Sankat City: Rats are us.
I LOVE BOMBAY. Now to forward things, it was an exhilerating, overwhelming & ecstatic DAY (considering that the city never sleeps). It was about 5.00am and yours truly, was at the Mumbai airport, well a li’l outside it. There is the small joint where they sell snacks, cancer & other such addictions. All exhausted, I was there puffing away, where I notice in the corner, a RAT FIGHT. What timing!
I am not sure they were rats. Bubons??? They were bloody huge. They were fighting for a piece of garbage that one of ‘em looted from the dust-bin.
I kept watching this rats’ gangsta war from a distance. It took me back to the moment I stepped in to Bombay, just a day before. As I stepped outta the airport, I became an unfortunate audience to a ‘Taxi-walas’ Bhaiyya-Maratha’ war, who were hell bent on dropping me somewhere and earning their daily single malt. But “main alibaug se ayela nahi hai” so I distanced myself from ‘em and walked straight outta the airport.
Outside there is a taxi guy and I ask him yaar Haji Ali jaane ka hai, kitna lega? He says ‘meter se’. I heave a sigh of relief and put my bag in. The driver starts and begins to drive away with my bag and am stunned. Just within a few mili-seconds, i form an opinion that he is a thief. He screeches to a halt a few feets away, realizing that I have not hopped in. Just within the next few mili-seconds, i reform an opinion that he is not a thief after all. Such is Bombay. Such is Sankat City.
Bombay, the city has always intrigued me no end. The way its functions. The way it makes friends & foes. All of that happens has to definitely contribute to the bottomline. PAISA. MAAL. ROKDA. CASH. Anyways, more of that as i go on. Cut to me in ‘Idli-Dosa Pradesh’ (aka IDP) preparing to leave for Bombay. I get an sms saying that its raining like hell and I might need to re-schedule my travel. I reply saying that “Chill, that’s Bombay’s way to welcome her favourite-son-turned-enfant-terrible.” And pronto, after I touch base, it didn’t rain. Not a fuckin’ drop till I boarded my flight back to IDP. Then it poured & i prayed all through my flight back, braving traumatizing rains. ;-)
Well, it was the first time in my life. A movie premiere. Yahoo!!! Thanks to the oh-so-generous-oh-so-humble-oh-so-polite Pankaj Advani, yours truly made it to the premiere of Sankat City on the 8th July ‘09. What an experience. Before other things I would like to share this realy quirky episode. At the premiere venue, there was a daru-counter. But of course it was crowded. There was one guy, whose only concern was the ’single malt’. He gave crow shit to the entire hulla-balloo and just remained at the counter. Lining up, filling up, gluggin up and back to step one. Such is Bombay. Such is Sankat City.
Cut to earlier in the day, after I was done offering my prayers at Haji Ali, I needed a place to go to get fresh before I turn up at the premiere. So I called up one of my filmi friends, seeking such favour. He in turn gave me a number to call and go to his house to get ready for the BIG NIGHT. I didn’t know that guy, neither did he. But the common link between us ensured that we bonded like brothers from other mothers. When we met, we savoured each other’s stories with equal enthusiasm and warmth. By the end of it, I had a brother & a bhabhi. Such is Bombay. Such is Sankat City.
Cut back to Haji Ali. I was visiting the shrine after many years. Things didn’t seem much different, though I was frisked this time, by a cop, fondly called as ‘pandu’ by Bombaiyya log. That moron did not understand the gravity of his job I guess. Now I was carrying a back-pack filled with clothes and miscellany to last me a week. First he insisted on checking the contents but then he got bored mid-way. He didn’t check the other half of the bag and let me go. I could have bloody well been a terror-monger with a live bomb in my bag & could blow up the shrine into smithereens. But thats how it is, a bit over-zealously cautious, a bit jaane-do-yaar. Such is Bombay. Such is Sankat City.
