Mithya

Cast : Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Vinay Pathak and Naseeruddin Shah Director : Rajat Kapoor Producer : Arindam Chaudhary Genre : Comedy Release Date : 8-2-2008

Synopsis Virender Kumar aka VK (Ranvir) is a struggling actor who becomes a pawn in underworld one-upmanship because his face resembles a dreaded underworld don, Raje। Gawde (Naseer) who is Raje's rival, kidnaps VK and tortures him into playing Raje as he wants to plant him in Raje's place and work for him. His moll, an aspiring actress as well, Sonam (Neha) however sympathizes with VK and becomes his good friend. Unwillingly, VK gets trained as Raje and is then planted in Raje's family. Raje lives in a joint family consisting of his brother (Harsh Chhaya), his wife Revati (Iravati Harshe), two kids and mother (Suhasini Mulay) and his other trusted aides. His wife notices a welcome change in Raje's behaviour but doesn't complain as the changed Raje is more affectionate towards her and their kids. Just then, in a freak accident, VK posing as Raje ends up with a broken back and amnesia. What happens after he loses his memory forms the rest of the plot! StarBoxOffice.com Review Ranvir Shorey displays amazing range as an actor. Getting into the skin of the characters of both VK and Raje, he comes out with one of the most brilliantly performed acts in Hindi cinema. His ex-pressions during the climax moments leave you speechless. Neha Dhupia proves she can act and deserves such better opportunities. Naseer as Gawde is fun to watch. Vinay Pathak in a brief part, playing Naseer's quirky humoured henchman is hilarious and so is Brijendra Kala playing his aide. Iravati Harshe delights in her brief act. Harsh Chhaya gets good scope, finally! Director Rajat Kapoor establishes in just few initial scenes, VK's desperate attempts at day to day survival as a struggling actor. Making you a part of VK's journey he takes you by surprise with every twist and turn incorporated at regular intervals. While the first half reaches a crescendo with the amount of dark humour packed in, the second half immediately changes track to a more gloomy setting with hilarity taking a backseat. The brutal coldness by which most of his characters take charge of the situation leave you shell shocked. Shot entirely during the monsoons, the camera work by Rafey Mehmood acts as a perfect aide to the setting as well. Doubling up as a script writer along with Saurabh Shukla, Rajat packs in genuine laugh out loud moments in the first half showing VK's daily routine, his earliest encounter with Gawde's men, VK's first meeting with Gawde where VK dismisses him off as just another henchman, VK's desperation for a toast omlette which he manages to get on gun point and the struggling actor in VK coming out on meeting a film producer (Tinu Anand) while posing as Raje. While the second half stands out, for the well handled poignant moments shared between VK and Raje's wife, VK and Sonam, VK's love for Raje's kids and the startling climax. The makers could have not misleaded into making the audience believe it as a rip roaringly hilarious film though. Kudos to Kapoor for taking a courageous route in the second half, the kind yet oblivious to a regular Hindi filmgoer and more on par with contemporary European cinema. His Mithya is by far the best film of 2008 as of now. Go watch it if you like something truly different!