Johnny Gaddaar (2007)

The greatest movie ever made..!

From my favorite movies..

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Caught this movie by accident on TV and it was a pleasant surprise. I didn't feel like using the skip forward button but couldn't wait to find what happens @ the end. I don't remember seeing too many Bollywood song and dance sequences. It has some heavy weight actors and some new faces. And for a change the director didn't get lost in the twists.I was surprised to see Dharmendra in the role he has done. And Neil Mukesh sneaked up as a hero, which was a bit of surprise for me. The movie comes up short on showing the emotional side of people. But it has enough content in it to keep one occupied for the entire length of the movie, there was never a dull moment.

The debut movie of Niel Nitin Mukesh,grandson of legendary singer Mukesh. The USP of the movie is definitely not the debut, but the story. It is well scripted and equally well told. Writers have taken a lot of effort on the script and it shows as the final result is very polished and engaging.Casting also was good, being a low budget movie no mega stars acts in the movie, except mega star of his days Dharamendra(surely not a mega star of today), also one would not find any foreign locales in dreamy song sequences, although cinematography could have been lot better.The debutant actor Niel Nitin Mukesh acts very well for a debutant, he could be the next girl charmer of Bollywood, with great looks, physique and good acting abilities he is here to stay for long time. Dharamendra does a pretty good job and this was expected from an actor of his stature. Its refreshing to see Vinay Pathak in not a full blown comedy role, he shows of his acting abilities to the fullest. The background score of the movie is great; Shankar Ehsaan Loy does a wonderful job yet again. The visual effects and editing should have been better as this steals the charm of the movie Story does become predictable at few instances but overall it keeps you glued to your seats till the end. Surely a one time watch movie.

Excellent movie to watch for. finally after a long time we get a proper thriller in Hindi. Director keeps the viewer glued till the end. Details are perfect and elaborate. references to old movies plots are perfect. Cast of new/upcoming actors does the justice to fantastic script. Vinay gives another great performance, give any role and this man does justice to the character. Would give it 10/10. Breath of fresh air when compared to cheap flicks being churned out by khan and company. I would definitely place this in top 50 Hindi films ever made. Music is sober and does not interfere with the pace of the story.This is a must watch movie.

Recently saw this movie when one of my friend told me that it is an adaptation of James Hadley Chase's novel. I have read most of the JHC books and will vouch for it that if you read all of his books and act on them you'll one day end up a big fraud. There are so many innovative ways which JHC come up with to con people. Now being an ardent fan of JHC, I made it a point to see this movie but had some apprehensions at first because some years ago even Ketan Mehta tried to adapt a JHC novel, 'The Sucker Punch' into AAR YA PAAR, even some of the dialouges were lifted from the book but i guess he failed in the script. He went too far from what was there in the novel. Coming back to Johnny Gaddaar I found the story is not lifted from any of JHC's novels, it does follow a somewhat similar plot though. I feel it is Sriram Raghavan's (Of 'Ek Haseena Thi' fame) tribute to many personalities, Vijay Anand, R K Narayan (Rimi Sen is reading 'Guide' in the film), Rama Gopal Verma (Sriram was RGV's assistant), Hitchcock etc. In the opening credits he mentions some of the names like JHC and Vijay Anand.The movie features the grandson of the legendary singer Mukesh, Neil Nitin Mukesh and what a debut!!!!! I was amazed by the way he has carried out his role. Flawless. Also another brilliant performance by Vinay Pathak after Bheja Fry.The movie is about a gang whose members are involved in some kind of shady deals. One such deal promises the gang a lot of money, but one member of the gang is lured by the 'Whiff of Money' (Another JHC novel which Neil Mukesh is reading in the train) and began to hatch his own secret plans, leading to unforeseen situations for the group. The things go wrong when his plans goes astray. The movie is a relentlessly rigorous take on the wages of crime and what evil men do to their conscience for the sake of money. Johnny Gaddaar is not a compelling thriller but its witty direction and sincere performances make it a fine thriller, among the best in recent years. It is a much needed respite from song and dance type of movies which are being churned out these days. The soundtrack is groovy, Vishal-Shekhar has done justice to some old song references by mixing them well. Even the songs are a tribute to the olden era (Read Navketan Productions) of thrillers. Songs like Johnny Breakbeat Mera Naam aka 'Johnny Mera Naam', 'Bhule Bisre Geet', 'Revenge of the 70's', are well done. It is sad that the movie didn't got its due share commercially. But after the movie was well received by the critics, it mustered some figures commercially. I feel it was the most underrated movies of 2007.