In 2004 Mani Ratnam experimented with 'Yuva' which was an unusual tale of three different people and how their stories get entangled with each others. Later we saw many such types of films being made in our Hindi film industry. Most of them followed the similar path what Mani Ratnam has set apart, but then there were few who dared to attempt something different. After receiving fantastic reviews for his debut film 'Shaitan', Director Bejoy Nambiar comes up with his latest film 'David' which narrates the story of three different people sharing the same name but set in different era. So let's find out whether this movie too is on the similar grounds of 'Yuva' & other such movies or might set an altogether different benchmark.
'David' is story of Neil Nitin Mukesh {Set in 1975 – London}, Vinay Virmani {Set in 1999 – Mumbai} & Chiyaan Vikram {Set in 2011 – Goa}. All of them share one thing in common & that's their name –David. Certain changes happen in their lives making life complicated for them. What do all these David do & how the story does unfold is what the entire film is all about.
All the three stories are unique & different. I personally loved the Chiyaan Vikram followed by Neil Nitin Mukesh's stories. Vinay Virmani's story starts on interesting note but as movie progresses, the story starts diluting in super speed. One might find bit uncomfortable in the initial moments of the film as there are lot of stuff happening in the silver screen. But as you get inside the skin of the film, you tend to enjoy it even more. Screenplay in first half is brilliant, second half is also good but is super stretched thus lowering down the impact of the film. There are some brilliant moments like the whole attack over Ghani, Vinay's daily routine, Naseer shaving in his passage, Vikram's chat with his friend followed by the whole brawl in the bar, Vikram & his mother looking for bride, Almost all Saurabh Shukla – Vikram scenes, Vikram convincing Prahlad Khakkar, Monica Dogra's support to Neil & many more.
On the the story of Vinay Virmani seemed bit weak in comparison to other chapters. Right from the reason of attacking Naseer to the cooperator revealing the truth to Vinay or even a stranger instigating him and few more did not turn up as they should have on the silver screen. At few places the makers goofed up over the date's issues but on overall basis played brilliantly with the different time zone. One of the major flaw of the film is that it's too long, especially in the second half where it seemed over stretched. Dialogs by Tariq Siddiqui {In Neil Nitin Mukesh chapter} deserve a special mention.
Camera work is fantastic. All the era's looked stunning especially the black & white era and the whole Goa chapter looking total warm and colorful. R. Rathnavelu, R. Madhi & Sejal Shah takes the cinematography to another level. The whole movie is a visual treat, thanks to these creative guys. Editing is crisp in first half, wish it was the same later on.
Music by various musicians bring the needed flavor in this film. One might enjoy 'Maria', 'Ghum Hue', 'Bande Ki Daastaan' & 'Damadum Mast Kalander'. Other songs fails to make impact.
Bejoy Nambiar chooses a different and stylish pattern to narrate his tale. He is total opposite of what we saw him in his debut film – 'Shaitan'. Out here he keeps you glued to silver screen with his creativity. The usage of different tones for all the different era goes well with the flop of the film. He takes forward the art of technical direction, just the way genius like Mukul S Anand, Rajiv Menon or Santosh Sivan did in their times. Wished the director would have controlled his love for the longer script and trimmed down the film by 20 Min's, the whole finale impact would've been more hard hitting.
Neil Nitin Mukesh looks fantastic and does his part with total justice. When it comes to Grey shade role he is perfect choice. Akarsh Khurana as Ghani was total impressive. Monica Dogra looked great. Neil Bhoopalam in small cameo does his part. Milind Soman might remind you of Kiran Kumar from Angaar. Ajinkya Dave, Nikhil Chinappa, Sarika does good special appearance. Vinay Vrmani looks cute and fits perfectly in his role, wished he had some good writing attached to it. Nasser is a veteran classic actor who shines even in small role. Sheetal Menon is great support along with Rohini Hattangadi & Shweta Pandit. Lara Dutta looked bit healthy in her guest role. Satish Kaushik was total wasted. Chiyaan Vikram was hilarious in his rascal type role. He keeps entertaining you with his screen antics. Tabu is superb in her small part. Isha looks beautiful. Saurabh Shukla was fantastic. Prahlad Khakkar, Remo and others were enjoyable.
Dumb Han in terms of brilliant direction, technical aspects, two entertaining chapters and some decent performances along with gala of great actors. A total treat for cinema lovers who love to see something creative and out of the box, But the overall theme might be bit confusing for the general audience as lots of stuff keeps happening around, making it hard for them to understand. Also the length of the film dilutes the theme of the film. Out of three stories I liked two, which reminded me of the famous idiom - Two's company, three's a crowd.
