City Lights- Film Review

There was the original Charlie Chaplin film by this name (remade in Hindi as 'Sunayana' starring Rameshwari and Naseeruddin Shah)- and this. This is a remake of a movie called Metro Manila, probably adapted to Mumbai.

The first fifteen minutes are boringly predictable, with the hero being forced to migrate to Mumbai and his being duly cheated out of a large amount of money on arrival. But thereafter, the movie picks up steam, and is unlike most Hindi films- because perhaps it is not a Hindi film originally.

There are pretty good twists and turns that keep you interested, and one man's (actually two, if you count the friend/partner) quest to better their lives, and the consequences (not pleasant for all concerned, but realistic under the circumstances) are worth a look. Patralekha is not bad, Manav Kaul (the partner) is very good. Rajkumar Rao is also pretty decent. One song is well-composed. Reminded me a bit of two films, Gharaonda and Piya ka ghar (with the brilliant song 'Yeh Jeevan hai, is jeevan ka, yehi hai, yehi hai rang roop, thode gham hain, thdi khushiyan') in the seventies and eighties, about Mumbai angst (about housing).

I would have given it a four if the pace initially had been better. As of now, it's a 3.5 on 5.

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