After weeks of no show at multiplexes, we have all been waiting for a ‘good’ movie and quite frankly we haven’t yet had a decent release the whole of 2009. Watching the promos of New York, I had this feeling that this John – Neil – Katrina starrer could be the one to break the trend of disastrous movies.
New York produced by Aditya Chopra and directed by Kabir Khan (Kabul Express) is set against the back drop of a city filled with opportunities and freedom. The film talks about friendship, freedom, racism and consequences of the 9/11 attack. At a time when Bollywood is dire, will such a theme that talks about social relevance work with the audience?
New York revolves around three young, energetic and trouble-free friends Sam (John Abraham), Maya (Katrina Kaif) and Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh) who discover a new world of happiness in each other’s company. But one day an event that put the entire world into a state of shock changed their lives drastically, a change that was way beyond their control. Roshan (Irrfan Khan), an FBI undercover agent, in attempts to protect the freedom that he believes everybody in America enjoys, takes us on a roller coaster ride.
New York Bollywood Movie Review
Unlike some of YRF films, this time New York (the city) is the backdrop with a relevant reason. The movie has a little dose of friendship as its strength but it widely deals with racism and more importantly the inhuman treatment of innocent suspects in the detention centers of USA post 9/11 attack.
After Kabul Express, director Kabir Khan has come a long way and New York could well be his claim to fame. His second outing, yet again carries a very humane and sensitive plotline, well written by Aditya Chopra. The director finds the perfect balance between happy and conflicting moments to make New York a great watch, filled with riveting moments.
Although some sequences are over looked to avoid controversies, that such movies usually generate, the unbiased screenplay is convincingly written and executed grippingly that you find yourself glued to the screen guessing what could happen next and each time you are left surprised.
New York starts off brillianty with no beating-around-the-bush in introducing and establishing the relationship between the three friends, the director gets down to the point in no time. Both the light and the aggressive moments are shot extremely well. Post interval, the movie neither looses its pace nor its grip on the audience. The climax although not extraordinary is told very convincingly. Cinematography is first-rate. Editing and background score is brilliant. The dialogues are good. The music is very good too, among all you’ll find yourself humming to the tunes of Junoon.
It’s not just the story that makes this movie a great watch but also the first rate performances by its lead cast. John Abraham does well in a powerful role. Be it while playing an innocent family man or a man out to set the society right, its clear the John has put in a lot of effort into this.. Neil Nithin Mukesh is brilliant, from the beginning to the end, a very consistent performance.
Katrina Kaif is the surprise package and proves herself in a de-glam role. Undoubtedly, her career best performance. Irrfan Khan manages to amaze once again.
Overall, New York is a must watch – well scripted, well directed and add to it the stellar performances. One of Yashraj’s finest movies, in a long long time! With fingers crossed, we hope the film succeeds at the box-office.
Dont miss it and remember to watch it only in theatres. Immense amount of work goes into the making of each film, so we kindly request you not to buy, rent or download pirated copies!
Rating: 
Awwwww…… After a long time a 4 star movie? Good, good. I was waiting to watch this. If Indicine gave it 4 stars I’m sure I’ll be able to give 5 stars. :) Will definitely watch it during the next week.
Hope you enjoy it Anupama.. Do post your review here after you watch it :)
Thanks Indicine Team for your review.. I can’t wait to see this movie, and from the trailer, I could say that Katrina improved in her acting.
About Neil Mukesh.. I was sure when I saw him for 1st time, in the trailer of his debute movie (Johnny Ghaddar) that this actor is not only a good looking guy only but talented, and I had the feeling that he’d reach the top in bollywood.
I heard that New York is like a sequal to the Pakistani movie ( Khuda ki Liye).. where Khuda ki liye ends.. New York starts, a movie which everyone must watch and which was about the consequences after 9/11 and about some muslim’s belief in what relates to the music and songs).
I loved too the director’s movie Kabul Express and watched it twice, but couldn’t understand why ppl in India didn’t like it! it was nice, funny, a different script with good direction.
I will get back with my review on Sunday.
gr8 review indicine.. and u givin four stars… must b unavoidable.. eager to watch!!! thnx
Indicine team,
Yeah sure,will do so. :)
gonna watch it tomo……………. im too eager 2 watch john in dis movie and dat too after reading d review…………….
I have seen this movie!! and its just great!!!
Post your review Bejul, what did you like in the movie? What about the performances?
This is movie is great!! New York takes up a topical theme and perfectly exposes the wily ways of the American FBI to which over hundreds of innocent Muslim people had fallen prey to post 9/11. It is a must watch for many reasons so just don’t miss it. So I would recommend you all to watch this movie!! John, Neil, Katrina and Irfaan all did great in this movie!! So go watch it and dont miss it!!
