Master Praz’s take on 99 (Hindi, 2009)

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Every now and again a small film comes that really takes you off-guard and leaves you with a smile on your face. A film which comes with little to no expectations yet delivers a lot more than one expects from the most hyped films, folks, 99 is THAT film.

In short, 99 is a success! First time mainstream directors Dr. Raj Nidimoru and Anupam Mitta pull off with great intelligence this smart, witty, new age crime caper/comedy. The movie engrosses you from the opening scene with a rip roaring chase that builds on the background of this masterful story line. The plot takes on so many twists and turns that viewers will be kept guessing throughout the film.
It’s been 6 years since directors Dr. Raj Nidimoru and Anupam Mittal made a film (their last film was the equally smashing FLAVOURS) and this has truly been worth the wait as the director duo deliver another gem, and this time one which ranks vastly higher.

Right from the witty opening credits to the very last reel the viewers are in for a ride like no other. Granted Indian Cinema of late has churned out some wonderful crime capers like Rohan Sippy’s masterful BLUFFMASTER and Sriram Raghavan’s blood-soaked JOHNNY GADDARR, however 99 is different from both of them.
The movie starts in 1999, with two small-time crooks Sachin (Kunal Khemu) and Zaramud (Cyrus Broacha) who are on the run from the police after a mobile phone scam goes wrong. They hotwire a car and try to escape, only to lose control of the vehicle and smash it into a truck, then a lamppost and all sorts of other things – completely wrecking it. To add to their misfortune, the car belongs to local bhai AGM (Sanjay Manjrekar). To pay off the car they start working for him. AGM is into gambling in a big way and has many people with outstanding debts to him. He dispatches our lead duo to Delhi to extort money from a non-paying, gambling junkie Rahul (Boman Irani).

All this is only the first 10 minutes of the movie.

The movie is named because it signifies just one short of a century. All the characters in the movie keep missing their mark in life, just by a little bit. 99 is full of comic twists and turns AND cricket jokes!! You could probably classify this as a comic heist/gangster story I suppose, but it wouldn’t be doing this movie complete justice. The only compliment fitting to 99 would be that this is the closest I’ve seen to Guy Ritchie in India and like LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and especially SNATCH this is a relentless crime-caper which has comedy as its back-bone, relies entirely on its characters, settings and extremely witty dialogues to see itself through minus any gimmicks.

Performance was standout across the board – Kunal Khemu, Boman Irani, Cyrus Broacha, Mahesh Manjrekar, Amit Mistry (Kuber), Vinod Khanna – and everybody else. Soha Ali Khan and Simone Singh didn’t have much to do, but Soha looked rather cute – and both do their parts very satisfactorily. Mahesh Manjrekar continues to shine in comic roles – though I think his character would have been better named ATM instead of AGM. Boman was excellent as usual and at the best of times is the centre-stage of the film. He plays the extremely likeable loser with a gambling addiction to absolute perfection. Amit Mistry as Kuber was a hoot, to say nothing of Dimpy. In fact, Mistry’ elicits the film’s funniest moments and his delivery and lines are a knock-out. But the star was Kunal Khemu – the guy can act, not that I am complaining about this movie, but he should be getting better roles. Even in disappointing films like SUPERSTAR or absolutely rubbish films like JAI-VEERU, Khemu has a natural quality which makes him immensely likeable, in the same league as Abhay Deol. Cyrus Broacha was a surprise too – he wasn’t as over the top as I imagined he would be and his timing was bang-on. Vinod Khanna in a larger-than-life role is superb and I hope to see more of him in coming months in more interesting roles.

The dialogues in the movie are award worthy, and there is no dearth of classic one-liners. Be it AMG leaving a ‘message’ after the ‘beep’ OR the wannabe in the hotel lobby threatening to buy the 5-star hotel or the popular theory about how cell phones would hurt your entire body, heck I even liked the dude on the street giving a TV interview of what he saw of the culprits. The absolute best is no doubt Kuber with lines like “Checking”…”Cut Again”…”Give Respect” which are impeccably timed.
The production is very well designed. The movie is set in 99-2000 and it almost feels as though that is when it was shot. Massive hoardings of Bill Clinton arriving in the new Millennium, film hoardings across the city (imagine “Kaho Na Pyar Hai (2000)” blocking the skyline) the mobile phone models they use, the songs that play in the background (like the MERE MHEBOOB MERE SANAM from the Shahrukh Khan flop DUPLICATE) the cars they drive, or their amazement at the advent of “cyber cafes”— this could well be one of India’s first period films (NOT about the Freedom Struggle)! If anything, that’s one award it deserves for sure. The background score is also well used and adds to the tension/fun of the chase.

As for the story itself, this is a chase/heist movie in the genre of what Guy Ritchie does. The two losers are on the run from everyone, with their IOUs adding up faster than Sachin’s centuries. Their misfortunes and bravado makes for some very comic situations, without resorting to any toilet humor (well, almost) or Priyadarshan style confusion-climax. The audience kept laughing and clapping all through. Especially loved were the Bombay versus Delhi references (the cities are known for their cultural rivalry and pride). The movie is peppered with cricket metaphors, delivered in Cyrus’s inimitable style. Cricket forms an important part of the plot and it is made by true lovers of the game.

All up 99 is a through and through winner…don’t miss this one!

Master Praz