For me Sankat City the film has shown me the Bombay that I had overseen and overlooked. The quirkier part of Bombay. The masaledaar part of Bombay. The Bade Miyan behind the Taj. The Dynamite behind the scorching item girl. The fattu behind Madhur Bhandarkar’s gossip-monger chauffeurs. The cold-ruthless-money-making supari killer behind oh-so-senti Bhiku Mhatre. The Maharaj behind the Baba Ramdev. The real dreamer behind the struggling Vikram Jaisingh of LBC. The in-betweens of everything that Bombay has had to offer to me, ever-since she accepted me as her son. Ever since I accepted that I will be her’s and will turn to ashes within her arms.
To understand the above, do watch Sankat City, this weekend. See a Bombay that exists, but is denied. Meet charecters, you would love to love and love to hate. See quirks that you never knew existed. Meet the heroine who is so bad that she could kill you dead. Meet Anupam Kher who pulls-off a role that nobody would do justice to. Meet Kay Kay Menon who doesn’t mind letting go off his huge ’serious-hero’ tag, just this time. Meet Chunky Pandey in a double role and the way he creates laughter as a loser.
It’s not always about who won or who lost. Somtimes it is about sheer survival. Such is Bombay. Such is Sankat City.
Tags: Aamchi Mumbai, Bombay, Pankaj Advani, Sankat City
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
keyrun bhia..teri khushi me hamari khushi…sankat city tujhe kas ke gale laga le.
thanks dada. amen to that!
Magik. Sankat City is a winner. The Times of India has given a fab review. Even recommended everyone to go watch it. Seriously hoping that everyone sees it in a theatre this weekend. The two movies I saw totally based on reviews were Satya and Sarfarosh. I only wish that the movie was given a great promotion early on. But Hera Pheri and Jhankaar beats too won on mouth publicity. So will sankat city. Pankaj Advani ji Jai ho!
jai hoto word of mouth publicity! :-)
Well I love Bombay/Mumbai too and I loved this kickass post from you Magik.Gonna watch Sankat City on Sunday and I’m sure I’ll get to savour the movie and the city even better.Have fun with your family re-union till then
Taran also has given a great review :-)
Good post, Magik!
Hi Magik, remember me?
v.good article as usual!
“The quirkier part of Bombay. The masaledaar part of Bombay. The Bade Miyan behind the Taj. The Dynamite behind the scorch….” — This was my fav !!
Was free at work today, and was surfing through PFC, catching up on some ‘films to watch’
But dont think its released in kerala..
during the weekend..Your article makes me feel like watching Sankat City now
of course i rem u bro. glad you liked the post. i un’stand it hasn’t released in mnay cities. but do watch it if you get a chance. thanks.
Finally Mumbai ne Tujhe Bula LIya…Ab Ye manzil humse bachke kahan jayegi Dost…Hai Junoon ki ab Jeet kar hi lenge Dum…Insha-allah!!!
‘moksh & magik’ ke blockbuster houseful din duur nahin hai dost. keep the faith. aag laga denge oye! Cinemaa Kasam.
What a post bro!! What a post….
Ab mai samaj gaya…jyada nai bolneka….Such is Mumbai. Such is Sankat!
Gonna watch SC tommorow, but what the fuck?? My exictement turns into ashes that the movie does not run in Prasad’s Multiplex….curse me if I am wrong…damn it!!! One show(afternoon) in couple of theater’s(Sapna 35mm??? PVR and Inox/Cinemax..I guess) and then there is info on couple of shows in Aurangabad and Latur???? Why??? Need to get a in-depth understanding of it though!!! Treatment???
Alright, get set gooooo….
Liked the content and Thanks for the last 2 paragraph .. there we got something of sankat-city-the-film from a post of personal-experience-in-mumbai !
ek aur chuha baahar aaya!!
Arre Jaadu – kaunsa angle se tu terrorist diktha hai? pandu bhi jaantha hai ki tu chuhaa hai.
jokes apart – I am already glad that TOI aur TAi dono green flag de chuke hai! . Abhi sirf janta janardhan ko pikture dekhna mangta hai . bhaaki sab khallas!!
It’s not always about who won or who lost. Somtimes it is about sheer survival. Such is Bombay. Such is Sankat City.
Dude you nailed it one line.
Hopefully watch this movie tomorrow.
thanks oye! hope you did watch the movie.
Magik, awesome review. Now, I feel like visiting Mumbai. You are becoming my fav among PFC authors. Keep writing bro..
shukriya meharbaani karam. this encouragement will help me write better. thanks a million.
