This one feels rushed

Traffic (Hindi)

Director: Rajesh Pillai

Cast: Manoj Bajpai, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jimmy Shergill, Parambrata Chatterjee, Divya Dutta,Kitu Gidwani, Sachin Khedekar

A superstar uses his clout to have the State governor call the parents of a potential heart donor to get the organ for his own sick daughter. He then gets the state machinery and the traffic police all fired up to ensure that the heart is transported from Mumbai to Pune just in time for the little girl to get the gasp of life.

The film puts a noble issue like organ donation on the shinier side of the economic divide. Instead of getting moved by the action on screen, I was left wondering what would have happened if someone poor and not as influential needed a heart as urgently.

Though inspired from a real life incident the film feels too contrived, too full of happenstance. Especially in the last ride of the organ vehicle through a supposedly communally sensitive colony called Bilal Nagar with a Pandharpur procession also following in toe.

Then there are other religious tokenisms — a Muslim heart for a Hindu girl, a Christian doctor in charge and a Sikh traffic constable to ensure a smooth ride all the way — all of which seem curiously naïve and meaningless in the complex world we live in.

What the film does have are some wonderful actors in the ensemble whose easy performances hold the fractured narrative together. Kitu Gidwani and Sachin Khedekar as the unfortunate parents, and Vikram Gokhale as the hospital dean, add dignity and gravitas to their characters, but their roles seem unformed as do their stories.

Only Manoj Bajpai’s constable Godbole has layers and nuances, and makes for a compelling watch.

Ultimately, Traffic wears thin and feels rushed. There isn’t much of the emotional tug nor theedge-of-the-seat urgency it had promised.

NAMRATA JOSHI