Article Updated 25 November, 2005 11:32:20 PM IST   The Film By Prema K. ©2005 Bollyvista.com   We are not trying to be judgmental but honestly how many would venture into the theatres to watch a film with a non-conventional title and a non-impressive ensemble of actors! The low-key publicity doesn't help much. 'The Film' is realistic fare up to a certain extent but tapers off to a fantasy level rather soon. Looking at 'The Film' positively, it is different, a movie focused on story rather than star-cast, but unfortunately does not hit the bull's eye. 'The Film' is about the aspirations of seven Bollywood wannabes who want to make it big in life without compromising on their values. Not realizing the seriousness of their action, they opt for the easy way out of their problems. But like they say what seems easy and uncomplicated in life is not really so! The story: Sushmita (Mahima Chaudhary), Vijay (Khaled Siddiqui), Irfan (Vivek Madan), Nandini (Ananya Khare), Ankita (Chahat Khanna), Aditya (Vaibhav Jhalani) and Raman (Ravi Gosain) are seven strugglers living in Aunt Braganza's (Sulbha Deshpande) house. Having seen a bit of the underworld menace in Bollywood, they decide it's the easiest way of making quick money. They make an elaborate plan to raise money through extortion. They target a leading diamond merchant who finances films. The way they obtain a SIM card to make their extortion call is childish and is the cause of their undoing. The SIM card belongs to a plainclothes cop (a miscast Naseer Abdullah). Their plan misfires as the cop arrives on the scene of action. Their plan goes bust! It's quite funny to see that the names of people too are borrowed from Bollywood. There are killings all along the way until just one of the seven remains alive and gets away. The climax of the film comes as a bit of a shock and may catch you with a surprise! The casting seems perfect and performances are okay but nothing to rave about. Honorary mentions should go to Mahima for her role, especially at the end, Vivek Madan and Ravi Gosain. More importantly, Junaid Memon's work as a first time director is admirable. One can easily say that Junaid may succeed in this business as a director and it remains to be seen how far he can get away without casting big names in his movies. Let's give credit where it's due, the director knew what he was talking about and 'The Film' does hook the audience in a couple of sequences. One can't say much about the fate of this film at the box-office. Strong word of mouth and post-publicity (if any in the plans) may make Junaid Memon's admirable debut noticable. But hey! Don't take our word for it! Often in the past, small cast and low budget movies have surprised at the box office, so why don't you go see the movie and be a critic yourself! **1/2 (Two and a Half stars) *poor; **average; ***good; ****very good; *****excellent   close   Print this Article http://www.bollyvista.com   http://www.bollyvista.com/article/a/29/5879