DIRECTOR: Anthony Maras LEAD CAST: Dev patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin
Boniadi, tilda Cobham-Hervey PRODUCER:
Basil Iwanyk, Gary Hamilton, Andrew Ogilvie, Jomon Thomas SCREENWRITER: John Collee, Anthony Maras BASED ON: Surviving Mumbai by Victoria
Midwinter Pitt MUSIC: Volker
Bertelmann GENRE: Suspense-Action COUNTRY:
India
LANGUAGE: English RUNNING TIME: 125 minutes
Technical
assessment: 3.5
Moral
assessment: 3
CINEMA
rating: V14
MTRCB
rating: R16
It
was an ordinary day’s work at for Taj Mahal Palace Hotel waiter Arjun (Patel)
and chef Oberoi (Kher). As the day progresses, guests arrive. This includes
Iranian-British heiress Zarah (Boniadi), her husband David (Hammer), the infant
son Cameron and his nanny Sally (Cobham-Hervey) and a former Russian operative
Vasili (Isaacs). A man known as The Bull
masterminds and directs his terrorist group to simutaneously attack several
areas of Mumbai in the evening. This leaves the hotel helpess as the local
police are not equipped to handle such situation. In the ensuing events, David
and Vasili are executed by the terrorist as Arjun and Oberoi bravely guides and
protects the hotel guests and helps the Special Forces to track the terrorist
and end the seige.
Hotel
Mumbai depicts the horrors that took place in 2008 with heart and dignity to
the fallen and its hereos. The film interweaves structure, tension and drama
through Maras’ direction, although at times too graphically violent for
comfort. Seeing how terrorists easily kill people like swatting flies and then
take a pizza break as if the former is just a slice of a day’s work transmits
chilling horror. There is a noticeable dose of technical proficiency despite
the formulaic presentation. Maras wastes no time to build the suspense,
beginning from the very first scene as terrorists casually enter the city and
blend in like casual tourists.
Sometimes,
altruism comes from people whom you least expect would be willing to give up
everything when they themselves have nothing. At first, we are led to believe
that affluent couple Zarah and David will be the protagonists who will save
others but then we realize that Arjum—who went to work shoeless—and Oberei turn
out to be the ones willing to die for the sake of people they do not even know.
While viewers bathe in gruesome violence scene after scene, we see two
seemingly unnoticeable people bring compassion and sacrifice. Two selfless
souls whose acts were enough to make us see the value of life. The violence is
too intense for a young audience but the message is powerful for older and
mature viewers.--PMF
