Went to see the movie Gangster yesterday.

Liked the film quite a bit - it has a fresh feel to it. None of the usual run-of-the-mill family drama, crying, sacrificial love etc. Rather, it has a hero who sports a gun in each hand, and guns down people like he was swatting mosquitoes. A heroine who for the most part of the movie totters on her feet drinking whisky and what not, and in one scene even tries to scavenge some left-over alcohol from a garbage bin, while being almost half naked, and totally sozzled. And a villain who's the picture perfect hero :)... all smiles, loving longing looks, kisses, singing sweet somethings to his beloved.

Shiny Ahuja is the pick of the movie. I'd heard he had created quite a stir from his performance in Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi, but his work in this movie must be nothing less. The man has superior control over his expressions; while the movie doesn't explore much of his Gangster side, except for showing him gun down a club full of people, his role will flip all weak-hearted women from the start (that includes me :) ). The gangster who loves his beloved without ever touching her, who views her with respect even while she's partially clothed and dancing in a bar in front of lecherous men, a man of few words whose eyes convey pain and eternal love for a woman he ran into while running away from the law, a man who would abandon all his years of life in crime and take up manual labor just to earn untainted money for his love... All of it sounds clichéd, but Shiny Ahuja makes it believable. From the start to the end. He may be the Gangster, and have the least dialogues in the whole movie, but you want him to succeed and win. Succeed in love and life. I thought it was an honest and damn-good portrayal. There is a scene when he's seriously wounded and is crying, or rather screaming, but with pain at being betrayed. That was heart-wrenching. I'm sure many in the theatre would have had a few drops of tears form in their eyes, but as for me, all I felt was pain. That scene is proof that this guy sure has the gumption to go far ahead.

What is to be said of Emraan-Serial-Kisser-Hash mi? I don't really like the guy, but I think he's pretty good and has the guts to do those grey-shaded characters that most conventional Hindi heroes run away from. He has unbelievable luck though to get away with all the best songs in recent times! Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai is a great track and Emraan has the perfect setting... guitar in hand, nightclub, looking into the eyes of the heroine Kangana Raut, amidst dim lighting... In the movie, he's done a pretty decent job, and is convincing enough.

Kangana Ranaut is the newcomer. The only thing I didn't like about her was her voice (which to me sounded pretty old). Otherwise, she is a find. I've been fed up in recent times seeing the same four faces splashed all over the movies: Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. The same faces, smiles, pouts, tears ... Boring with a capital B. Kangana is a fresh face (although the close-up shots reveal a not so perfect one), with a stunning figure, and lots of wispy hair that blows in the wind. I was wondering who her designer in the movie was, for she's got some real cool clothes too. Kangana has done really well for a debutant and I do believe it was not just the director's capability. She has style and even in the sozzled scenes, she manages to look sexy and vulnerable, never crass or over-the-top. She's there in almost all the scenes of the movie, for it sort of revolves around her, and she manages to hold us glued throughout. I had my doubts whether she would fit into the typical Hindi mould anytime, cos her look is international and her first film is so much with anti-traditional-Hindi values. But there are some scenes of hers - where she wears a salwar kameez and is seen making chapathi, or fixing a leaking pipe, and some where she's swaying to vulgar beats in a dance bar, dressed in an excuse for a lehanga. In these scenes, she looks every part the Hindi heroine, and one can visualize her doing the marriage song routines in forthcoming films. Let's hope she can manage to get a foothold in this industry where newcomers come every minute, but few make it to the top.

The music of the movie is the main reason I went to see it. By now, all radio channels repeat Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai and Ya Ali every hour, and most mobiles sport the ringtones, so the success of the music isn't anything new to write about. I'm partial to both; can't decide between the two. When I hear Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai, I'm sure that's the one, but when Ya Ali plays, I feel engulfed into the song that speaks about sacrifice in the name of love. Bheegi Bheegi, Lamha Lamha, Mujhe Mat Roko etc are the other songs of the album - all are good, but these two are definitely scores that soothe the ear, mind and heart in recent times of nasal crooning by Mr. Himesh-I-can't-stand-him- Reshammiya.

Gangster has been shot in Seoul and the locations are picturesque. There are some other actors in the movie, but the only face I knew was that of Gulshan Grover. The three central characters fill the screen space so much so that you don't have the need for any other actors anyway.

To sum up, its a movie worth watching, and you'll enjoy the performances and the music...