FAST, BUT NOT STEADY - SHILPA SHETTY

14 TIME OUT The Gulf Today / Thursday, May 17, 2007
FAST, BUT
NOT STEADY
LIFE IN A METRO BRINGS INTO FOCUS THE VARIOUS PROBLEMS PEOPLE FACE IN A FAST-PACED LIFESTYLE WITH LITTLE HOPE OF REALISING THEIR DREAMS, WRITES KK MOIDU
Shilpa Shetty, who makes her first screen appearance
after the international racism controversy and
Richard Gere’s hug and kiss drama was recently in Dubai to promote her latest film Life in a Metro. Director Anurag Basu, producer Ronnie Screwvala, co-stars Shiney Ahuja and Irrfan Khan were also present at the press conference
organised by Star TV. The event was held at Falcon Ballroom in Le Meridien Dubai.
In Metro, Shilpa plays a talented but bored housewife Shikha who gets involved in an extra-martial
relationship. The actress came in an hour late, wearing jeans and a white jacket with little makeup. Shilpa
happily answered the journalists queries.
“ In real life I would never get involved in an extra marital relationship. I grew up in a healthy environment
and my parents share an excellent relationship. So extra-martial relationship is something I just
can’t accept,” Shilpa said at the
press confrence.
When asked what if her husband cheated on her, she said,” I would kill him, if he gets involved in such
a thing.”
Shilpa, who is a 30 plus single, opined that nobody chooses an extra marital relationship but some
fall into it due to situations. The actress made her debut in
the Bollywood blockbuster Baazigar. Although Shilpa played the second heroine Seema Chopra in Baazigar, her character was well accepted by the audience. In an acting
career spanning one and half decades, Shilpa has acted in more than 50 films.
She is one of the tallest actress’ in Bollywood. Shilpa has worked along with her sister, actress
Shamita Shetty, in the Hindi film Fareb.
Shilpa, who has not only acted in commercial entertainers but has also proved her talent in notable
films like Dhadkan and Phir Milenge etc. Her character Anjali in Dhadkan and Tamanna Sahani in Phir Milenge won her lot of appreciation.
After Shilpa, it was director Basu’s turn to be in the hot seat. When asked about the screen kiss between Dharmendra and Nafeesa Ali, he stated,” “I don’t know how to express romance without kissing. I think the kiss went very with the Indian audience.” The theme was another point of discussion in the press conference. “ The urban theme of the film was because of the dramatic changes in Indian cinema in the last couple of
years,” producer Ronnie Screwvala
said.
Life in a...Metro — a glance
India is shining. The GDP is increasing. The sensex is at an all time high. Malls, multiplexes, Cars, Metros — Everything is growing — Even the distance between the
hearts. Emotions run amok in a city that fights for attention. Staying on top means running someone down; a
promotion means sidelining someone else. Love means a “no strings attached” tryst in an empty flat.
“Commitment” and “Love” are words for losers, or so they say! But life has a way of turning
things around.

Cast

Shilpa Shetty as Shikha
Atalented but bored housewife. Craves love. Her life changes track when she meets a stranger at a railway
station.
Shiney Ahuja as Akash
The man who could not hold on to a job — or his wife. A man who held on to his values, until he himself held no value in the eyes of the world.
Kangna Ranaut as Neha
She’s fast learning that some shortcuts are too long. But changing lanes is not easy.
Kay Kay Menon as Ranjeet
The man who has to be in control. He keeps every one on their toes and in their place. His family
included.
Sharman Joshi as Rahul
Literally holds the keys to his own success. Life is a smooth ride until he accidentally discovers that
his dream changed directions.
Konkana Sensharma as Shruti
Single, at 30, she believes she has just one life, that cannot be spent on the wrong man. Her search for Mr Right drives everyone else up the wall.
Irrfan Khan as Debu
Has broken all the signals in search for love. But a life partner remains elusive.
TALE OF RELATIONSHIPS
Director Anurag Basu seems to have an obsession with heights. In Murder, Gangster and now Metro, characters are seen hanging down or just sitting on ledges of skyscrapers. In Metro, he even gets his rock band to climb
atop a building and strum guitars. And when it isn’t guitars, it’s Irrfan and Konkona getting on a rooftop to scream their lungs out.
It’s meant to be therapeutic and we’ll take Anurag Basu’s word for it. Metro falters only in parts. Some of the narrative’s punctuation marks are overemphasised. And the spiral of human relationships often seems to replicate Mike Nichols’ Closer.
And yes, Billy Wilder’s romantic comedy The Apartment serves as a direct reference point for the Kay Kay-Kangana-Sharman triangle. But make no mistake, this is a highly original film with a voice that seems to reverberate across a limitless canvas of feelings of people in a concrete
jungle.
You know you are being sucked into the lives of characters who are largely losers in the garb of white-collar dreamers, looking for love and warmth in a cold, heartless city.
After Gangster, Anurag Basu has got another winner in Metro — a subtle, sly look at a bunch of characters locked in the throes of infidelity. Basu harnesses his narrative into a fiesta of reined-in feelings, all indicating the growth of a city that cares little about one’s sensitivities.
He has an incredible eye for performances. Every actor is nearly flawless in the chaos of corroded commitments in the city. Always witty, Metro moves through a laconic labyrinth of laughter and some stifled sobs.
Sanjeev Dutta’s dialogues are very indicative of the characters’ inner world. They slice right into the characters’ hearts and give us an insight into the machinations of people so busy realising their dreams that they even forget to sleep.
On the negative side, Metro fails to connect us with the characters beyond their love life. If they have a life beyond their heart, we don’t see it.
The film should be seen as a mellow, melancholic and sharp look at love and sex in the city. The characters move in and out of some skillfully written scenes.
Despite a frail chemistry with Shiney Ahuja, Shilpa Shetty gives a nuanced performance. Bobby Singh’s camera captures Shilpa in agonised silhouettes. Kay Kay, as her insensitive husband, has a thankless role that he performs
with rare understanding.
While Sharman and Konkona are surprisingly chemistry-less in their screen relationships, Irrfan and Konkona come across as the warmest couple of this jigsaw of life. Watch them in the seashore sequence and savour their outstanding emotive faculties.
Metro is manoeuvred forward by a melee of delicious ideas ... like composer Pritam and his rock band appearing as narrators to sing their songs. The rain-motif pelts down on the plot, creating pockets of pain, desire and longing.
But the film could have done with better editing.
Akiv Ali cuts the material brutally ... but not
deep enough.