Taxi No. 9211-480P

Taxi No. 9211-480P

Moviecut—Taxi No. 9211

This is a remake of "Changing Lanes" and it is OK but it doesn't improve on it. The acting is good and the pace is better than the original. Not having Ben Affleck in the film was always going to be an improvement but unfortunately there are enough bad things to counterbalance this. There is a 4 minute music video at the start for no reason what so ever, it is supposed to be our introduction to the character of Jai Mittal but it is just a song and dance routine that belongs on MTV not in a film, I almost stopped watching at that point since I was expecting standard Bollywood musical rubbish from there on but thankfully it isn't that bad. The two main characters are played well and are believable, they have some good dialogue and there are some funny moments to lighten the mood and this is what holds the film together and makes it watchable. There are several close escapes in the film and these are ridiculously unbelievable and belong in a dodgy b-movie and that is unfortunate because it breaks the tension rather than emphasising it, it gives the film an uneven feel, you are never allowed to believe this could be real and because of that you never really care about the characters. I thought the ending was over played and it made me cringe a little. There are good points and bad points but, even with Ben Affleck, the original is still better.

I went to see Taxi Number 9211 after seeing the trailer. It seemed an enjoyable movie ... something different from the usual fare. I wasn't too wrong in my initial assessment. However, there are certain flaws too ... ones which detract somewhat from the entertainment value in the long-run. The movie is really one of a kind, with a unique storyline. The women who feature as part of the plot, are almost redundant since the story is essentially about the clash of the super-inflated ego of the taxi-driver (Patekar)versus that of the heir to a vast fortune (John Abraham). The dialogue is enjoyable and funny, though both Abraham and Patekar are at their offensive best! Their hot-headed exchanges are a dream for someone who wants to be rude and obnoxious! The movie starts out with a lot of promise. Somehow, things peter out somewhere along the way. For one, the action and intended violence seems somewhat unwarranted. Patekar trying to kill Abraham because he (Patekar), will not part with the key to the locker that Abraham has unwittingly left behind on the seat of the taxi cab. Okay, he doesn't want to let Abraham get his way ... but attempted murder??!!! What if the man had gone and got himself killed? Wouldn't have been too funny, would it? And, I mean ... trying to kill a person just because your taxi cab has been smashed up and you've been peremptorily thrust into the police lock-up as a result of this man's whims .... A bit far-fetched!! Somehow, I got the feeling that the producers of "Taxi Number 9211" needed the movie to run for the full duration of a feature film and were being forced to conjure up situations unnecessarily. They could easily have done with a little less action. After all, the basic storyline would not have been affected by the omission of a few scenes of brawling and abusing. Everyone, without exception, seems to be ultra-hyper, in this film ... The film would still have had it's appeal as a movie with a difference with a little less palpable tension. The sea-change (almost) that comes over both the main characters, as a result of their interaction with each other, is effective as a denouement. Both of them simultaneously realise the fact that they had been attaching too much importance to issues that were actually very insignificant in themselves. Their mercurial disposition takes a beating, thanks primarily to each other. If that was meant to be the moral of the story, the film has succeeded. The ultimate song ... shown during the credits ... is very enjoyable. Unfortunately, a lot of people, I found, had already started vacating the theatre-hall, before the song started. Perhaps the timing could have been better ... if the audience is expected to watch "Meter Down". Though enjoyable, I wouldn't recommend this film to people who, like the characters in the film ... have a dearth of patience!

