2007 has been a year of boredom for most of its part. With only averagely fairing releases and the box office still awaiting an outstanding blockbuster, Johnny Gaddaar comes as a pleasant and much needed surprise.

Ek Hasina Thi was a movie that discovered Saif Ali Khan in a new light. Now maker Sriram Raghavan returns with yet again another thriller, once again with a crude style. This time Sriram chooses to introduce the Late and legendry singer Mukesh’s grandson, Neil Nitin Mukesh as the main protagonist of his latest movie. Along with this dashing debutant comes the legendry Dharmendra, Zakir Hussain, Rimi Sen, Vinay Pathak and Ashwini Kalsekar. Johnny Gaddaar is what you would call the spiting image of a dark novel. An intriguing story of murder, betrayal, love and crime.

The movie revolves around a gang of five men, all of them whom have a thirst for power and money. To achieve this, they drench their hands in all types of legal and not-so-legal actions. The story, however, is of Johnny Gaddaar is a closer look at the youngest in the gang, Vikram (Neil Nitin Mukesh) whose thirst for a rich lifestyle with his beloved (Rimi Sen) compels him to think up of a plan that will make all his dreams come true in a short span of time. Everything in Vikram’s plan doesn’t go as planned and he ends up in a big mess pool. The rest of Johnny Gaddaar is how Vikram survives in this mess pool whilst still pursuing his dream.


If you’re wondering why the above synopsis is so brief then the simple reason is that Johnny Gaddaar’s storyline cannot be explained in detail without giving away too much. After all, it is a thriller and one that is most enjoyable only if you go in without a clue of what to expect from the storyline.

Sriram Raghavan delivers a most thrilling rollar coster ride with Johnny Gaddaar. The story telling style of Johnny Gaddaar is inspired from some of the best 60s action movies in Hindi and English cinema and that’s what sets apart the style of story telling that has been opted for in this movie. Makers of Johnny Gaddaar not only had a brilliant and captivating script but also one that is executed brilliant with minimum portions that seem like a drag in the screenplay.

The movie works mainly due to its captivating storyline and the ability of the director to not get carried away by parts of the story which would have resulted in a total disaster. A screenplay full of twists and turns and a most impressive cinematography only adds to reason as to why Johnny Gaddaar is a winner all the way!

Debutant Neil Nitin Mukesh carries the heavey burden of the movie on his shoulder with élan and panache. His role is meaty and lengthy giving him the golden opportunity to deliver a knockout performance. The actor is to be congratulated for such a brilliant work in just his first film. One can only hope that there is more to come from this fine actor. Sriram Raghavan certainly must have believed in his talent a lot to entrust him with the lead role in his debut movie especially when the movie also stars a legend like Dharmendra.


Dharmendra, despite being a pioneer in the industry, is absolutely sidelined in this movie with a character that is mostly seen in the first half of the movie. Zakir Hussain and Vinay Pathak both were more than competent for their designated roles. Rimi Sen is pleasant surprise in her small role. It’s about time the actress opted for a role that was one tiny step ahead from her usually “girl-next-door” roles. Lastly another excelling cast member of Johnny Gaddaar is Ashwini Kalsekar who plays the wife of Zakir Hussain. The actress is simply fantastic.

The music of Johnny Gaddaar is excelling charts especially the title track and “Move Your Body.” Both tracks were merely featured as background scores along with other various tracks in the album. This was a fantastic choice by the makers especially since songs in the movie would have ruined the smoothly flowing screenplay.

On the whole Johnny Gaddaar is a thrilling tale that captivates the audiences’ attention till the end credits. After a string of boring releases over the past few months this movie is a much needed relief. The actors are to be congratulated along with the makers for daring to do something so different and succeeding in executing the idea brilliantly. The movie is certainly expected to work beautifully amongst the youth.

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