Johnny Gaddaar

Plot synopsis:
The film starts out on a rainy night with a conversation between four cops in a police van, patrolling the streets of Mumbai. A car narrowly misses colliding into them on the road, brakes and then continues on towards a house with iron gates. A man in a jacket gets out from the car, heads towards the garage and opens the roller shutter door when he is shot from behind multiple times. At the same time, the cops in the van receive an alert on the radio that gunshots have been heard somewhere in the vicinity and they ask the driver to head towards the location of the gunshots.
The entire movie is then shown as a flashback, building up to the present shooting, and scene of the cops in the van.
The story is about a gang of five that run a gambling club and conduct other underhand deals. The five members are Vikram (Neil Nitin Mukesh), Seshadri (Dharmendra), Shardul (Zakir Hussain), Prakash (Vinay Pathak) and Shiva (Dayanand Shetty). When one of Seshadri's police contacts from Bengaluru, Kalyan (Govind Namdeo) informs him, on the phone about "French furniture" (code word for drugs) worth Rs. 5 crore that he can offer him for Rs. 2.5 crore, Seshadri calls for all 5 members to contribute Rs. 50 lacs each to set the deal in motion. Based on Shardul's promise of being able to sell the furniture for more than Rs. 5 crore, each member anticipates a profit of a further Rs. 50 lacs each, at least.
They agree that Shiva is to take the money to Bengaluru by train, meet Kalyan, make the exchange and return on the same train. Vikram, who is dating Shardul's wife Mini (Rimi Sen) and desperately wants to emigrate to Canada with her, plans to steal the money from Shiva in the train by using chloroform to make him unconscious. In the pretext of going to Goa for business work, he goes about his plot, driving to Pune (where he uses the name Johnny G to check into hotel) then takes a flight to Goa. In Goa, he meets advocate Gomes (Raj Tilak) who is Seshadri's friend, to get his work done and to serve as an alibi later, if required. He makes sure the work is half done, flies back to Mumbai and checks-in to a hotel before boarding the train that Shiva takes, the train to Bengaluru enroute Pune. But plans go wrong and Vikram ends up killing Shiva who unmasks him before going unconscious. Now Sheshadri, Kalyan, Prakash and Shardul one-by-one, find out Vikram's truth and are killed by him in cold blood. Finally, Vikram is killed by Prakash's wife, Varsha (Ashwini Kalsekar) who mistakes him for Shardul, who she believed was Prakash's killer.

Tags: dark, neo noir

Review:
Most probably this movie will prove to be a dud at Box office, however it will sure go down as a cult for generations to come.In most of the thrillers that I have seen, I am able to second guess the director on what he is going to show.
It had some excellent themes and instrumental pieces and sometimes it gave an impression if modern day Hollywood themes were inspired from Bollywood of 70's, and one expected those pieces to play a pivotal role to elevate the movie.
However they were hardly used in the movie, except for couple of occasions.Since I have heard the original album, that is the reason my expectations were sky high from the background music and theme music of the music, but still its a rare masterpiece coming out of Bollywood.
That's the level of involvement you're able to muster up for this film.Dharmendra as leader of the gang, Zakir Hussain as the crass club-owner, Vinay Pathak as the smarmy card-shark, and Neil Nitin Mukesh as the rookie, the youngest member of the gang  you couldn't find better actors to fill out these roles.Zakir Hussain in particular, stands out with a performance that is ingenious in every sense of the word.
And Neil Nitin Mukesh makes an inspired debut; he's clearly an actor to look out for.it's a thriller very unlike his own previous film Ek Hasina Thi, and very unlike most thrillers you've seen recently.
A tight and layered script that pays a lot of homage to erstwhile thrillers (tons of 70's references here) but remembers to have its own identity, absolutely SUPERB direction and performances that are indicative of the relish all the actors took in their parts.
Best thing about the movie is it keeps u thinking throughout the movie what will happen next.Good thing is that he has not added any boring songs which could have ruined this movie instead used it as background score in most scenes.This movie is closet anyone can get to Hollywood thrillers.
It is a complete disappointment for the people' who can predict every twist and turn while watching a Thriller - because the film is genuinely UNPREDICTABLE, right till the credits flash across your gaping faces.
Fast and slick - right from the credits which is sexy and suave, through the images - that of Johny's transition from warmth exuding from the eyes to that cold glimpse which petrifies, from Pune to Goa and back again, the bars, the "in-built" and "in-sync" songs, the promises made only to be broken, the message is clear - Evil begets Evil and consumes Evil too.The actors are brilliant (except for Neil who does a good job, but somehow he seemed to be emulating rather than delivering originality).
