Traffic Signal

A.V: **1/2

E.V: **

The difference between a documentary and cinema is that the former is based on real life while the latter is based on the director’s fantasy and creativity. The former is said to be more insightful than the former. But unlike cinema, you cannot not have a documentary for two and a half hours no matter how interesting the subject matter is. The novelty of cinema is in its ability to tell stories. Traffic Signal, the third installment of Bhandarkar’s Mumbai trilogy tries to be both.

The concept of depicting the inhabitants of the ubiqiuitous traffic signals is certainly an interesting concept. It is a sight we encounter daily thanks to the sad condition of Mumbai roads but rarely reflect on. As the central character of the movie, Silsila says in the beginning, everyone who stops at the signal is impatient for the light to turn green. Bhandarkar introduces us to a number of moffusil characters – hafta collector of the signal (Kunal Khemu), the one legged vagabond (Mahendra Limaye), the dusky flower girl Rani (Neetu Chandra) and a bunch of street urchins, beggers and eunuchs. All of them live around the traffic signal which serves as their life support. The thriving industry is headed by an underworld don Bhai Jaan (Sudhir Mishra). The movie follows the daily lives of all these characters and how they make their living. Then there are the usual dysfunctional characters seen in other Madhur Bhandarkar movies – lecherous men, libidinous women, the upright official and corrupt bureaucrat. He might as well patent these roles for his films. Then again it is reflective of the society which he is trying to portray.

All very fine but the problem begins when you start looking for a plot. Unlike Page 3 and Corporate, this movie has a very weak storyline. Infact one of the best tracks of the movie between a drug addict and a prostitute (Ranvir Shorey and Konkona Sen Sharma) has no bearing on the main story. The sequences and jokes start getting repetitive towards the second half giving the feeling of a documentary. It seems the editor fell asleep for the first half and was woken up just before the interval which was as abrupt as the ending.

The redeeming factor is the performance by most of the actors which is commendable. Kunal Khemu does full justice to his role as does Sudhir Mishra in his new avatar. Neetu Chandra has put in lot of effort which shows on screen. Ranvir Shorey leaves a lasting impression and in total contrast to the kind of roles he has played till now. Bhandarkar has chosen his cast well, some of whom are real slum dwellers. The sets lend a feeling of the routine Mumbai traffic light though you sometimes think it looks more like a Wednesday haat. What could have been a great movie ends up being a confused exercise thanks to the indecision to resolve the conflict through showing reality or drama.

P.S. The jokes about the call sales guys looked like one of those ‘Bajaate Raho’ ads.

- Suprateek Sinha