Mumbai Fables, a novel by Gyan Prakash, has been transformed into an exceptionally intelligent film by Anurag Kashyap, with a top-notch performance by Anushka Sharma. It's a supremely sumptuous, elaborately written and meticulously articulated piece of Indian art. The aura, the automobiles, the carriages, the cigarettes, the costumes, the hairdos, the lipstick and the record players are all richly textured.
It's difficult to think of any other director who could handle this project with the magnificence tantamount to Kashyap's work. Kashyap, an unrivalled chronicler of realistic Cinema, reasserts his stature here as one of the best.
Bombay Velvet ravels an intricate socio-cultural fabric of the city, where a child brought up in a brothel of Bombay hopes to be a big shot after taking an inspiration from the end sequence of 'The Roaring Twenties', a crime-thriller by Raoul Walsh. The story depicts a changing city through the collision of capitalists and communists - their aspirations and thought processes.
This sophisticated narrative is anchored by the love story between the lead pair, which breathes soul into the movie.
The performance by the ensemble bewitches you: Anushka Sharma beats her own standards with a performance that will be remembered for a long time. Sharma springs, in two sequences, the performance of her lifetime. The passion with which she mutters 'big shot' in the last sequence is heartbreakingly poignant. The energy, pain, guilt and agony in Dhadaam Dhadaam song sets Sharma at par with industry's finest actresses, and as the temperature rises in the pot, you can almost smell piquant flavours leading to the interval.
Ranbir Kapoor, as Johnny Balraj, does really well in the role of an angry young man trying to be a big shot in Bombay, with nuances of Amitabh Bachchan from Agneepath.
It's definitely not his career's best; nonetheless, a powerful performance in which Kapoor tries every now and then to stand still in front of Sharma's powerful portrayal of a woman yearning to escape the superficial city to flourish her love.
Karan Johar, as Kaizad Khambatta, is a character that will go down in history as an intriguing portrayal of a closet homosexual. Johar radiates a sinful attitude without adopting the stereotypical villainous traits. Satyadeep Misra is a revelation. He walks hand in hand with the 'crème de la crème of Bollywood' with finesse. His eyes had so much to say even when he didn't have any dialogues.
Manish Chaudhary added a lot to heat up this velvety affair. The way his impotency is portrayed by Kashyap is a testament to his mastery over filmmaking. Kay Kay Menon had precious little to offer in the proceedings of the movie. His performance was adequate. Vivaan Shah performed well.It is significant to note that Kashyap has no nonsense or half-baked characters in his movie.
Each character of the movie is finely etched to perfection. Bombay Velvet is a colossal triumph for its makers.
Jazz is the soul of this movie. The background score, narrative and visuals seamlessly flow together. Amit Trivedi's music is outstanding. Dhadaam Dhadaam will make the time stop, while Sharma will weave her magic through truest emotions depicted through her facial expressions throughout the song.
The novel 'Mumbai Fables' is deftly transformed into a masterstroke by Kashyap and Prakash. Overall, Kashyap has shown a penchant for retro noir cinema in this velvety affair that will go down as a cult classic in the history of Bollywood.