If you grew up reading James Hadley Chase and his prototype stories of the not so bad (but not good) protagonists, who always fell for the wrong woman, tried to make it big, but things went wrong in a very bad way - then this is a must watch for you!
Move over Hritik, forget it Ranbir, the new man about town is certainly Neil Nitin Mukesh.There were more references to everyone's favorite moments in books (Hadley Chase mostly) and films (of course the ubiquitous Johnny Mera Naam, and many many Bachchan films including the early and all important Parwana) than I can remember (and it might take another viewing to capture them all!), there was your favorite music from yesteryear's (Aage bhi jaane Na tu for one) and some cool new stuff, there was blood and gore galore, and there was an inevitability to the story (just like your favorite Hadley Chase book had).And after you are done watching Johnny Gaddaar then go back and watch Jewel Thief and Johnny Mera Naam, maybe even Parwana, to get even more out of the film!I highly recommend this film to all lovers of pulp fiction (and I do not mean the film alone), the noir genre, heists, double-crosses, and just unusual cinema that is very well done.
And thanks to him, we now have an actor too to look out for in Neil Nitin Mukesh.So, some may call Johnny Gaddar a cult classic, some call it style exemplified.
The item number in the end could have been shortened but the songs give a feel of the wild 70s.Raghavan's debut film 'Ek Hasina Thi' happens to be one of my favorite thrillers.
A fast-paced thriller, Johnny Gaddaar is ample testimony that you can make a gripping Bollywood movie without any of the big names.Also, as long as you have a decent story you don't have to go gallivanting around the globe filming in locales like Namibia, Australia, Switzerland or Brazil.Without doubt, Johnny Gaddaar comes with a nice story and a tight script.
Bad but not repulsive and carried along mostly by the tide, Vikram holds our attention throughout the movie.Johnny Gaddar packs all the ingredients of a fine thriller - love, crime, sexy girls, action, unexpected twists and betrayal.Newcomer Neil Nitin Mukesh (grandson of the famous singer Mukesh) does a decent job as the young lad Vikram in a haste to get rich.
So the double crosser sets in motion a train of events with deadly consequences for the others.Johnny Gaddaar is easily one of the best Bollywood movies we've seen in this year.10/10.
It is like the Hitchcock movie "North By Northwest" or like the movie "Phone Booth" - when you start watching it you cannot stop, you have to see the whole movie.Sad but a true fact that non-masala good movies always fail at box office, so it is no surprise that Johnny G didn't do well at Box Office.I wasn't aware of this film director before, but the way the movie is directed and the bits and pieces are displayed - I am really impressed!
Raghavan gives us a genuine film-noir that is so rare that it is easy to lose it in the mêlée of mediocrity that Bollywood blockbusters represent.An almost gray-scale visual theme with shocks of Red (very Sin City - nobody is innocent), no break-out sessions for song&dance and a crisp running time (135 minutes) alienates it from regular cinema.
Yet he plays the most daring and convincing maiden role to establish a sure-fire position on the "to-be-watched" list.Raghavan makes the most inherently "cool" movie of the year, complete in 60's retro garb of film-making (cinematography, editing, character focus, color grading) that fits right in with the film-noir subject.
In the opening credits he mentions some of the names like JHC and Vijay Anand.The movie features the grandson of the legendary singer Mukesh, Neil Nitin Mukesh and what a debut!!!!!
This movie seems to be one of the best thrillers in the recent times......The level of coincidence is amazing.....I cannot imagine a guy with so good luck which Vikram has in this movie....and it cannot be denied that it is possible .....The acting is good by all characters in the movie and not all thriller movies end happily......this also ends perishing all the major characters of the movie....But the most suspense part of the movie is at the end ....and that forces everybody watching this movie glued to the screen at the end....so better watch till the end and I hope everybody likes the movie as I did....:).
The movie was released without much fanfare, but it created a host of acclaimed reviews that I had to take notice and make effort to see this movie.The story is about 5 crooks  Seshadri (Dharmendra) is the respected ringleader, Prakash (Vinay Pathak) is the casino-club owner, Shardul (Zakir Hussain) is the businessman, Shiva (Daya Shetty) is the strong man and Vikram aka Vicky (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is an aspiring young man who wants to become rich quickly and he plays Johnny Gaddar.