Just checked out the listings, the movie is running only at handful cinemas at odd timing, even Malayalam Movie Passenger which is releasing today has more prime time shows.
hi all, any idea if this is released in non-metros..i mean in kerala etc..?
I saw the first day,first show today in E square,pune.And for the first time realised that even ‘Passion for cinema’can sometimes get too passionate about its cinema.The movie is very ordinary in every respect….and no Pankaj Advani doesnt walk the talk.Its intelligent if your IQ is 40.The jokes fall flat like warm beer,The background music is akin to something that you would listen to when a telephone operator is in the process of transferring your call.The references to modern pop culture cant save a very convulated storyline which to me seems heavily inspired by guy ritchie movies(Is it me or these kind of movies where the money lost,comes back to its original handlers,getting too common….are these very easy to make?).Even though overused,this kind of premise holds a lot of promise to deliver excellent comic situations.But there are none….or the situations are there but they have been handled so hastily and shoddily that it seems like we are watching a remake of Apna sapna money money and who in their right mind would want to do that.
Iam not one of those people who would berate a movie just because everybody else is liking it and here lies the reason why Iam commenting to this review of Sankat city.Has the overanalysis,and numerous blog entries by the cast and crew of the movie influenced all of so much that we are giving credit where it is not due.
The plot or at least the genre of 99 is somewhat the same and that is such a well scripted and well paced movie with delightful characters.On the other hand,even though Sankat city boasts of having some terrific actors,no body except anupam kher impresses….not even KK and the simple reason is that they just dont inspire you to laugh when they mouth their poorly written dialogues.
badiya post hai ji…
Wanted to see movie SC this weekend but no shows in chennai except for 2 morning show in satyam :( …it sucks man !!!…now have to wait ki koi cinema wala release kare ya phir moser baer wa wait karna padega
Sankat City Rocks. I still cant believe that I watched the movie with Pankaj Advani, Anurag Kashyap, Saurabh Shukla, Anupam Uncle, KK, Chunky, Rimi, Makrand Deshpande, etc etc….and all bcos of you. The movie is rocking…and for us (including you) it was like watching a movie in heaven…
What a movie it was…many characters (though introduced individually, all well connected as the movie moves, exploited effectively), many twists, chor-police, mele me Bichde bhai, yaddasht ka khona and paana, bag exchange, etc.. All bollywood formulae used in a very nice manner. Great cinematography captures the mood and spirit of the city aptly. The story by the man himself (pankaj) is fun, witty, wacky, wild and full of madness.
I wasnt able to move from my seat, as you cannot afford to loose a single moment…the story, the script is so binding.
More than just a movie..it was a memorable moment for me.
@ All PFCiets – Dont forget to watch sankat city…and you all wil agree to magik – “It’s not always about who won or who lost. Sometimes it is about sheer survival. Such is Mumbai. Such is Sankat City.”
Thanks Magik for taking me to the SANKAT CITY…and I am sure I will never be able to get out of it. SUCH IS SANKAT CITY (am talking about the city as well as the movie).
Cheers !!
Ashu Bhai MAPRM Wale
Phadu post Magik !!
However, word of caution, Bombay is also a sensual temptress who can lead you to ur doom….always rememebr that
thanks for the word of caution bro. will keep in mind. it was great catchin up wid pfc bbay!
I could have bloody well been a terror-monger with a live bomb in my bag & could blow up the shrine into smithereens.
You have too soft a ‘face value’ for people to believe that
Great passionate post, buddy. My take with pictures of the premiere is on my blog ( it’s little to personal to be posted at PFC).
Cheers!
@ 13 Pathak- Why don’t you write a proper analytical review of the film so that we all can understand what exactly is your point of view ?
Just curiosity- what’s your IQ ?
