An engrossing rollercoaster ride. That’s what Taxi No 9211 promises to be when its acerbic, witty and very unhappy with the world driver shifts into first gear, even as a well written and delivered commentary by Sanjay Dutt begins the storyline and with deft economy of words defines the characters and puts them in perspective.
Raghav Shastri (Nana Patekar) is on the run. From financial problems, from the fact that his sweet, simple wife still believes that her husband is actually an insurance salesman, whereas he has been forced to drive a taxi for three turbulent months now, during which time he’s defaulted on the taxi owner’s rent and now faces the threat of exposure by the taxi owner, who’s given him just one more day. Cough up 30000 bucks, or I’ll land up at your home and tell your wife that you’re actually a bloody taxi driver! That prospect chills Raghav’s spine, setting the poor hyperanxious fella even more on the edge!
He has just one day to find 30000 bucks. And on the most important day of his life, he bumps into another man, Jai Mittal (John Abraham) who has to rush to a court hearing to contest his late millionaire father’s will, or else he stands to lose everything to a certain Arjun ___.
So here are two guys both in a tearing hurry to save their all. One has millions to lose; the other would lose his self esteem if his wife discovers his lie, and would also lose his taxi if he doesn’t manage to rustle up 30000 bucks by the end of the day. It’s equally desperate for Jai, who hasn’t lifted a finger in his life to work, and is now in a wild-eyed frenzy to save his millions. 
And today, time is of the essence! You brace yourself for the ride of your life! After all, there’s Nana, there’s handsome hunk John Abraham, plus there’s the perfect launch pad for a great story to unfold.
But just a few dry, witty, acerbic exchanges later, Raghav, egged on by a desperate Jai who’s raining fistfuls of currency on him to drive faster, rams his old taxi into a car. Jai, desperate to reach a locker vault to retrieve a file quickly, slips away, leaving Raghav to face the music and a crooked cop who has him jailed. But Raghav has actually found Jai’s crucial locker key and pocketed it. So guess what happens? Jai comes back, looking for Raghav, and from there on, the screenplay of Taxi No 9211 goes off the rails, getting a convenient mind of its own.
The cabbie and the passenger begin acting out of character, flying into exaggerated fits of rage just to propel the story forward. Why would Jai hurl abuse at the driver who literally holds the locker key to his future?? So that Raghav can eyeball him back and swear revenge! And what extremes of vengeance! Raghav remove the bolts off Jai’s front wheel, and it takes a good three minutes of fast driving for the wheel to come off! Raghav, in a fit of maniacal rage, start banging into Jai’s girlfriend Rupali’s car? And how come a crowd of onlookers allows Jai to get away after he’s got Raghav stuck in his taxi on a railway track and a local train smashes it? And hey, what happened to the cops? Once Raghav escapes from custody, they do nothing to trace him, even though they have his address which Jai uses to reach his wife! Even more strange: a tired Raghav, exhausted after his escape, returns home, to the same address obviously hoping to rest, and that too in his taxi driver outfit. Did the writer tell him the cops wouldn’t come looking after him? And what about his wife who still didn’t know he was actually driving a cab?
Across several such loopholes, Taxi sputters conveniently forward, not helped by some poor dialogue writing. For instance, when Raghav gets a bit frisky at night, his wife (brilliantly played by Sonali Kulkarni) says, Tumhari harkatein baniyay kay bill ki tarah badhti ja rahi hain! And sample this crass one: When the cop, who is frisking Raghav for the locker key, reaches Raghav’s mid-section, Raghav yells, Arre, chabhi dhoond raha hai ki taala dhoondh raha hai!
The end too, especially with Raghav’s resolution with his family, is completely predictable. But after a hectic rough and tumble over two days, why on earth does Jai behave as he does in the end? And old man Arjun too if this is how they wanted to end the film what was that entire journey all about?
The expectations fueled by Director Milan Luthria, who’s spoken of wanting to do a real-time rollercoaster ride, aren’t all met by Taxi No 9211. This isn’t a realtime rollercoaster for sure.
However, Nana shines on, brilliant as ever, even though he’s still playing yet another earthy, angry, bristling man who will fly into a rage if he’s pushed too far. And Taxi also marks the emergence of John as a competent actor who’s delivered a convincing performance as a rich, spoilt, bored young man who’s pushed to strain every sinew to hold on to his millions. He sparkles looking vulnerable and very convincingly shattered -- in the Dear John scene where Sameera Reddy tells him it’s the end of the road for them. While Reddy is just about OK, Sonali Kulkarni is brilliant in her sensitive portrayal of Raghav’s harried but smiling wife. Priyanka Chopra comes on for a short, surprise role, and st
Vishal Shekhar’s foottapping music is well used in the film, with the end-credits song Meter Down standing out as a well shot and edited number with Nana, Priyanka Chopra and John standing out. US based cinematographer Kartik Vijay has made an excellent Hindi films debut with Taxi No 9211, giving all the sequences a good look.
Director Milan Luthria has extracted good performances from all across the board, except for Shivaji Satam who of late seems to have firmly latched on to a one-expression frown. But for the incredulous motivations of the key characters neither of who is short on intelligence but seems to be goaded by a convenient screenplay this rather bumpy ride could have been a smooth and engrossingly entertaining one.
What should, however, save it is the enormous expectations movie lovers always have of Nana’s performances. Another bonus: this time round, the millions who love hunk John Abraham’s macho appeal, are in for a pleasant surprise with a powerful performance. Brush the loose screenplay aside and watch it for the powerful John-Nana package alone!
|
