Kathmandu:

Traffic Signal (Drama)

Cast: Kunal Khemu, Neetu Chandra, Konkona Sen Sharma, Ranveer Shorey and Raja Pandit

Directed by Madhur Bhandarkar

Showing at Kumari

Maverick Madhur Bhandarkar gets back to the mad melee of Mumbai once again, and begins the tale of the destitute legions who fend for themselves and begin and end their lives at the traffic signal. However, Bhandarkar who made cinephiles throng at the turnstiles with far-out flicks like Chandni Bar and Page 3 seems befuddled with the traffic lights that make this docu-drama a bit of a bummer.

The movie begins on a promising note where the mere warning of the traffic signal turning red sends hawkers ballyhooing for their wares and beggars bullying for bucks. The first half continues almost interminably introducing innumerable characters, almost like vignettes, whose lives hinge on the few minutes the traffic comes to a halt. But there are just more than beggars and bullies, as the nexus links them to corrupt politicos and the crime lords.

It’s only in the second half of the movie that the story takes a turning point. Silsila (Kunal Khemu), who has found a safe abode on the streets of Mumbai doing hafta wasoolis gets ensnared in a plot to remove an official that ultimately leads to making thousands homeless. Though the plight of the street dwellers is truthfully etched, it fails to lift into moments of real epiphany.

The essence of the story rambles as it jumbles up too many characters to tell the story that has been retold through different perspectives. Khemu, as a smalltime hoodlum, however gives a plausible performance, as Konkona plays her part as a hooker with equal élan. Other characters don’t make much of an impression, save some of the begging antics that indeed is a saving grace for the film that’ll find hard to find audience.