Taran Adarsh has been afflicted with Sane Flu!? :O
@ Rahul- dude the movie has released only in Chennai,B’lore & Hyd in South India to the best of my knowledge.Given below are the details-
Chennai has 2 shows of the movie- 10.30 A.M on sat & sun @ Sathyam Cinemas and 7 P.M @ Mayajaal.In case of Hyderabad PVR has one show- 2.15 P.M & Cinemax has one show-
2.30 P.M.Only Sapna 35 MM has 4 shows of the movie.In case of Bangalore just one show @ 2.40 P.M- PVR.So overall just 9 shows in South India.
but its released in non metros like Indore,Aurangabad,Dhanbad etc elsewhere.
Pankaj bhai- I’m watching it in Sathyam Cinemas-in Chennai on sunday.but please look into the distribution in South India,its pathetic.
@~uh~ : I think what “13 – avijit pathak ” fairly explains his take on the movie… not very sure why one will need PROPER ANALYTICAL review to understand “what exactly is his point of view”… having said that I am agreeing to what he said.. coz i haven’t seen the movie yet.. so no pre conceived notions.. but if there is a over popular movie in PFC , it doesn’t mean that all PFC reader have to flow with the tide… I am sorry.. ur commets seems little sarcastic towards Mr. Pathak.. hence I am commenting…
@Magik: Enthusiasm phoot phoot ke ubhar rahi hai! :D Am glad you enjoyed the film so much! Will pukka see it.. Thoda late, but dekhoongi pukka. Travelling extensively :(
You’ve got a keen sense of observation, Majik. Liked what you saw, and what you wrote.
thanks dude. such observation is the curse of all kreative keeda log… more so, if you are a filmi on top of it. ;-)
excellent post.. have been livin in Bombay.. sorry Mumbai all my life, but could ve never put all these little observations that you have put across so brillantly. was goin to watch it 2morrw,,guess ll ve to wath it today.
thanks for the kind words. u can take me out of bombay, but not bombay outta me. never.
Haven’t seen Sankat, going for it tomorrow, hope its as good as everyone seems to be cracking it up to be. I love the hardboiled ‘bumbai’ movies – Ek Chalis ki Last Local, Waisa Bhi Hota Hai, Satya, even comedies like Munnabhai (the first one) which bring out the mumbai sub-culture and am consequently looking forward to Sankat and Kaminey. However, as a delhiite, I always wonder why movies based on/in delhi always get walloped at the box office. They are made with as much panache and flair, movies like Dil Se, Oye Lucky, Delhi 6 and Let’s Enjoy. I read a review once of Let’s Enjoy where the reviewer (who made clear that he was a mumbaiyya) tore apart all the lovable, genuine and people-you-meet-on-the-street charecters as over-acting hammers. If the rest of the country can tolerate and accept the ‘aye bhidu, kya bolta tu’ type lingo thrown into our face in virtually every movie, why do we dismiss the mischievous Mamdu jalebiwallah or the slimeball Dr. Handa or the gabru boys, driving along NH 1 looking for a farmhouse party?
The only delhi movie which did really well recently was Khosla Ka Ghosla, which was quite heartening but movies like 99 disappeared without a trace. Maybe we need to market ourselves better
.
PS: before i am accused of regionalism by readers with short attention span, i clarify that by delhi-mumbai movies i mean the movies which portray the demeanor and soul of the respective cities in a manner where the cities become characters in themselves. I am not affiliated with/to any political party/agenda.
Magik bhai ko mera salaam!!! Superb post
Ab to dekhni padegi film.. before my vacation gets over and I’m sucked into college again.. !
thanks bro AMJ. the admiration is mutual. hope u did manage to see the fillum in the nick of time. :-)
Nice post bro!! … I cannot imagine how r u managing to survive in the Idli-Dosa Pradesh
…will see the movie soon ..
nice post…Mumbai is gr8!!!
Bhaari post likhela hai magik bhau.Welcome to Mumbai!!Youll love it!
@No show in Navi Mumbai also !!. It wont help the purpose!
Hi Ajay…its there in BIG CINEMA Kharghar…chk it out.
