Shor in the City: Review

I am wary of films that claim to pay tribute to a city. Most of the shots are cliched, and the characters stereotypes – slum boy, struggling youngster, cheating partners, etc.

So I was not sure if I should watch the film, but thank god for torrents!

Five minutes into the movie, and you know you are in for a ride!

Shor in the City is a medley of three stories, each a voice that is drained somewhere in the noise of the city. Tushar Kapoor and his two friends run a pirated books publishing set up. But Tushar is a man of ethics and will not publish books with missing pages just because they are cheap. He is newly married and plans to settle down by buying a Nano in a year. His two friends, however, live on the edge. The three of them find a bag full of guns and plan to sell it off to earn some quick money.

Abhay played by Sendhil Ramamurthy has returned from the US to set up a small business in India. He is approached by a couple of local goons, who demand money for protection. They threaten him, and go to the extent of stalking his girlfriend.

Sawan is a struggling cricketer who is keen to get into the good books of the selectors. His girlfriend’s parents are looking for grooms for her, and he learns that one sure shot way to get into the team is by bribing one of the selectors. He needs ten lakhs and has no clue how to go about it.

What follows is a heady cocktail of events, characters and situations you wouldn’t have come across for sometime in Hindi films. What makes the film enjoyable is the subtlety put into every scene. The editing by Ashmith Kunder is slick, and every scene seems to have the right feel, without once going overboard. The music by Sachin-Jigar has a prominent Amit Trivedi touch to it, but manages to blend with the film.

The film is finally what it is due to the performances. As Sawan the struggling character, Sandeep Kishan never goes all out to win your sympathy. Sendhil Ramamoorthy plays safe with a restrained performance, and Tushar Kapoor seems like a different actor in the film. The real star of the film, however, is Pitobash Tripathy. As Tushar’s maverick friend, he lights up the screen everytime he comes on.

Shor in the City is a little gem that needs to be watched. So that we can move beyond huge starcasts and item numbers in our films. Director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., who impressed with their debut film ’99’ deserve a pat on each of their backs and two pegs after that.

Go watch it.