Johnny Gaddar - Bol kya story hai tera

Coming friday there are two things I'm keenly waiting for. One is to somehow lay my hands on Halo 3. And the other is to see how the new movie "Johnny Gaddar" turns out. The songs have been playing in my ipod in a loop for about 3 weeks now. Even after albums like Om Shanti Om and Saawariya coming in successive weeks, I can't get enough of Johnny Gaddar, especially the title track. I feel its a very honest and original attempt by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, who tried to come out of their feel - good compositions. They've successfully managed to bring in a new genre of music to Bollywood. The trailers also look very slick and stylish. Cinematography looks excellent. I planned to review this music long time ago, but I was late and missed the boat. Also by then there were many sites which came up with good 'straight from the heart' reviews. I just hope the movie turns out to be as good as the music.

When I saw the first poster which was black and white with red and yellow colors standing out, I was pleasantly surprised. It closely resembled "Sin City", one of my favorite movies. But that joy was short-lived, as the movie preview told a different story. In fact it was more on the lines of Kaante and Reservoir dogs. But I was sure that Sriram Raghavan, who had a magnificent debut with "Ek Haseena Thi", wouldnt just remake any other movie, and that too certainly not a movie which was released just few years ago. So I did some research on web to see if there's anybody talking about this. I eventually found a site where Sriram himself clarified what this movie is all about, and thankfully its different from what I thought. Here's what he had to say about the movie :

" Johnny Gaddaar is NOT even remotely based on any of the films such as Harmesh Malhotra’s Gaddaar, Reservoir Dogs, Ringo Lam’s City on Fire or Kaante.

It’s a caper thriller with the same synopsis as seen in many websites and there’s NO suspense about who Johnny Gaddaar is. As the film unfolds, the viewer will be the first to know his identity. The fun/tension/suspense is in how and when the rest of the group find out and what happens next.

In India, we often confuse Suspense with a Whoduit factor…which is quite wrong actually. Alfred Hitchcock has NOT MADE A SINGLE WHODUNIT and yet he’s acknowledged as the Master of Suspense. Suspense is about emotion....about fear....about anticipation and NOT about guessing who the killer/informer/ whoever is.

The movie doesnt have any BIG names etc. So I’d really request you all to watch the movie in the first weekend.In the hall of course. And all criticism is welcome. Thank you. "

I thought it was so good of him to request us to watch his movie. But in reality, he doesnt have to do that. He's one of the few directors whom I adore and include in the hatke director's list which also has directors like Shimit Amin, Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra, Anurag Kashyap, Madhur Bhandarkar, and Nagesh Kukunoor. When everyone in Bollywood follows a standard hit formula set by Chopras or Johars or any other big names, these directors and few others tread a different path. And thats what makes them develop a cult following. I'm really looking forward to watching "Johnny Gaddar". I hope so do many of you.