New York

A Bollywood attempt to interpret the global scenario post 9/11 in USA...Yet it is not all that Bollywood in spirit...It can be called offbeat yet interesting and entertaining-the genres that rarely sync well and strike a chord in India...Its a poignant tale of three friends-two Americans of Indian descent,Sameer and Maya later joined by Omar from New Delhi in the New York State University...Omar gets to see a whole new Occidental world marked by boundless freedom and sophistication starkly contrasting his traditional Delhite upbringing...Uber-cool dude Sam and a dream-like Maya help him become one among them.When its time to leave the university,Maya realises that Sameer is her man leaving Omar heart-broken which compels the latter to leave New York...Seven years later,Omar wakes up to FBI raids in his house on the suspician that hes acting as an aide to his terrorist-turned friend Sameer and now,to avoid an almost death-like detention,he is asked to help FBI as its undercover agent...When he learns that Maya and Sam are now married happily with a son,he decides that he will take up the offer and prove to FBI that Sameer ain't any terrorist...The consequences of Omar's decision form the rest of the story...

The backdrop of this movie is a series of detentions FBI carried out on Muslims even at the slightest suspician post the twin tower destruction by Islamic fundamentalist organisations... The amount of horror and humiliation these detainees are subjected to is poignantly conveyed...The debates at various places between the FBI officer Roshan and Omar put forth some interesting justifications for such operations...Most imporatantly,the film doesn't take any stands...It obediently presents the motivations of duty-ridden FBI and passion-ridden 'so-called' Jehadis...

Actors,very well-cast, are the biggest assets of this movie and leave an indelible impact on the audience...John(Sameer) as the university 'star' who later undergoes terrible trauma as a terrorist suspect shows amazing variation pre and post 9/11 and steals the show...Katrina(Maya),as a vulnerable wife silently aware of her husband's terrifying motives and a Human Rights activist produces a rare act given the history of her earlier films...Then Irrfan Khan(Roshan) as the South-Asian FBI officer gives a taste of some casual yet effective acting...Last but not the least, Neil(Omar)-my perosnal favourite-as a loyal friend,distressed lover and a Muslim in dilemma,dishes out quality stuff...I mean it when I say there is not a single frame that doesn't contribute to taking the story forward...Its a very genuine,strong ,brave and sincere film coming from the director,Kabir Khan who is said to have been a victim of this discrimination, he so effectively captures in the movie...Hail Kabir!!!