This was a very good film, excellent plot, good casting and brilliantly acted. Taxi... tells the story of two men who are each others nemesis, which causes all hell to break lose when their worlds collide one fateful day. Raghav Shastri (played by Nana Patekar) is a hardworking taxi driver keeping his profession secret from his family because he would rather worship his wife (played by Sonali Kulkarni) rather have her go out of the house to work to make ends meets. Jai Mittal (played by John Abraham) is a former playboy who is chastise by the death of his father. As he struggles to come to terms with the reality that hit him when he got to know that his late father had left him completely out of his will, he clings to his girlfriend and soon-to-be fiancé Rupali (played by Sameera Reddy). Together they begin to lock horns with Arjun Bajaj (played by Shivaji Satham ) Jai's father's best friend who claims his friend left everything to him. One afternoon, while on his way to court, Jai (having bashed up his car the previous night) hops a taxi driven by Raghav with the hopes of getting there on time but one thing leads to the other and they end up in an accident. During the mêlée, Jai unknowingly drops a key in the taxi, it is only when he reaches his safe deposit box that he realises that he is unable to retrieve the copy of a will that proves his father left all of his possessions to him. He races back to the scene of the accident, finds the cab but not the driver nor the key. When informed that the driver had been arrested shortly after the accident, Jai traces him to the nearest police precinct where he finds and interrogates him. When Raghav deceitfully claims that he knows nothing about any key, a game of cat and mouse ensues between the two with disastrous but much needed repercussions. Great acting by both leads (Abraham and Patekar) they absolutely complimented each other and I certainly preferred Abraham here than in Garam Masala. This tale of what happens when you meet your own match is not only thought provoking it's seriously entertaining. I loved the soundtrack as well, despite the fact that only one song and dance appeared throughout the entire film. Whatever you do, don't miss the hilarious surprise ending as well as Kurush Deboo as the ridiculously funny Cyrus Batliwala. A-

Actors - Nana Patekar is the best, although John Abraham and Sameera Reddy have also started to learn. Nana's dialogue delivery is superb. John Abraham has been, finally, given a role he would match. Sameera Reddy, Kurush Deboo, and Shivaji Satam have strong roles. Story - The story is well written, but the screenplay could have been better. For those who haven't seen the film, go take a look, and expect a few twists in the storyline. Music - The music is pretty good. Look out for Bappi Lahiri's Song Bambayi Nagariya, Adnan Sami's Meter Down, and Aazmaale Aazmaale, probably from K.K.. Don't miss the music video of Meter Down.

High rating of this movies is a proof that IMDb rating system can be rigged fairly easily. This is especially true for ratings of non-English movies like Hindi. This movie came out in 2006 and was a copy of Hollywood movies. Stars in this movie are good actors but they were over-acting in this movie. This movie had poor dialogues, poor copied story line and poor music. I can only surmise that this movie is rated so highly because the reviews are written by professionally paid writes on behalf of producers. You can also see this happening for quite a few other Hindi movies where new movies are rated very highly even though they do very poorly on box office as well as big duds artistically. IMDb rating system is gamed over here. Unfortunately there is no easy way to stop this exploitation of volunteer system.

John Abraham's and Nana Patekar's chemistry is great on screen. Maybe John and Nana should think about working together again sometimes. I confess, sometimes John Abraham scares me when he gets mad. They did a very good job acting as bad guys and balancing the movie. It was a fast movie and really keeps you at the edge of your seat. But, sometimes, I felt that some parts were too draggy like the ending. There are lots of twists and turns and sprinkled with comedy. Expect the unexpected. The songs are okay. I was disappointed a little. Other than that, I think the director did a really good job. The Dialogue was funny and well done. Enjoy it. Worth a watch even you don't like either of them.

Only good thing about the film is its plot which is quite conveniently lifted from foreign film-changing lanes. Even that is shoddily done with so many holes that see the result yourself.The film is a textbook on direction flaws as well as logical blunders. Here are few examples- 1. Nana Patekar is shown to be in a financial mess as he did not even have money to pay for electricity bill/ ration/ his son's school fees yet he manages to keep one cell phone and one land line phone. 2. Nana Patekar's taxi seized by the police and they obviously had taken away his license too. Later in the film, after a short time lapse he is shown driving another taxi. How can anybody lend him another taxi to drive without checking his license? 3. When Policemen frisk Nana Patekar for locker keys why can't they find currency notes given to him by John when same notes Nana takes out at the time of paying school fees of his son. 4. John's girlfriend send goons to beat up Nana in order to take away locker keys but can't she think off sending same goons to locker's office and get the locker broken down to get the papers which are root of all the evil. 5. Just because someone told Nana's wife, his real occupation by default which isn't so rosy doesn't mean it will make Nana or anybody else angry to such an extent that he even try to kill the same man. 6. so many times both the protagonists covers the long distance of mumbai roads from one end to the other end in a single day and that too in just a couple of hours. 6. Not even once in film, there is any concern shown towards rise in the number of accidents in the city due to speeding vehicles as a cause of huge ambitions and anxiety on the part of drivers as well as the travelers. I wish film makers had some social and moral responsibility as it is a well known fact that many from the audience just blindly ape their respective screen idols. But leave aside just film makers , who else cares by the way?