City Lights (2014) Reviews

• Citylights : A film less ordinary

  ahwaan_padhee2014-06-02

  Citylights marks the collaboration of Vishesh Films and the award- winning duo of Shahid fame, director Hansal Mehta and actor Rajkummar Rao. The camp which has an enviable legacy of films portraying realistic issues and the harsh veracities of life adapts the subject from Sean Ellis's much celebrated flick 'Metro Manila'. With an unflinching inside-look at the harrowing experiences of a poor family which migrates to the maximum city for a better life, Mehta jolts the comforted. Deepak Singh, played by Rajkummar Rao, is a poverty-stricken farmer who moves to Mumbai along with his wife,Raakhi(débutante Patralekha) and daughter Mahi with a hope for better survival. Little does he know that life is not a bed of roses, he gets duped by tricksters upon his arrival and even spends nights on the pavements. Penury forces Raakhi to take up the job of a bar girl while Deepak, trying his hands at daily wage work, eventually lands a job in an armored truck company. He befriends his seemingly compassionate superior Vishnu Sir(Manav Kaul)whose arrival signals a downward spiral for him. Mehta constructs this socially poignant drama with vivid moments only to culminate the story with a devastating end, while surreptitiously carving its way to become a thriller. Maintaining dim-light atmospherics(Shahid Deja-vu) which gels with the mood of the plot, his treatment has a docu-drama feel. Yet the director is never impassioned. The selection processes of the protagonists for their respective jobs provides space for humor and giggle amidst the raw cruelty that they face in their daily fight for existence. Jeet Ganguly's music(a little overdone with those background scores) augments the proceedings to permeate the emotionally walled-up zones of our minds. Lending emotional heft to the plot, Rajkummar Rao approaches his character with so much of realism that's bound to leave your feet numb. The phenomenally talented actor overcomes the lacunae evident in the form of no pressure-cooker urgency or repetitive maneuvers to project grimace.Patralekha pitches in with a sterling performance and makes her suffering palpable.Manav Kaul, who was last seen in Kai Po Che, is the real surprise package( Rajkummar and Manav teamed in Kai Po Che as well !)- quite unassuming yet ballistic. There were days when parallel cinema reckoned with names like Bimal Roy, Satyajit Ray and Guru Dutt. Citylights discreetly takes us back to those good old times where filmmakers put the truths on the table with unapologetic ferocity. Quite heavy and gut-wrenching, yet it has a soul.

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• Slow but Worth!!!

  ronakpatel16852014-07-25

  First observation is 6.6 rating under estimation for the movie review. The movie is all about struggle of the village person moving into Mumbai for his survival, nothing more and nothing less. True to its spirit, the lead actor Rajkumar Rao delivers one of his best performances at least at par with Shahid, If nothing alteast watchable for this great acting. Arijit Singh's background one-liners and music adds onto its flavours and somehow you can't ignore those humming moments. Some might feel that the movie is slow but whatever it may be, you won't regret watching this movie that's for sure.

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• Hard Hitting!! Emotionally Moving!! Strikingly Real ..

  sagar-legendkiller32014-06-01

  I would certainly rate City Lights at par with Shahid as far as the intensity of the film goes.. Hansal Mehta returns with Rajkumar Rao.. to deliver yet another spectacular film experience.. the atrocities.. the hurdles .. that a poor family has to bear .. all of them have been shown wonderfully (in a sad way in fact) ..to put it simply the film shows how fortunate how lucky some of us really are that we haven't been touched by the harsh realities of life.. the conditions unimaginable which the people coming to big cities have to experience and live in.. I was left speechless at some of the scenes where the drama is so real that .. you don't even know whether you're watching a film or not. acting was out of this world.. Rajkumar Rao hands down !! another national award is awaited for this one.. Patralekha was superb.. Manav Kaul (Kai PO Che fame)another revelation and actor to look out for i feel this movie deserves as much as Queen did. the only reason why i am cutting 1 mark is that some of the songs in the background were unnecessary !! 9 cheers!! go for this one

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• Citylights : Falls short from being a classic

  shiraj-dakshy2014-05-30

  Citylights re-unites the director actor duo Hansal Mehta & Rajkumar Rao after a superb "Shahid" which won each of them the National Award this year.CityLights Citylights is an adaptation of 2013 Award winning movie "METRO MANILA" directed by Sean Elllis and Hansal Mehta does complete justice to the original. The story is credited to Sean Ellis the original writer of METRO MANILA; the adapted screenplay is by Ritesh Shah. Ritesh stays true to the original but adapts it to the Indian context of people from smaller towns who migrate to the city of dreams Mumbai expecting to make a better living. Just a piece of advice if you are looking at an entertaining movie then this is definitely not the right choice. Citylights is the story of Deepak (Rajkumar Rao) and Rakhee (Patralekha) who come to Mumbai from Rajasthan to make a better living but become victim of the shrewd reality of city life. The story by Sean Ellis captures the pathos of a small town guy well in his story and Ritesh's screenplay captures the nuances well. At times the movie's pace becomes sluggish especially during song sequences which was unnecessary. Some of the sequences are very well written albeit I felt the climax was a bit hurried and could have been presented well. It is the performances which make the movie memorable. Rajkumar Rao gives another brilliant performance. His portrayal of Deepak Singh is so realistic that you wonder whether he is really acting. The Dialect to the body language is all up to the mark. Another superb performance is of Manav Kaul who plays Vishnu a friend of Deepak with ulterior motives. After "Kai Po Che" Manav again shows his caliber, this is an actor to look forward to. Sadia Siddique as Vishnu's wife is good albeit her role is small. Patralekha as Rakhee does show a spark but gets overshadowed by Rajkumar and Manav. Production Design by Rajat Poddar is realistic. Editing by Apoorva Asrani could have been sharp. Jeet Ganguli's music is good but does not gel with the narration rather it hampers the pace. Hansal Mehta's forte is to get the human emotions bang on and he succeeds in this movie as well but fails a bit in giving it a Thriller edge and finesse in the narration which was the highlight in the original METRO MANILA.

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• Real Life Struggle Excellent Portrayed

  abanat12015-03-19

  One of the best movies i have ever seen from Bollywood Cinema. Realty of a poor man and his struggle to get his family out of poverty. This movie simply touched my heart how well it portrayed the real life scenario's of a real person, so many difficulties and sacrifices he has to give just to achieve a roof over and three times food for his family. Even though it wasn't a typical khan movie this movie is a block buster in my list. Unfortunately it didn't get the praise it deserves. But still you should watch the movie and enjoy. Bot male and female actors have done there best. And for this they deserve an applause. Don't get deceive by the film cast just like a book by its cover. Watch and enjoy and than praise the cast.

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