Six movies released this Friday (Aug 28th) include N Chandra's latest 'Yeh Mera India' (Y.M.I.). While many of them are in the comedy genre, 'YMI' is just different. We can term it among patriotic movies like Manoj Kumar's 'Upkaar' of the golden era of Bollywood. N. Chandra has focused on today's problems facing India. Hence, it's a very serious subject concerning all of us. Chandra raises the latest issues stirring our conscience like communal bias in hiring a house or a state's demand for the ouster of the migrants from other parts of the country and racial discrimination, class and caste issues. Hence, this film is an attempt to bring together the lives of twelve people, who come from diverse backgrounds in the city of Mumbai on a united platform.
The filmmaker has weaved in one story of one day life of 12 people from different strata of Mumbai city which is a melting pot of cultures. All of them start their day with a goal in mind but end up exactly in the opposite direction; they fail and attribute it to their destiny. The USP of Chandra's movie is just reverse, changing their destiny from negative to positive. 'YMI' stresses on human ability to redeem themselves at any given moment. This shows that there is good news behind every bad news. The lesson is that today's sensational headlines could be redeemed into good ones. One wonders why more and more people including those who are educated and have studied science, are shifting towards unscientific ways of life like depending on astrology, numerology, palmistry etc, in today's age of advanced science and reason.
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So, we recommend the movie to the audience not only to watch but also practise in real life. This way, India and its people can move faster towards becoming a great power and regain its past glory of a world guru. The movie's story, choice of actors and the technical aspects will ensure bright prospects. The parts of the story connect very well with each other with no ends left loose. The direction is perfect. Acting-wise, every one has played their parts with perfection. Anupam Kher, Atul Kulkarni, Seema Biswas, Milind Gunaji, Rajit Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav and Sarika have done their best to carry it to the box office. The movie is most appropriate at this juncture when India needs to look for its varied problems. N Chandra has shown us the way out. This is not a new theme for Chandra who has in the past given us movies like 'Akush' and 'Pratighaat'. This is true that the movie opens old wounds but wants us to identify ourselves with them. On the whole, 'Yeh Mera India' has its heart in the right place and at the right time. Watch and practise.
