City Lights (2014)

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Definitely not a bad film, watch it for the acting by everyone. This is a film of the downtrodden families and the helplessness of the people living that life. There are lot many compulsions and obligations they shall be having. Mostly, they are in forced circumstances making them go for desperate measures to improve their life style. The protagonist Deepak Singh is one such poor should who is driven to take desperate steps to improve the living of his family.Rajkumar Yadav becomes Deepak Singh literally. From the Rajasthani accent to the demeanor, to the attire and even body language, everything is pitch perfect with him. Its good to find a new-age actor who becomes the characters rather than just playing the part. Rajkumar Yadav has gone way beyond many of his contemporaries. The next best part was of Manav Kaul who played the tight security guard "Vishnu". Manav was damn good in his role, just refreshing to see a new face play a character with such conviction. Also, the heroine of the film Patralekha was commendable. While others did their job well. So this film was a lot about acting above all else.This is an official remake of the British-Filipino film "Metro Manila". It's heartening to see a lot of credit being given to the original film. Never saw the original film, but this film was weak at places while it was brilliant at some places. Deepak comes back drunk and asks his wife, (who takes up the job of a bar dancer) to dance for him. That was a brilliantly performed scene I felt. Coming to the weakness, it lies in the writing that defies logic. It's a film that tries hard to be as real as possible. Real locations, realistic characters and more-so the scenes that could have possibly happened. But, there are a few things that did not satisfy my logic. So I was a bit disappointed by what was offered by this team of "Shahid" which I think was a brilliant film.Hansal Mehta did great job in extracting acting, but he stuck to the script so tightly, that he might have forgot to ask a few questions to the writers and producers. So thus, he had presented some flaws unintentionally. The editing should have been more precise. The film though 2 hours in length seems long with not much happening. The intimate scenes of the main leads could have been trimmed down is what I strongly felt.It's a good film still, but not a thoroughly satisfying venture to me as a viewer. A 3/5 for a film that's good and could have been so better.

After MURDER 3, here is another official remake from Vishesh Films, of a widely acclaimed gem titled METRO MANILA directed by Sean Ellis (made in Tagalog language) in the year 2013. And the end result is almost the same as I felt while watching MURDER 3, wherein also the original film remained far better and a must watch classic indeed, as compared to its weak Indian adaptation focusing more on the commercial elements.So as the film is an adapted version, therefore we need to analyze it from two distinctive viewpoints as below:As an individual film Watching it as a new Hindi film with some fine tracks already popular before the release, this has a mixed bag to offer, impressing the viewer only in parts. Surprisingly beginning with a sensual scene itself, it clearly gives you the message that this is not an 'Art House' kind of drama, but has got every essential ingredient of a Hindi film following the routine. So we have good well written songs, long emotional sequences, tense revolting scenes featuring the underdog and bedroom insertions too as usual. CITYLIGHTS begins calmly focusing on the couple's poor state of living in the village and their decision to move to the city for a better future. The energy first comes in with the sequence of them being robbed on the very first day and then it all goes back to the same slow mood as per the theme. The pace returns with the dance-bar scene and when the male protagonist manages to find a job in a security firm along with a great song. So till intermission it manages to impress the viewer only partially and one expects for something explosive to come in the next half.However sadly the post intermission film disappoints mostly due to its various downers such as a few deliberately added songs, a long avoidable (but well-acted) dramatic scene, a heist scheme mystery revealed too early, the missing logic in the proceedings, a lifeless background score, all seen before feel and a muddled unexciting climax with many sudden twists ruining the overall impact of its exceptional performances. To put it straight, CITYLIGHTS have few outstanding acts, two great songs and a fine story base to play with. But what annoys you is the over-polished presentation of the subject wherein neither the poverty makes you feel for the couple nor the city comes out as a cruel part of the film like a major character.Director Hansal Mehta made a masterpiece SHAHID (2013) when he didn't care about anything else and just followed his script, vision and dream. But when he tries to make a theme based commercial movie having a wide release, he again stumbles like DIL PE MAT LE YAAR (2000), with many uneven highs & lows in a project which could have been another potential trendsetter for sure.Musically it would have been better if the director had used only one brilliant song "Soney Do" repeatedly in the film to make a larger impact. Though "Muskaranke Ki Vajah" is equally good but the song doesn't give you the expected emotional high when it gets played on the screen. The background music also could have added a lot with something innovative and DOP is not able to give the much desired dark feel to the subject as required.Performances being the major merit of CITYLIGHTS, its really sad that the narration couldn't provide them the much needed support to shine brighter. After winning the National Award, Rajkumar Rao once again delivers a stunning act getting deep into the skin of his character & he is just 4 years old in the trade, unbelievably. Patralekhaa doesn't get much scope in the later part of the film, but she does leave a solid impression in her very first film boldly. The child artist remains the neglected one throughout but plays it well in her limited scenes and Manav Kaul makes a terrific entry as the supervisor. The supporting cast adds a decent value to the key scenes, like the owner of the firm loving silly jokes and Sadia Siddique does it well as Manav's wife.In all, CITYLIGHTS manages to impress only partially and could have achieved a much higher status en-cashing the strong build up given by its good songs and the performers. But you can still watch it for the fabulous acts and a decent theme talking about the harsh poverty resulting in a crime in 8 out of the 10 cases in our society.As an official remake Watching the film as the official remake of METRO MANILA directed by Sean Ellis, CITYLIGHTS is not able to give you the same feeling of empathy, suffering, love, drama and thrill, since it strangely makes many major changes in the treatment, which in fact was the real soul of the foreign film till its final scene. To give you the details, the major elements they have messed with, are its depiction of the metro city Mumbai - which doesn't become an essential character of the film as Manila becomes in the original, Background music - which has been beautifully done in the foreign gem with a minimum arrangement and exceptional use of sounds. And lastly the actual revelation of the truth, which all happens in the final 10 minutes of the film only, unlike the Indian version where everything is revealed much earlier, ruining the magical end.Plus on a personal note, I couldn't understand why they deleted the most touching and emotional aspect of METRO MANILA, wherein the 8-9 years old daughter constantly complains about her toothache, but the couple doesn't have any money to take her to the dentist. So in case you like its basic theme then essentially watch the original at the earliest and do yourself a favour.

