Citylights

Starring: Rajkummar Rao, Patraleka

Rated: 5.5/10

At least in this film, Rajkummar Rao gets to prove his acting ability unlike Queen, where even though he was the male lead, the role was negligible. Based on the remake of award winning British-Filipino film Metro Manila, this one will make you pause and look at reality — that the gullible are always taken for a ride. This means that in order to survive in the big bad city of Mumbai one has to be cunning and street smart.

However, our hero is neither. He is a village boy from an unheard part of Rajasthan. So, he will be taken for a ride is a foregone conclusion. What is unfortunate about the story is that it has nothing new to offer. Bollywood or should one say Hindi cinema over the years has made hundreds of films where the unworldly find their aspirations to make it big in the city shattered.

Strangely, while our hero is portrayed as an innocent, his background of having been a chauffeur with the Indian Army and that he had a shop in the village makes it difficult to digest this. And seriously, what was stopping him from going back to the ArmyIJ He gives a rather lame excuse: ‘Have a family to look after’. Is director Hansal Mehta trying to send a message that our soldiers who are still serving, don’t look after their familyIJ One hopes not. Despite, a few more of such idiocies, Mehta has managed to bring in some symbolic moments — like at the climax, the birds finally settling down once they are home.

As for Rajkummar’s performance, he holds your attention even though his character has not been fleshed out. Pratraleka, who makes her debut, stands out.

Through Citylights the director wants the audience to bleed with the protagonists and cry in their misfortunes. However, lack of credibility fails to achieve this.