Kabir Khan-directed New York is a superb film, worth watching. As Indians have recently been the target of racist attacks in Australia, one can connect and understand the emotions and the conflicts of the lead characters.
KABIR KHAN'S earlier film Kabul Express, released a few years ago, won him a lot of rave reviews and awards. New York, his next venture for Yashraj films, is even better. Set in the post 9/11 period, New York, which stars John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh, is the story about a group of college friends, whose collective destiny throws their lives into total chaos. The entire film is set in New York, and manages to graphically convey the plight and hardship faced by Asians in the US, after the bombing of the twin towers.
The story starts with the FBI arresting Omar (Neil Nitin) for possession of weapons. Omar is detained and tortured. It is only later that Omar realises that he is a victim; the FBI suspects his old college friend Sameer (John Abraham) of being a terrorist and want to use Omar to nail Sameer. Sameer incidentally is now married to Maya (Katrina) and has a child too. Omar refuses to say anything that may frame Sameer, but soon realises that he has no choice if he wants his freedom back and if he wants to prove that his friend Sameer is no terrorist. It also turns out that Omar had a crush on Maya, and it is for her sake, that he agrees to become an undercover FBI agent. Roshan (Irrfan Khan) is the Indian officer who manages Omar. Roshan, being a Muslim Indian himself, has his heart in the right place.The movie shifts from real time to flashback, as one is introduced to the college friendships of the three main characters, to the alleys of New York and to the horrors of the detention centre, where the suspects are picked up, held without a lawyer, and tortured, in an effort to get a confession. Some of the torture scenes are downright disgusting, and bring tears to one’s eyes. One wonders: can one man or a group of men ever treat another human beings so badly? Are we, at one level, worse than animals? The film eventually moves towards a climax, with quite a few twists and turns. One leaves the theatre feeling that the director has handled the story well, and brought it to a natural end where nothing is justified, nothing is pardoned, and where fairness and justice prevails, and no one is really blamed for the mess.
John Abraham delivers a sterling performance, perhaps one that is his career-best. Neil and Katrina are competent and blend well. The chemistry between the three friends is excellent and well-portrayed. Irrfan Khan is superb, but that is something that we have come to expect of him, in recent times. The film is technically sound, right from the opening shot of New York City to the climax. With its use of great camera angles, razor sharp editing, and an effective and haunting background score, the film often makes the viewer forget that he is in a theatre. When that happens, when the viewer forgets himself, that is truly a sign of a good film. As Indians have recently been the target of racist attacks in Australia, one can connect and understand the emotions and the conflicts of the lead characters. At the same time, one can also come to terms with the US administration which went completely berserk when the twin towers were bombed. Countries like the US have not really been exposed to terrorism, in the same way as Asian countries have been, and it must have really come as a shock for them to see an act of terrorism on their soil. One can understand why the FBI and the US authorities committed such grave acts against Asians, although one cannot pardon these acts, whatever the compulsions. All in all, a wonderful film, one with which we can identify, and one that will touch your heart. And for all those who have family members in the US, it will serve as an eye-opener and shows that going to the US is no longer the dream it used to be. Every Asian will be looked at with suspicion for many decades to come and that is a fact that we will have to live with. Kabir Khan as a director, shows considerable skill and depth, and is one of the directors to look out for, in the near future.