http://moviereviewsbybinduc.blogspot.in/2014/06/citilights.htmlCityLights is a film with intense human drama. Hansal Mehta (Director) and Rajkummar Rao (Actor), duo of Shahid fame, have once again collaborated together to contribute a brilliant piece of art to the Bollywood. It is so painful to see how the innocence of an ordinary villager and his family gets exploited in the citylights of metro. Hansal Mehta has wonderfully and very realistically encapsulated the challenges faced by a destitute family in the metro. Various adversities faced by the family viz. loss of business in the village, rural migration, extreme poverty, exploitation by the city etc. are well captured in the movie. The movie left me with tears in eyes, rather actually broke my heart. Kudos to Hansal Mehta for making this movie so realistic, profoundly moving, tangible and believable and at the same time 'minus melodrama'.Deepak Singh (Rajkummar Rao) moves to Mumbai after losing his Saree shop (in a village in Rajasthan) to the debtors along with wife Rakhi (Patralekha) and daughter Mahi. Great moments of family togetherness, love between Deepak and Rakhi are shown while in village, which probably gave them confidence to move to the unknown Mumbai and try for a better living. Deepak's friend Omkar, who was supposed to pick them up from the Mumbai railway station, did not turn up. Deepak is cheated and happens to lose whatever money he had. Life turns out to be really challenging for them with not having roof over their heads. Then starts their desperate efforts to survive. Deepak manages to get a job in Active Security Bureau, a group of security force, with his background as an ex-army driver, but his job is kind of life-threatening. Life takes a mysterious turn from there with his partner / boss in job Vishnu (Manav Kaul). It is difficult to understand his intentions. One kept wondering whether Vishnu is good or bad. Rakhi lands up as a bar-dancer, although very very reluctantly.Does life improve for Deepak and family? What all events unfold in their journey to survive in the metro Mumbai ? Who all partner with them in their journey of survival and how? Do Deepak and Rakhi lose their rustic innocence in the citylights? Are Deepak and family able to re-establish the once-happy-family image? Are they able to manage to keep going against the inimical forces that surround them? Is there any flash of light at the end of the tunnel?There are certain heart-wrenching scenes: the manner in which Deepak sits in front of the Saree shop in the village while realizing that he has lost the same; their migration to Mumbai with hope in the eyes, but losing the same the moment they land up in Mumbai; desperate attempts by Deepak and Rakhi to seek job / accommodation; helpless / embarrassed Rakhi standing in front of the Bar-Manager who tries to scan her whole body and the last one to mention is the tragic and shocking climax.Both Rajkummar Rao and Patralekha (his real-life girlfriend) have added so much value to the roles of Deepak and Rakhi through their effortless performances. Manav Kaul as Vishnu has also given an exceptionally well performance. The music by Jeet Ganguli is absolutely soulful and as per the genre of the movie. The songs 'Muskurane' and 'Ek Chirraiya' are very good.

Citylights re-unites the director actor duo Hansal Mehta & Rajkumar Rao after a superb "Shahid" which won each of them the National Award this year.CityLights Citylights is an adaptation of 2013 Award winning movie "METRO MANILA" directed by Sean Elllis and Hansal Mehta does complete justice to the original. The story is credited to Sean Ellis the original writer of METRO MANILA; the adapted screenplay is by Ritesh Shah. Ritesh stays true to the original but adapts it to the Indian context of people from smaller towns who migrate to the city of dreams Mumbai expecting to make a better living. Just a piece of advice if you are looking at an entertaining movie then this is definitely not the right choice.Citylights is the story of Deepak (Rajkumar Rao) and Rakhee (Patralekha) who come to Mumbai from Rajasthan to make a better living but become victim of the shrewd reality of city life. The story by Sean Ellis captures the pathos of a small town guy well in his story and Ritesh's screenplay captures the nuances well. At times the movie's pace becomes sluggish especially during song sequences which was unnecessary. Some of the sequences are very well written albeit I felt the climax was a bit hurried and could have been presented well.It is the performances which make the movie memorable. Rajkumar Rao gives another brilliant performance. His portrayal of Deepak Singh is so realistic that you wonder whether he is really acting. The Dialect to the body language is all up to the mark. Another superb performance is of Manav Kaul who plays Vishnu a friend of Deepak with ulterior motives. After "Kai Po Che" Manav again shows his caliber, this is an actor to look forward to. Sadia Siddique as Vishnu's wife is good albeit her role is small. Patralekha as Rakhee does show a spark but gets overshadowed by Rajkumar and Manav.Production Design by Rajat Poddar is realistic. Editing by Apoorva Asrani could have been sharp. Jeet Ganguli's music is good but does not gel with the narration rather it hampers the pace.Hansal Mehta's forte is to get the human emotions bang on and he succeeds in this movie as well but fails a bit in giving it a Thriller edge and finesse in the narration which was the highlight in the original METRO MANILA.