Rating: 2.5/5

Cast: R Madhavan, Paresh Rawal, Kay Kay Menon, Soha Ali Khan

Director: Nishikant Kamat

To be honest when I walked in to see this film I had my reservations. Films that deal with the reality of today often lack that punch to hit home the message without going overboard or making you cringe. But Nishikant Kamat's Mumbai Meri Jaan (MMJ) manages to be very real although it holds onto its cinematic senses.

Kamat's MMJ deals with the seven blasts that shook Mumbai in July 2006. It traces the after effects of these blasts on the lives of those who find themselves somehow connected in the blast. The story sheds light on the lives of six people – a journalist Rupali (Soha Ali Khan), a high flying executive Nikhil (R Madhavan) who still prefers using Mumbai's local trains as opposed to an air-conditioned car, a policeman Tukaram Patil (Paresh Rawal) who is a week away from retirement and his junior Sunil Kadam (Vijay Maurya), a young man Suresh (Kay Kay Menon) who doesn't like Muslims and a poor coffee vendor Thomas (Irrfan Khan) who is somehow making ends meet. What happens when these six people find their lives affected with the blasts is what MMJ is all about.

Kamat has managed to extract brilliant emotions from novices like Soha to the extremely experienced Paresh Rawal. Madhavan's emotions as he struggles to find himself geared up to take the train after the blasts is put across so naturally that any common man will find himself understanding the scene before them.

MMJ will definitely hit a nerve with all those who have lived in Mumbai and know all about the city's never say die spirit. The director has managed to capture that brilliantly without sounding patronizing.

It is a definite yes simply because it beautifully portrays the emotions of the common man as he tries to get his life back on track after witnessing a horrific incident like a terrorist blast.