I am sure you will fall in love with the movie…
Ashu Bhai MAPRM Wale
Oye Magik! Magik Oye!!! Badhiya ji.. Ekdum kid-in-candy-shop type hoke likha hai.. excitement jhalak rahi hai.. Btw, after premiere details kaun dega!!!
u dawg u! details jab we meet ;-)
bhai kya senti genti post pe article likh maara tune.. ki ekdum such is bombaai such is snkat bombaai kar maara phodu.. jaanleva descriptionon aur kaatil language istemaal karte hue picture dekhne pe logon ko majboor kar diya tune.. hua yeh ki saala picture to chennai mein lagaai nai to advaniji se request ki humko bhi dikhao picture… dikhao dikhao..
jaadugar jaadu kar jayega, kissi ko nazar nahin aayega…
magik bhai, photu mein aap kaun ho…? ya chunky pandey ka double role ho?
im sure u loved the experience and the city. wanted some more dope on the premiere part itself.
just came back to India. gonna catch up wid the movie today itself.
likhate raho…
do watch n enjoy yourself. such pleasures are few and far in between.
thanks all. just bak to work! i miss bombay, jaise jal bin machchli. :-)
@PFC – The way I fall in love with SANKAT CITY..i am loving the new great look of PFC…PFC Rocks…Sankat CIty Rocks..Pankaj Advani Rocks…
And magik…u rock too…ur post rocks.
Love
Ashu Bhai MAPRM Wale
yaar anand aa gaya post padh ke tune to bhai such is bombaaai such is sankat bombaai kar ke aag angaare kar maara… itnee baat kar dee ki saala picture to dekhni padegi.. lekin with due respect to anti piracy bhai log dekhni to chori ki cd pe hi padegi.. chennai mein practically lagi hi nai hai.. subah ke 2 show hai ek theatre me.. kaam dhande vaale log kaise dekhenge.. nai to advani ji ko bol ki hum ko bhi bombaai bula ke ek chhota show rakhwa do yaar.. tab to vishwaas ho ki…………. such is bombaai, such is sankat bombaai…
glad you liked the post. chori ki cd pe dekhi na saale, tod doonga! haha. wish i cud take u along to the premiere. such is life. such is brotherhood. :-)
sankat city:aamchi mumbai
i would watch the movie for the effort u put to write this stuff.kaykay…anupam kher..are other reasons hope the story don’t disappoint…and the steering goes well for pankaj saab.
hindi film industry is capable of delivering good stuff
thanks a bunch for the kind words bro. i really hope that you like the film as much as i did, if not more. take my word, you won’t be disappointed.
@Magik – read your blog the same day it was posted, magar kya hai na saab, bhaagadaudi mein kya likhoon, kuchch soojh naheen raha tha. Great read, nice observations, cool juxtaposition – sankat city inside and outside, kya baat hai. was wonderful meeting you in person. agli baar shanghai mein mehfil jamaayenge. best of luck.
sirjee! finally aap yahan aa gaye! so glad to read ur comment here… next time ‘Shanghai Naight’ for sure, preferably preceded by Urf Professor screening! Cheerz!!!
Mumbai’s a total Sankat City. Things happen for good and then they turn out to be bad and just when you think – I’m done, you’ll see happy times again. ‘Sankat City’ so reminded me of it. Everytime I feel Im oh-so-close to the finishing line, some real life villian will come and push the line further!!
And you know something really peculiar happened this afternoon. I’m not too fond of engaging in conversation with the taxi fellas in mumbai but on my way to work I met a taxi-wallah who insisted on telling me his (sad) story and somewhere I got carried away and told him (a mellowed down version) of mine. In the end he remarked, we have similar stories. I didnt want to get too filmy and so let the remark just pass by. But somewhere it hit me hard, in bombay every person has a story to tell which is the “same old story”. Thats what makes this Sankat City go around…
And despite all this, I still want to be in it
I completely agree with avijit pathak. His review was the only honest opinion seen throughout this blog and the comments included. I saw the movie after all the hype created and reviews especialy here. I came back to write the real review and found Avijit’s response being apt and exactly what i wanted to say. I like this website and the creators and writers here, but I feared the favourism for ones own movies. But again, I dont think that is wrong either. You got me to watch the movie. I just hope, the future reviews (atleast one) will be honest.
Dont get me wrong, but this post itself by Magik, was more “look at my writing skills” than a critics review. May be it wasnt supposed to be a review,but just a part of daily diary written colorfully with metaphors and similies and I got it wrong and read it hoping it was a review of the movie.