It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Anurag Basu began his career with vishesh films. Movies like saaya and murder did not help him receive recognition. However 'Life in a metro' made audiences recognise his talent. Initially one does not find a retold theme to be very exciting. But what worked for this movie was the star cast. It could not have been better. With a production house company like UTV motion pictures, one cannot go wrong in the casting department. All the actors managed to liven up a not so great plot. It has all been witnessed in the past with movies like 'The apartment' and shahruck khan's movie 'Yes Boss'. In comparison to 'yes boss' this movie fells more genuine and realistic. 'For love or money' is another movie that came to mind while watching this. One symphatises with the characters and can manage to relate to them. This movie gave Anurag Basu to provide to us a authentic and fresh representation of adults in the city of Mumbai. These people range from a housewife to a husband and to a secretary. These characters seem believable and have a indirect connection to one another. The core of the movie is based on the lives of a couple played by Shilpa Shetty and K K Menon. Every other character stems though them. They are going through troubled times in their marriage. Misunderstandings and a certain lack of attention is prevalent between them. Shilpa finds a love friendship with theatre actor Shiny Ahuja. KK is embarking in a extra marital relationship with his secretary (Kangana Ranauat), who is in her usual form. She however is unaware that a fellow employee (Sharman Joshi) secretly admires her. As well as this Sharman also offers the use of his rented apartment to his boss KK in favour for possible future promotions. As well this the movie also has a funny subplot involving Irfan Khan and Konkana Sen Sharma who are looking for the perfect life partner. Coincidently the two of them meet through a matrimonial website. Initially they don't approve of each other however eventually attraction occurs. The side plot regarding Dharmendra served not purpose to the movie. It only added a couple of extra minutes to the running time of the movie. Basu's direction makes many scenes interesting to watch. Many routines moments are enhanced by good camera angles. The performances are indeed the highlight. The relationships are portrayed in a mature manner and does not seem artificial. The scenery of Mumbai is well captured amongst the lives of the characters. Each subplot is given equal attention and the balance is preserved. From the first minute the movie maintains a moderate pace and the length of the movie is perfect. Irfan Khan is a scene stealer and supports the movie with good light hearted moments. This was his first role that was comedy orientated and it turned his career in a different direction. It was pleasant to see Shilpa Shetty after a long time too.

Anurag Basu has mastered the art of copying Hollywood movies. He flicks popular Hollywood or world movies/themes and presents them in an Indian context. So in my opinion he is just a smart businessman and not an auteur as he is made out to be. The mainstream media in India is for sale and it's possible to re-paint a cat and call it a Lion. And hence he has a good reputation going for him. Unfortunately due to this hype, people are comparing Anurag Basu to his namesake - Anurag Kashyap - who plays many leagues above him. Other users who like his movies seem to comment based on the entertainment value (some of which should be credited to Mr.Basu as it takes some smarts to be keep his output entertaining) or are totally unaware of the original.I would to distinguish *copying* from *inspiration*. For example, "Dev D" by Anurag Kashyap is inspired by the Novel/movie "Devdas", but it's a thoroughly original take on it. However "Murder" by Basu is almost a scene by scene copy of "Unfailthful" - till the twist-in-the-end gimmick : pretty much like how so many b-movie makers take a hit movie, add a twist but they are pretty much unoriginal. At least most B-movies don't pretend to be original.Similarly, "Life in a metro" is inspired by the Hollywood trend of parallel, nearly disjoint story lines (Magnolia, Playing by Heart (1998) among many others). Here most characters are one dimensional (but that's just my opinion) and unconvincing in their actions. There is no catharsis that a movie of this nature would aim to inflict on the user. In fact at times it seems to go the Madhur Bhandarkar populist way - where by showing something big (a metropolitan city) in a negative light, he tries to win the masses. Yup, so while writing this comment, I found a peer for Anurag Basu - Madhu Bhandarkar. They represent the so called new breed of Bollywood cinema who claim that they'll re-invent the industry. All the will succeed is in re-inventing some beaten story lines. (Okay, Madhur might be slightly more original than Basu but he is uninspiring and populist).

The title of this movies gives an idea of the setup of the movie. City of Mumbai with local trains, clubs, shopping malls, cell phones, rain and good looking people on the street are the basic assumptions behind the title. What the story brings is an interwoven but not complicated lifestyle of about a dozen characters. Shikha (Shilpa Shetty) is married to Ranjeet (Kay Kay Menon) who is having a no strings attached romance with Neha (Kangana Ranawat) who is sharing her apartment with Shruti (Konkona Sen-Sharma) who is not just Shikha's sister but is also having a buddy Monty (Irfan Khan) who previously got acquainted with Shruti as an arranged marriage proposals while Neha is stalked by Rahul (Sharman Joshi) who works at a call center under the supervision of Ranjeet. Is that all? Actually no. Shikha, after the disappointment from her marriage with Ranjeet, is having a 'butterflies-in-the-stomach' romance with Akash (Shiny Ahuja).I think that sums it up. Now the question is what next? I guess thats when Anurag Basu (writer and director) starts his imagination or experiences with relationships. Compared to his previous project, Gangster (2006), the script of 'METRO' is rather crispier and the characters look more intelligent and believable. Even though there are almost 6 parallel stories in the script there is not a single time when it confuses. From the introduction of all to the finales writer keeps you on the same page as his. The ambiguities of extramarital and unsure relationships are well written. Although initial fast pace of the script in the first 1 hr. drags a lot in the later half. The melodramatic finales of different couples are laughable. Save Shikha and Akash's temptations and anxieties. In a way this movie has almost nothing new to offer. What actually it offers is Shilpa Shetty's comeback and she perhaps steals the show with her looks. What accompanies is Shiny Ahuja (alway impressive) and Konkona Sen. Surprise package includes Sharman Joshi's ambitious character. His story with Kangana Ranawat (another 'for your eyes only') reminds of Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla in Yes Boss (1997). Also why there was the story of vintage actor Dharmendra and Nafisa Ali??? Music score by Pritam will add a star to this movie. The picturization of these songs is also a fresh new way as opposed to the same old aerobics or dramatic styles. Direction of few scenes, like the erotic sequence of Shikha and Akash uses a good mixture of lights and shadows which also is pretty well acted by the two. Last but not the least Irfan Khan's Monty is quite memorable. He is funny as hell.In and all the stories have been seen and heard before but fresh new faces including Shilpa Shetty and a nicely written screenplay will make this one a good experience. Worth a look with some popcorns and a gulp.Rating: 5/10.

Metro was a copy, but it was a good attempt. Overall average movie. Over-rated in Indian marketShiny Ahuja was ironically given a role of a actor, I mean come his acting talent was exposed in the film itself. There was some theater scene inserted some where making no sense.Shiny got chance to show some muscles(And I guess director tried to cash on it too, cause shiny don't have any thing but muscles) KK and Joshi did good job.I never understood what director tried to do with Shilpa Shetty. He gave that small erotic sex seen to get some audience and again realized someone should have some character left. Just to cash on the feminist wave in India led by those K series, Converted her to a typical Indian lady or a goddess. Due to Big Brother she was already in the frame of goddess it helped a movie a lot. Neha was a complete blunder and so was her acting. These parallel story plots are difficult to handle and I don't expect a sound ending of such plots from a Indian director as these concepts in itself are difficult to copy. {Especially when some director want to modify it to a extent where people debate about copying}in other words{Especially when some director wants to modify/change names of characters}I guess Bollywood is recruiting MBAs more than Artists