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Mithya

Everything about the film is nicely terse, the dialogue, the killings or the quick change of mood from comic to tragic.

Namrata Joshi

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I
t would be easy to describe Mithya as a comic thriller; after all, the film is replete with black humour and does take you through intriguing twists and turns. But that is only deceptively so. At its core, Mithya is an immensely moving tragedy, about a man who is forcibly made to adopt a new identity, who becomes one with his new face, almost loses his own individuality and eventually comes back a full circle to his own self, only when it is too late. It’s a philosophical film about illusions, reality, faith and deceptions but never ponderous nor pontificatory.

Ranvir Shorey plays a Noida boy who is a struggling junior artiste in Bollywood with a fondness for mouthing "To be or not to be". On one night out with his whisky bottle by the sea he sees a gangland shootout and quickly gets sucked into the mafiadom.

Mithya is a showcase for some deliciously quirky characters. Almost all of these roles are played by a wonderful set of actors, veterans like Naseer and Saurabh Shukla playing the colourful dons and a new find like the brilliant Brijendra Kala as the ever smiling henchman Shyam. Kala even manages to outshine the usually sparkling Vinay Pathak who plays his compatriot Ram. Then there’s a non-actor like Neha Dhupia who’s perfectly cast as the ’50s style moll, dolled up in scarves and big glares and suitably vapid and vacuous. Of course, Ranvir is the cherry on the cake in the lead role, riding a rollercoaster of emotions—naughty, frustrated, scared, funny, trapped and deeply sad.

The film has several little touches that pack in a punch. Like the scene where Ranvir asks for a free glass with his whi-sky bottle or when he saves his bottle in the thick of the shootout, when he threatens to kill himself on being denied an omelette or when he falls sick on seeing a killing and blames it on the bad vada-pau; these are moments that define his character pithily. Everything about the film is nicely terse, the dialogue, the killings or the quick change of mood from comic to tragic. Most of all, I loved the way Mithya integrates art and crime, violence and food, all in the same frame. It’s one of those rare Hindi films where eating is an integral part any character’s doings. Truly inspired edginess.

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High Fives

Bollywood

1. Taare Zameen Par
2. Sunday
3. Super Star
4. Mithya
5. Welcome

Hollywood

1. Fool’s Gold
2. Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
3. Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus...
4. The Eye
5. Juno

Singles

1. What Time is it (High School Musical 2 cast)
2. Foundations (Kate Nash)
3. Swagga (Emmanuel)
4. With Every Heartbeat (Robyn)
5. More Than a Love Song (Pryslezz Feat Dwele)

Courtesy: Film Information

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