Movie Review: 99

Movie Rated: 3/5
Language: Hindi
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Cast: Kunal Khemu, Soha Ali Khan, Boman Irani, Simone Singh, Mahesh Manjrekar, Vinod Khanna, Cyrus Broacha, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Suchitra Pillai, Varun Badola.
Director: Krishna DK, Raj Nidimoru.
Music: Shamir Tandon
Length: 2 hrs 19 mins.
Writer: Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DK.

A bunch of losers tracking their way to success, via a turn-of-the-millenium tale set in Mumbai and New Delhi, passing through a ‘bhai’ and his henchmen, a short fixer and his tall bodyguard, a gambling tycoon and match-fixing deals: ‘99’ brings together this motley group, all on the verge of 99, just waiting for that elusive century, and delivers us from the prolonged Bollywood famine at the multiplexes.
But maybe it’s too early to rejoice. Because ‘99’, directed by the duo who gave us the delightful NRI rom com ‘Flavours’ (catch it on a movie channel if you missed the release in 2003), is not half as funny as it makes itself out to be. And that’s sad, because it had the potential to go over big.
99 is an original story inspired by real events. It is as much “what could have been” as it is “what really happened”. Inspired by real life events, 99 claims to be an original story and historical fiction. The fast-paced comedy set in 1999 showcases characters that are bound to be stuck at 99. Spread over two cities, the unpredictable circumstances, funny situations, varied characters, plots, romances, and high-adrenaline chases await viewers to experience 99 for themselves.

99 is set in 1999. It’s about two crooks [Kunal Khemu, Cyrus Broacha], who run the illegal SIM card duplicating business and who get embroiled in a major mess when they rob a car and worse, meet with an accident. The car belongs to a bookie/gangster [Mahesh Manjrekar], who asks them to reimburse the amount.

What follows is a big chase, from the streets of Mumbai to Delhi, with a number of characters now entering the story.

99 isn’t Raj and D.K.’s debut film, but it’s their debut film in Bollywood for sure. The best part is the director duo comes up with fresh ideas to make it look different. For instance, the characters that you watch in 99 have been witnessed a zillion times before, but the small-time crooks [Kunal, Cyrus], bookie/gangster [Mahesh Manjrekar], match fixer [Vinod Khanna], habitual gambler [Boman], his cheerless wife [Simone Singh], slimy bookie/recovery agent [Amit Mistry], an over-the-top Bhojpuri film actor and the hotel manager [Soha] appear so different. They’re definitely not caricatures. Even otherwise, the approach to the story [Raj, D.K., Sita Menon] and the execution of the subject is a notch above the ordinary.