City Lights (2014)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Just perfect...

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

There is a moment in the film where the two lead characters find themselves utterly broke, with barely enough money to feed themselves. They are also in possession of an artifact which, if they are found with, might lead to a considerable amount of jail time. As they sit with each other, crying and consoling each other, the background score changes to a song that roughly translates into "You're the reason I smile. You're the reason I sing." This, at a moment when neither of the characters is doing either of these things. The scene then cuts to one of the most non-passionate love making scenes I've seen in cinema.That, more or less, is what happens in the entire movie. It simply runs through scenes meant to evoke various emotions - anger, grief, humor. All the scenes, however, leave you devoid of any emotion. At no point do you connect with or sympathize with any of the characters in the movie. You don't feel angry at the bad guys, you don't feel sad when the good guys lose. When the characters cry in grief at their misfortune, you only wish they would hurry on with the story already. And when the movie ends on a positive note (surprise?), you couldn't care less.I am not sure why that is. The story itself is pretty good. Two simpletons move into a city in search of a fortune, and soon learn the unforgiving ways of urban life. The reason none of it works might be attributed to a few things. One, the direction. The movie cuts through some of the best moments too quickly. Most of the times, you will wonder whether it really happened. And by the time you figure out that, yes, it did indeed happen, you would have moved past caring. Two, the acting. None of the actors are really convincing. In parts, they overdramatize the scene which again snaps you out of the film and makes you realize you're only watching filmed footage. Three, the background score. It doesn't matter what kind of a scene it is - love making, shooting, desperation - they all have the same romantic score (mentioned earlier) in the background.The film was founded on a good idea. It is a shame it ended up so emotionless.

4/5 Insanely brilliant. Extremely poignant. True to life. These expressions spring up in my mind as I begin to write this review. You see, I am still recovering from the emotional, thrilling and dramatic sledgehammer which is Citylights. To put it plainly, this is the most consistently brilliant Hindi movie I have watched in all of 2014. I was hooked from the first frame and loved the unpredictable turns the script took. The worst and the best of human nature are vividly portrayed throughout the length of Citylights and it makes for some heart rendering and some truly uncomfortable moments. It casts light on the plight of the rural migrant who comes to the city with high hopes. The contrast between the humane behavior of the so called vulgar elements of the society and the coldness, aloofness and predatory nature of the venerated high society is masterfully displayed.The acting is as good as it gets. Raj Kumar is easily the best new actor in Hindi industry. He gives a superlative follow up performance to his class act in Shahid. The debutante Patralekha matches him and even manages to outshine him in some scenes. This has the best kind of music, which propels the story forward rather than acting as an impediment to the story telling. Hansal Mehta, the director, deserves the highest praise for acting on his vision and making his second path breaking film (after Shahid) in two years. This is one of those films which helped me reaffirm my faith in the present of Hindi cinema. I loved it.

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.

City Lights will surprise with the intent it has in itself. It has composure and a severe amount of reality. The story is about Deepak Singh (Raj Kumar Rao) who is a farmer in Rajasthan. He has debt on him. The business doesn't pick up and he finds himself in crisis. He, thus, decides to move to Mumbai to earn money accompanied by his wife and his daughter. Once they reach the city of Mumbai, the movie starts telling its real aim. The kind of money bugs a city contains kind of immoral activities they are able to do without a tinge of shame and fear is what you will find in the movie which is true in real scenario.Starting with direction which is done by Hansal Mehta, the director of Shahid, has again tickled a chord which will echo deep into you. From the very first scene you will get to the very base of what he is trying to show in the movie. There is a certain amount of adhesiveness to the moments where he has shown his class in getting to the core of the feel, which is most of the times of pain, betrayal and helplessness. The simplicity with which he has carried out a sensitive yet common attributes of greed, dissatisfaction and immorality is simply a class of its own. The situations when you can't differentiate a right from a wrong are depicted just perfectly. Amidst all this, he had the courage to inject in few moments which were funny and yet sober. The timing and character of those moments is a tough nut to crack. Overall, he was brilliant again. Coming to characters, the first name is Raj Kumar Rao, who seems to be getting along really well with Hansal Mehta, is doing another seriously awesome work. There is not a single moment in the movie which can make you think that this guy is an actor and not the real character. The innocence of the character was the toughest thing to portray but he did it with so much honesty that you would not be able to hold yourself from applauding him. The fear, the belief, the helplessness and the desperation are just effortlessly portrayed by him. You will love him, feel for him and hope for him. Patralekha also played the role of his wife to a good degree of what was required. You can easily identify her as any common girl which was very important for the character. The character played by Manav Kaul of Vishnu Bhai is going to surprise you. He has done more than justice to the role and yet again after Kai Po Che he has shown the value of his acting skills.The music by Jeet Ganguly is fantastic and it will soothe you. The background score by Raju Singh is appreciable. The movie deals with the reality of people's desperation to earn money in order to survive in the cities. It depicts the actions which people are willing to take irrespective of those being immoral or disgraceful. The bitter truth that is present in the society and yet nothing can be done. It shows how money has become unpleasantly important. Though the movie scores really high on almost every part, I just felt that in two scenes it hasgone a bit too harsh and far. The reaction of Vishnu's wife after his death is not digestible. Her crave for that money box at that particular moment did not fit in. Also, the reaction of Deepak Singh's(Raj Kumar Rao's ) wife when he dies is not what I could connect to. A wife who loved her husband so much cannot have an urge for a box of money exactly when she got to know about his death. Apart from this,the movie is a must watch and it definitely paved a way for many upcoming Bollywood movies.