One passing reference to the new kid in the block Neil Nitin Mukesh and he has delivered the goods above average in his first movie.
I think the casting of him as an innocent looking youngest member of the gang was an winning ace from Sriram.I would also like to mention the passing references made in Johnny Gaddar of contributions made by Hindi cinema through several decades, by adding old songs,music in background, adding dialogues that refer to some movie, character, actors, movies running on TV etc.
With Johnny Gaddaar, Mr. Raghavan proves that he can pull off a spectacular feat.----------------------------------------------------------------Shortcomings:: Too much of reference to Faraar Dev Anand's howling got better off me a while later If the movie is trimmed by about 20-minutes it can translate into a sleek, edge-of-seat entertainment.****************************************************************Moral of the story:: Plain-lucky Johnny shouldn't press his luck too far..
Writers have taken a lot of effort on the script and it shows as the final result is very polished and engaging.Casting also was good, being a low budget movie no mega stars acts in the movie, except mega star of his days Dharamendra(surely not a mega star of today), also one would not find any foreign locales in dreamy song sequences, although cinematography could have been lot better.The debutant actor Niel Nitin Mukesh acts very well for a debutant, he could be the next girl charmer of Bollywood, with great looks, physique and good acting abilities he is here to stay for long time.
The fifth frame to hit the screen in Johnny Gaddar marks a dedication to Vijay Anand and James Hadley chase and the tributes just don't stop coming from the seventy style beginning on a fantastically remixed Johny Mera Naam theme to clips of parwana and even references to modern day thrillers to Scarface.Johnny Gaddar is an old fashioned double crossing thriller made with as much fun as the audience is expected to have.
Johnny gaddar is full of racy characters, violent situations and a cold calculating anti hero just like a James Hadley chase which has a provocative cover but is too slick to waste time on sex.The supporting cast is extremely good too with Vinay Pathak as a sleazy gambling den owner leading the way and Dharmendra as a 'respectable' retired smuggler stealing the scenes.
You don't hate him for what he does for he fools you with his straight face but just wait for his next move which makes him one of the best anti heroes to hit the screens in recent memory.Prior to Johnny Gadaar u could only count jaane bhi do yaaron as a true cult film Bollywood ever produced but gaddar is without the cult of film of our times.
Sriram raghavan may not be India's most famous director but he has come out one of the best movies of the last 3 or 4 years.The plot is good and the twists add to the strength of the film .As far as music is concerned , Shankar Ehsaan and Loy have come out with good tracks and the lyrics by jaideep sahni are good.Neil nitin mukesh gets a dream debut and makes most of his role Dharmendra is OK,not great.Vinay Pathak and Zakir hussain are very good.All in all , a very good movie experience.
After all the only two familiar faces in the movie were Dharmendra and Vinay Pathak.Now after 3 hrs: The movie is nothing shot of brilliant, in all film-making departments.The script: Tight from the first frame till the last, never leave you to catch a breath.The cinematography: a treat!
Making a thriller need not always be about maitaining suspense about the culprit right till the end, and we have no better example than Johnny gaddaar ,in present time, that justifies the fact.It belongs to a completely different genre of filmaking.
The movie never loses its pace.Its just keeps u guessing right till the end like a pendulum.Dharmendra sir is back!!, he always seemed so apt for the character he played.Zaakir hussain just keeps proving his outstanding acting capability with every movie he does,Vinay Pathak is one of the finest actors we have, and its almost needless to say he played his character impeccably.Last but definitely not the least Neil Nitin Mukesh,although didn't stand out,played the character with confidence and dexterity.He showed brilliance in patches, but he has definitely made his mark, Its one of the finest debuts we have seen in past few years.Daya Shetty(The CID guy)and the other supporting actors did more than good to the entire flow of the movie and made the movie seem almost flawless.
This is one of the finest movies of all time, not an edge of the seat thriller but gripping with its unpredictable twists till the very end.A must see....
Right from the credits - excellent 70's style font and music - to the twists and turns, and right down to the complete inevitability of the ending - the movie was superbly executed.Debutant Neil Mukesh makes an incredible entry into Bollywood.
t he only problem is with the pacing they should have finished it in say one hour 45 minutes but well u need something Indian in a film the editing and camera work is excellent, direction top notch and well its just a brilliant film Zakir Hussain and Vinay Pathak are amazing soundtrack way beyond Indian cinemas reach but world class.
Never any crime thriller like this in bollywood.Sriram Raghavan is truly the scorsese of india .Hats off to you.
