John Day Hindi Movie Review

A film with slimy swagger drenched in blood takes all of the two hours to celebrate violence. The film from the producer of “A Wednesday” is so engrossed in taking a step by step bloody journey that you could well puke your way out. He may have set out of to tell a violently disturbing tale but ends up with a disturbingly violent piece of entertainment’ One gets a distinct feeling that the film maker (Ahishor Solomon) found our censors with their sensors not in function gear. There is no way a statutory body committed to its set guidelines against display of gross violence could have permitted scene where the corrupt cop bites out another guys tongue or the protagonist later bites the flesh of one of the baddies. Quo Vadis?
Even as we react under the guise of ‘hurt sentiment’ on referrals to social groups being lampooned or politicians being criticised, we are limp and tolerant to this shocker of violence and expletives aplenty. We are left staring at a script that worships violence and profanity.. Not angst, not social revolt, just killings with hidden realtor dreams. True to life!! Neo noir? Social audit in dramatic format?
John Day (Naseerudin Shah) loses his daughter who is murdered at Casablanca Estate where she is out o a date with her boyfriend. Two years later his wife Maria (Shernaz Patel) is literally hammered to ensure that he signs a file as a Bank Manger and so begins the cat and mouse chase. Who is gunning the family and why? John Day is at gun point robbed and gagged (no security guys in this Bank!!) while the goons are in search of the file relating to the Casablanca Estate which in a locker. Hunting on behalf of the ambitious realtor is a corrupt cop that was (?) or is Gautam (Randeep Hooda) who throws his live in dipsomaniacal live in partner in the pool as if he was swallowing peanuts alongside his liquor.
Well you know if you are a regular film guy that this chase is going to lead to killings in abundance and the gun and bullet will have more to say and do than the central characters. The characters of cardboard are all in place: the corrupt cop within the system who would do anything for a few rupees; the bad guy with a whole set of hangers on who are his ‘team’; two war lords fighting for space in the underbelly, a Hindu, a Muslim and this time a Christian Father whose baritone to quote from the Bible adds some relief to the film.
The story line is convoluted as expected to reflects the labyrinths of crime and criminals. Their life styles is a fashion quotient in the film and then to return to the main stay the large indigestible dosages of violence.
Yet if you have to watch this film, you will for the compelling performance from Naseerudin Shah who yet again ensures that with him around you are guaranteed if nothing of a top class performance. In this high voltage film watch how human he can be, how compelling and natural he can get. Salute the realistic portraiture of brilliance that is ill placed in our cinema. While Randeep Hooda and Bharat Saxena are passible, the rest of the cast warrant no mention. Feel sorry for Shernaz Patel who given her talent does so well in a couple of scenes but is reduced to a dying zombie for the rest of the film.
John Day paradoxically requires to be watched only for John Day.