Anurag Basu Movies
- 2007
A compelling snapshot of the lives and loves of early-21st Century Dubai dwellers takes viewers on an emotional journey through the heart of the city in director Anurag Basu's earnest urban drama. Rahul (Sharman Joshi) is a call center executive who silently pines for his beautiful boss Neha, but the secret to Neha's fast success is the furtive romance she has been having with her own boss - an unhappily married professional named Ranjeet. Ranjeet has grown bored with his marriage to the smart and beautiful Shikha, and despite the fact that the couple has a six year-old son Ranjeet is willing to risk it all to shower Neha with lavish gifts and enticing opportunities. Back in school, Shikha was a better student than Ranjeet, but when the couple had a son she put her professional aspirations aside in order to care for the child. These days Shikha, too, has grown bored with her marriage, and soon falls into the arms of divorced artist Akash despite the pride she has taken in her vow to always remain faithful. In another part of town, Shikha's aunt Vaijanti bides her time in an old age home. When Vaijanti's childhood sweetheart Amol returns to India after forty years in exile to spend his remaining years with her, old love blossoms anew. Shikha's sister and Neha's roommate Shruti is a thirty-something radio producer named Shruti who has fallen hard for radio talent Wishy K. Though she has recently met marriage-minded Debu though a matrimonial-oriented website, she is bored by his traditional ways and soon enters into a heated affair with the charismatic Wishy K. As Rahul realizes the potential for profit and advancement in lending the key to his vacationing uncle's apartment to co-workers seeking to have discreet flings, Neha approaches Ranjeet about making a true commitment. Carelessly snubbed and insulted by her high-powered lover, Neha attempts suicide in Rahul's uncle's apartment. Later, when Rahul discovers Neha in the love nest and nurses her back to health, the pair begins to form a tenuous bond. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shiney Ahuja, Shilpa Shetty, (more)
Anurag Basu's Hindi-language crime drama Gangster (AKA Gangster: A Love Story) opens with its central character, the young Indian woman Simran (Kangna Ranaut) at the lowest of all ebbs. She spends her nights boozing away embittered memories of a troubled past and drumming up conversation with an affable barkeep, Akash (Emraan Hashmi), who not only exudes compassion for Emran, but nurtures an obvious interest in her. One evening, Simran cathartically spills all and details her sordid history to her new friend and prospective lover. Years prior, it seems, Simran lived in a Mumbai tenement and worked as an exotic dancer in a local bar. Her life was relatively conflict free, until the gangster Daya (Shiney Ahuja) burst into her home during his lam from the cops, and hid out for a period. A romance quickly blossomed between the two, but the relationship forced Simran to flee from the law with Daya, making her life stressful and chaotic. In a desperate attempt to lead a "normal" life, Simran adopted a young boy, Bittu - who fell into the path of a bullet during a gun-wielding brawl between Daya and the cops, and was promptly killed. In time, the couple separated by necessity, with Daya fleeing to exile in Mauritius and Simran sinking into the mire of alcoholism. Cutting back to the present day, Akash reaches out to Simran and the two begin an intense affair - until the violent Daya literally bursts in and forces Simran to choose between two lovers. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kangana Ranaut, Emraan Hashmi, (more)