A very well written gripping story about five partners Sheshadri (Dharmendra), Vikram (Neil Nitin Mukesh),Shardul(Zakir Hussain), Shiva (Daya)and Prakash (vinay Pathak) revolves around missing money...
Vijay Anand, Kubrick, Tarantino, and movies like Parvaana( great impact on plot) Titanic, citizen Kane, Indiana Jones, Scarface Johnny Mera Naam have been mentioned in subtly used in reference.
Importantly, songs Don't slow down the pace of the thriller at any point like any other ordinary Bollywood flick.Film follows the style of the thriller author James Hadley Chase and his name flashed in movie as his novels are being read by the character in many scenes.
(Now I want to read his novels and watch movie Parwaana starring BigB, navun nischol).Overall a great watch, brilliantly directed by Sriram Raghavan with everyone gave justice to their part in the film.
This is an immersion in style, a Bollywood venture into the gangster thriller, enlivened by superb ensemble work and exciting and colorful visuals.The young anti-hero, attractive Neil Nitin Mukesh, attempts to set members of his gang one against the other, hoping to run off with ill-gotten gains; with an initially confusing narrative, the willing viewer will soon be caught up in an intense cat-and-mouse game richly scored, with only a single dance number (which actually heightens the tension); the film takes the viewer full-circle from the violent opening to the perhaps surprising finale.
Dharam ji is as usual excellent....Music is good by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy...Especially the title track and sabse bada rupaiya....Watch the movie even if u don't like thrillers because its different and most important its original...not a copy of any Hitchcock or Hollywood movie..Eagerly waitng for Agent Vinod by Raghvan..
The movie, however, clearly belongs to Neil Nitin Mukesh, who delivers a very convincing debut performance, effectively playing the many shades of his character.
Johnny Gaddaar is a movie everyone would enjoy watching - a thriller which is taut, twisted, fast-paced, unpredictable, and just very entertaining..
JG is a tribute to many thriller and pulp movies you might have seen, reminiscent of the golden-era of Vijay Anand's thrillers like 'Jewel Thief', and 'Johnny Mera Naam'.
"Johnny Gaddaar" could have been adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel like "Jackie Brown" was, but was inspired more by the significantly lesser but still engaging works of legendary pulp writer James Hadley Chase (who achieved immense popularity in India and Africa), who Raghavan dedicated the film to, along with "Jewel Thief" director Vijay Anand.While "Jackie Brown" is the only film of Tarantino's which I think is truly exceptional, I imagine I will enjoy Raghavan's other film as much as I did this film when I do see it.
Put your hands together for Johnny Gaddaar, director Sriram Raghavan's brilliant thriller about a gang of five cons who raise Rs two-and-a-half-crore between themselves so they can participate in a shady deal that's going to double their investment.
Dharmendra as the mastermind behind the operation, Zakir Hussain as the crass club-owner, Vinay Pathak as the smarmy card-shark, and Neil Nitin Mukesh as the rookie, the youngest member of the gang – you couldn't find better actors to fill out these roles.
Reason 1: Solely for the title credits which is a huge tribute in its own right to all the 60's and 70's thrillers, especially ( and well clearly mentioned too) to Vijay Anand's works from Johnny Mera Naam( from which the movie's title has been taken) to Jewel Thief .
In scenes like, Rimi Sen reading R.K.Narayan's 'Guide'( made into a film by Vijay Anand) or well, Vikram, the protagonist who is a big Big-B fan, watches Parwana (may be for his influences eh!) to Johnny Mera Naam.
Just like Pulp Fiction, Johnny Gaddaar is a homage to some of the classic thrillers of world cinema.
An awesome crime thriller movie.Sriram Raghavan at his best..
Nice thriller movie.The story is good.The movie is fast and full of tension and suspense and keeps you at the edge of the seat from start till end.And not even a minute a I feeled bored.Nice acting by Neil nitin mukesh.He should do more movies like this.Nice direction.Nice editing.The train action sequence were good.The story is about a gang and their money and a men who betrays them.Though from start onwards we know who the killer is still the movie is awesome.The ending was terrifying.If you want to see a fast paced thriller movie then go for this.You will surely like this one..
For a movie that reveals the traitor in its name, Johnny Gaddar remarkably turns out be a nail biting thriller.The movie follows an interesting narrative, that sets up viewers to clearly understand and watch the story unfold.
Nothing near to any edge-of-the -seat thriller or any thing , just an over-hyped movie , as Neil happens to be the grandson of late Mukesh .