> Johnny Gaddaar

Safin · SPOILER WARNING! - This will reveal most of the movie story

Johnny Gaddaar

Banner: Adlabs Films Ltd

Release Date: September 28, 2007

Genre: Suspense

Director: Sriram Raghavan

Star Cast:
Neil Mukesh...... Vikram
Zakir Hussain...... Shardul
Dharmendra...... Seshadri
Rimi Sen...... Mini
Vinay Pathak...... Prakash
Ashwini Kalsekar

Synopsis
The story revolves around a gang of five men, the eldest (Dharmendra) over 60, the youngest (Neil) in his twenties, who face the bright prospect of making a fortune through what seems to be a simple exchange of contraband for money on a train.

However, this goes badly wrong with one of the gang members being killed before he can make the exchange and the money he was holding disappearing. Then follows a ruthless search for the thief and killer who must be a traitor amongst them for who else could have known about the heist?

StoryLine

SPOILER WARNING! - This will reveal most of the movie story
Unlike the conventional thrillers, Johnny Gaddar is a different. The audience knows right from the outset who the culprit is and how he double-crosses his associates. It's a journey of suspense than mere adventure. With no unnecessary drama and action the director has interwoven the sequences well. The movie is about a gang of five business associates who despite having their own legitimate work get involved in making quick money. Seshadri (Dharmendra), Prakash (Vinay Patak), Shardul (Zakir Hussain), Shiva (Daya Shetty) and Vikram (Neil Mukesh) plan a conspiracy that would get them fortune in four days and would put them in the big league. One of them gets very greedy and designs another plan to double cross his associates. Johnny Gaddaar is a caper thriller focusing on a small section of the city’s notorious nightlife.The story revolves around a gang of five men-Prakash,Vikram , Sheshadri, Shardul and Daya. Vikram is a smart and charming young man.His taste for fast money and the fast life was first realized with the huge profits he earned by speculating on stocks with other people’s money. . Vikram was unfazed when he was fired from work. For him money is everything is ready to get it at any cost and by any means.Vikram is in love with Mini ,a pretty young girl who studied with Vikram in college and is in love with Vikram. She desperately wants him to quit the gang before it is to late. She’s a complete innocent and yet, deep within her lies a dark secret that could shatter the group and her life forever. Prakash is a compulsive gambler and is in charge of running a gambling club. The Deepa social club was in dire debt and bailed out by Seshadri and Shardul and they all became partners in the club. The club attracts moneyed clients and on certain days, the stakes run into several lakhs of rupees. Prakash is in good contact with a range of underworld types. He is happily married to Varsha - a beautician, who is worried about her husband’s associations with the underworld. Seshadri is an ex-gangster and a gentlemen. He was a smuggler during the seventies but left the underworld after spending some time in jail during the emergency. He loved his wife verymuch but she died of cancer many years back. He was broken after her death and lost his belief in God.But inspite of that tragedy he believed neither in self pity nor self abuse. He sought out some of his old contact, men younger than him, different from him and formed the syndicate. Vikram joined the group to use his intelligence and further his prospects. The fact that the activities of this group are not completely legal do not matter, after all, crime is only a left handed form of Human Endeavour. Shardul ran a successful, somewhat sleazy dance bar. But the recent government ban on such bars forced him to convert his vice palace into a chic lounge bar, catering to the rich kids from the IT and PBOs in the vicinity. Shardul’s only drawback is that he has no clue about their taste in music and thats why relies on Vikram to guide him in this venture. He is very ambitious,and has good contacts both with the cops and the underworld. His robust and agreeable manner barely conceals his utter ruthlessness. Daya is a bachelor in his mid thirties. He is a brutal and virile chap and lives with his ailing mother. His mother is presently in hospital and Shiva is worried about her health. He is from a family of wrestlers in Kolhapur and does the strong arm work for the group. He’s of the kind who’d never hurt a fly, unless it bothered him. The story starts with one of the gang members Seshadri getting an offer to make a fortune in four days.All the gang members are up for it as this is the deal that will catapult them into the big league.But Vikram has other plans. He plans to disappear to some unknown city and start his own life with his love Mini when a devilish thought crosses his mind. He wants to grab the entire jackpot. Vikram’s opening gambit is a neat double cross. But as he plunges further into his diabolical plan…he realizes that the stakes in this game are high. And the only losers he can afford to leave behind are dead ones! Just when you realize, ok this is the path the movie is going to take, you are exposed to a new lane. A lane more racier than the one you were treading before. The remarkable twists and turns of Johnny Gaddaar and particularly the ending of the film will have you smile on the cruel works of destiny.

Movie Reviews

Originally Posted by IndiaFm

JOHNNY GADDAAR, directed by Sriram Raghavan, belongs to a different variety of thrillers altogether. In JOHNNY GADDAAR, the viewer knows, at the very outset, who the actual gaddaar is, but his partners-in-crime don't. The gaddaar accidentally ends up eliminating every one in his gang. Just when you think that the gaddaar has removed the obstacles from his path, a gun shot is fired again… there's yet another twist in the tale.
On the whole, JOHNNY GADDAAR is a taut thriller that has the germs to catch up with the audience. At the box-office, its business at multiplexes will be the best. Lack of a major opposition coupled with an additional holiday on Tuesday [October 2 - Gandhi Jayanti] would prove to be a bonus!

Originally Posted by NowRunning

Execution of most Bollywood thrillers is below average and usually rejected outright by the audience and critics. Director Raghavan manages to embellish this story with enough twists and turns to keep the momentum going and keep the audience interested. But no movie is without its negatives. The pace of the movie is sluggish at most times and not suitable especially for a film belonging to this genre. Dialogues are interesting only in certain sequences. Cinematography is excellent and adds to the credits of the movie.

Performance keeps the mood of the movie alive and in Johnny Gaddar it is just satisfactory. Dharmendra is mediocre and at times over acts. His dialogue delivery too was rather monotonous. Debutant Neil Mukesh lacks in expressions in certain scenes but has managed to pull off his act well. Vinay Pathak in a non-comical role is good. Zakir Hussain is excellent. He executes the role with ease and comfort.

To sum things up, Johnny Gaddar is a well-embellished thriller. The movie should do good business, especially at the metros.