Aamir- an original experiment!

No Hindi movie in recent memory had a screenplay and visuals like that of Aamir, a movie with debutant director Raj Kumar Gupta and debutant lead actor Rajeev Khandelval, along with the debutant music composer and cinematographer.

Also, for the first ever time the dingy by lanes in the dirtiest parts of the dreamy film city (or filth city) Bombay have been captured on the big screen. If Bluffmaster captured Mumbai in all its splendour, Aamir catches the city off guard, showing things no one ever dared to think about, let alone show.

Imagery is central to the entire idea of the movie Aamir. Once when the protagonist bumps into a pole right in the middle of the narrow lane in which he was chasing his bag snatchers, the poster towards the left announces "a gift for you". Similarly there is a TV visual in Aamir's room in the lodge which is showing a familiar discovery/animal planet video of a leopard chasing its prey, and the one where the mafia don is casually playing with a monkey faced puppet while talking on phone, prodding and knocking the toy whenever it gets stuck.

Another interesting theme is the portrait shots of quaint characters on the street and in the surroundings. Normally such visuals are reserved for the climax or some central (normally disturbing) incident in a movie. Over here, the entire film is peppered with such portraitures.

Amidst all these settings and scenarios is the taut, tough story that grips you almost from the word go and never lets it hold slacken even once. People may ask, why catch a stranger for that job, why not some expert hand? Well I guess that strangers entail lesser risks of getting caught. Even if Aamir would have been captured, it would have been him only who faced the music. By the time the authorities figure out, the mafia don would be conveniently out of the country, having eliminated as much evidence as possible.

One thing to be noticed is that barring Aamir and his family, barely anyone else has a name. Everyone is unknown; the area alien, the voices threatening and the looks menacing.

Rajeev Khandelval surely impresses in his maiden effort (I don't watch TV serials so haven’t seen him there). However, his role, due to the tautness of the screenplay, is uni-dimensional. It will take him a few more movies to fully figure out his potential and/or limitations.

To sum it, the movie is not so much about terrorism or anything else as it is about the choices a common man has to make under extraordinarily tragic circumstances. The little lump in throat may remind the viewer of a similar feeling at the end of Rang De Basanti.

P.S. Yours truly had been to similar places (namely, Nagpada) in Mumbai during his medical rep (!!) training in the previous job stint. But I must say people were very courteous and cooperative compared to many other areas, as my job also involved asking trade related questions.

P.P.S. - Would Shah Rukh consider that Aamir Khan has stolen a march above him? ;-)