mumbai and
follow is his late father's footsteps, but in a crooked city like
Mumbai, Adi has to make decisions he would prefer not to make. It is
future versus belief and Varma executes this paradox very well.
Kumar's
expansion on one moment into many is fascinating. Run
Lola Run,
a film that also uses three scenarios dependent upon the protagonists
decisions, comes to mind. I did not enjoy Run
Lola Run.
Every time the film started back to Lola running out of her
apartment, I felt angry and annoyed, but in Monsoon
Shootout,
Kumar keeps you are your toes. The film does a great job of pacing
and editing. The flashbacks aren't too long and repetitive and each
offers something drastically different. After the third scenario, I
was left wanting more, which is a great trait in a movie.
To
me, most Indian films seem to deal with the plethora of poverty and
slums. While these topics are relevant, Kumar sets himself apart from
this genre and story line. Instead of putting poverty at the
forefront, this police-crime thriller focuses on Adi and his journey
to detective. The crooked cop system of Mumbai is challenged by a shy
rookie.
Co-produced
with the Dutch and the U.K., we are given a film filled with
beautiful shots of color and steady, clear images. Stormed with rain
and little light, we get a natural sense of what monsoon season is
like in Mumbai as Adi's fate lies in question.
Kumar
leaves the ending open to interpretation. Choices seem to be the main
focus of the film. Not only is Adi struggling with what to do, but
the audience is left with a decision as well: which scenario actually
played out. The ending is superb and you won't be let down.
Director:
Amit Kumar
Writer:
Amit Kumar
Producer:
Sikhya Entertainment, Yaffle Films
Starring:
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui,
Tannishtha
Chatterjee,
Vijay
Varma, Neeraj Kabi
Run
Time: 88 minutes
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