A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Went into watching 99 with least expectations and was amazed with what it had to offer.The title as it suggests... the movie is setup in the year 1999 also with the protagonist who believes his life is on 99.99 is the number most characters are stuck on.. because its the century that makes it worth it.Kunal Khemu (Sachin) and Cyrus Broacha (Zaramud) are friends who work as "Line Wala"(watch the movie to understand the Terminology) and have to work for Mahesh Manjrekar(aka AGM a Bookie) against their Wills.The first half of the movie focuses on how both land up working for AGM.Boman Irani(Rahul) a gambler and a Sort of a Banker by profession gambles and loses.AGM sends Sachin and Zaramud to Delhi for recovering the money the fun begins...Now for the performances Vinod Khanna(JC-Bookie) the senior-most of the lot in a small and minuscule role is a perfect fit for JC.Soha Ali Khan(Neha) is s pretty good 5-star hotel receptionist who goes for a coffee with her guests without leaving the hotel.Now the star performers....Kunal Khemu and Cyrus Broacha steal the show with the perfect Camaraderie that just leaves you with no option but enjoy the fun.Sachin believes that The "bhojpuri" element in the movie is something that seriously adds to the humour.A any season movie and way better than most no brainer's bollywood usually comes up with ..99 portrays humour in a very real way.Kudos to the Team for making this one.Can simply say the best comedy of the last decade..and a very underrated movie. Go for 99 and feel the nostalgia that stays with you...and makes you watch it just that one more time again....Kyonki Taliya Woh Ek Run Ke Baad Hi Bajti Hai....

Magical and EuphoricThe latest comedy by Krishna D.K and Raj Nidimoru undoubtedly is a hit. The last time I’d watched a bollywood flick was either Fanna or Doom 2; I don’t quite recall. The following is a summary of my observation on 99The cast: More than anything else I loved the cast because of the authenticity and naturalism they brought into the movie i.e. the protagonist Kunal Khemu having the magical chemistry with Soha. On the other hand, supporting actor Syrus Broacha whom I had the chance to seeing him again after six or seven years when he hosted Love Line and Bakra on MTV. Moreover, bearing in mind that Kunal being this athletic heartthrob, Cyrus on the other hand is playing the role of a pudgy and pantomime who has been lubricated on the body making him seem something about 100 kg.The Dialogue: Next I thought the dialogue was superb: Boman Irani habitually a betting freak who gets home late at nigh and begs his wife to let him in. there’s a scene when he buys his wife a birthday present that I found both hilarious and vulpine. In parts, the inner psychological annoyance the characters have specially that of Boman’s reminds me of the similarity of disturbance the characters of Forest Whitaker’s The Air I Breathe and Tom Cruise’s Magnolia get to fight with. In my opinion, all of them deliver one single theme in a way or another.The humor: When you read about this picture on IMDb, the genre obviously is comedy. Although I think it’s tough to put a label on it because there’s crime, romance, thriller etc involved in it. There’s a task assigned for Kunal and Syrus to travel to Delhi. When they get the capital city on the way airport to hotel, all of a sudden Cyrus clamors over the cab driver “You son of a b**ch! You crossed this very circle 5 minutes ago why do you keep shuffling around the town? Why don’t we arrive in the god dame hotel? Do you think you can fleece us? "Sir mind your language. There are many similar circles in Delhi." replies taxi driverIn a word or two, 99 is very thick with ideas. Furthermore, it has a lot more to deliver e.g. topnotch music and direction and the rest of the cast: Mahesh Manjreker and Vinod Khanna who have performed their role astonishingly well. The ending is triumphant, magical and euphoric.I would rate this one 8.5/10

When you have an original idea and the execution is professional and care is taken to give the audience something to laugh or ponder or get thrilled, you have a top notch entertainer. And 99 for me is one of the best this year and possibley in the last few years. And to add to this the cast hit bulls yes. Even though the cast is not attractive on paper because of the star crazy industry that we are unfortunately part of; once you see the film you will agree with me that the casting was perfect; and every cast person deliver what they were meant for. OK to summarise 99 I will say it is a terrific thriller and an excellent comedy. And if you think about it this combination of thriller and comedy is rare and that is exactly why I think this is one of the best Hindi films I have seen. I recommend hundred percent! Thank you

Right from the word go, 99 seems to be a bit 'different' !! Even the normally humdrum disclaimers that you see in the beginning of a movie ("Any resemblance to real people or events is a coincidence .. blah blah") sings a different tune for this movie – you will understand when you see it. And on hindsight, it was a fair warning. Coz nothing else about the movie – the unknown director pair of Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru, the boring lead pair of Kunal Khemu (who ?) and Cryus Broacha, the cute but hardly a top-slot-actress Soha Ali Khan – nothing prepares you for the absolute blast this movie is !! Simply put – it ROCKED ! (BTW, doesn't Nidimoru sound a little Japanese ?)The movie starts in 1999, with two small-time crooks Sachin (Kunal Khemu) and Zaramud (Cyrus Broacha), on the run from the police. They hotwire a car and try to escape, only to lose control of the vehicle and smash it into a truck, then a lamppost and all sorts of other things – completely wrecking it. And to their luck, the car belongs to local bhai AGM (Sanjay Manjrekar) – to pay off for the car, they start working for him. AGM is bigtime into satta and has many outstanding debts to him. He dispatches our lead duo to Delhi to extort money from a non-paying gambling junkie Rahul (Boman Irani). All this is only the first 10 minutes of the movie.The movie is named so because it signifies just one short of a century – and all the characters in our keep missing their mark in life, just by a little bit. 99 is full of comic twists and turns – AND cricket jokes !! You could probably classify this as a comic heist/gangster story I suppose, but it wouldn't be doing this movie complete justice. The closest to this movie is probably last year's Abhay-Deol-starrer Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. Intelligent humour and lot of fun being poked at the city of Delhi itself – there are lot of similarities in the two movies. But story lines are very different.Performance was standout across the board – Kunal Khemu, Boman Irani, Cyrus Broacha, Mahesh Manjrekar, Amit Mistry (Kuber), Vinod Khanna – and everybody else. Soha Ali Khan & Simone Singh didn't have much to do, but Soha looked rather cute – and both do their parts very satisfactorily. Mahesh Manjrekar continues to shine in comic roles – though I think his character would have better been named ATM instead of AGM. Boman was good as usual and Amit Mistry as Kuber was a hoot, to say nothing of Dimpy !! But the star was Kunal Khemu – the guy CAN act !! Not that I am complaining about this movie, but he should be getting better roles ! And Cyrus Broacha was a surprise too – he wasn't as over the top as I imagined he would be.Being released in the middle of the multiplex-producers dispute will probably help this movie, as compared to being released in a normal schedule, competing with 5 other movies in a week. So yes, definitely go for 99 - it's a little gem of movie that you shouldn't miss.I regularly write about movies at http://bombaycinephile.blogspot.com