Good short review Bejul.. Post your rating too.. Thanks
Thanks Indicine Team! Well for this movie New York I would probably give it a 4/5! Trust me you all will love this movie!!!
I watched this movie yesterday at matnie, the movie was awesome after a long time such a great movie..john was terrific..neil portrayed his role very well and katrina was outstanding….best performance of her till date..irrfan as usual rocked on the screen…Very good driection…Hai junoon song stands out… rating 4.5/5!! and btw all teh best for akki On kambhakt ishq!!
very good review by Indicine Team.
what a great movie, i really like this movie, a very powerfull story,good direction & powerfull performances.
John is outstanding in this movie, he has a very bright future for sure.
Irfan Khan is an outclass actor,he is such a natural actor.
Katrina improves alot, i think her career best performance so far.
Neil nitin was good in Johnny gaddar but he delivers much more powerfull performance in this movie.
songs are average, very strong direction by kabir khan.
overall a super hit movie.
go for it guys u will really like it.
Well, I watched New York first day first show…………….and what can I say about this movie.
The best thing which i found out in the movie that its pace………which never slowed down……My eyes were just glued towards the screen.Moreover, the spine shaking scenes of detention centre just made my eyes to open so wide….I was eating popcorn but were just not able to eat them after seeing those scenes…..Great acting by John specially in those scenes……….
Moreover, Neil Nitin impressed me the most as he portrayed the role of Omar very well.His dilemma whether he should betray his friends or not and all his scenes with Irfaan Khan just lifted the movie.
And Irfaan Khan is again awesome.His scenes with Neil Nitin and his senior officer, with both of the characters he made scenes worth watching.
Well not to leave Katrina.She is not only looking good, she is acting good too this time……The actor who played Katrina’s client was also very good in his role although it was short but he also left his impact.One could see the frustration and fear both in his eyes after the detention centre incident with him.
To sum up…fantastic acting by all the actors……..and brilliant direction by Kabir Khan…will like to see his other movies in future.
Ya, songs….Hai junoon is already popular but not to leave the Mohit Chouhan’s song-Tune Jo Na Kaha………..i liked this song very much……very nicely picturised on Neil Nitin.
So, the movie delievered its message quite well……that its time to forget what happened in the past..we should remove hatred amongst us and spread the luv.
My rating 4.5/5.Dont miss it……………2009 needs more movies like New York.
Thanks Malik, Good review!
@ Tuhi Mera Naam – Great review.. Glad you liked the movie..
@ Indicine Team
Thanks…I am also glad that I watched this movie first day first show and then your review just completed my movie experience.One had to like New York.I dont think there is any other option.Its just so good.
i watched d movie today n i got just 1 word 2 describe it – FANTASTIC!
im a gr8 fan of john but i gotta say neil stole d show………. john was perfectly flawless, his evry emotion just made me feel it…………… katrina at her best in dis movie…………. irrfan has done an awesome job makin us feel united 4 a cause(and makin us laugh many times)………… to sum up all this, the story line by aditya chopra is mind boggling and kabir khan sweeps u off ur feet by making it d best film yet of 2009……….. dis movie cudnt get any bigger or better………….. the climax makes u wanna fight for a cause n makes u feel soory for people hu suffer for wat dey havnt done…………. overall i loved d movie, evry1 will……. id giv a 5/5 mainly for d cause d movie is based on………
I just watched new york. It is a brilliant m0vie.abs0lutly gripping! And katrina f0r once is an absolute joy to watch. After such dismal releases lately,new york is a breath of fresh air. The story is clean cut,n0 beating about the bush, and keepz u guessing till da very end. Fantastic.i give it a 5 outa 5,and am g0na catch it on big screen f0r the sec0nd time.
you’re right Indicine Team.. the movie was great.. I loved it and it was upto my expectations.
Everything was good in this movie, the script, the direction, the performance by the actors.. few songs but were nice songs.. Neil was the soul of the movie.. the focus was on him more than John.. and if this actor who did so far 3 films performning this way.. then with no doubt he’ll be on top of the world and in a short period of time.
John was just excellent.. did a good job.. I was going to cry in the scene where he’s in the jail, eating his food from a plate and crying.
Katrina.. improved as an actress, this is her best perfromance so far and she was also very beautiful.. Katrina doesn’t need to do a heavy makeup, just little makeup will go for her, with a simple top and jeans trousers she looks great.. she’s beautiful when she’s simple ( but I’m so angry that she’s Salman Khan’s girlfriend!! she deserves better.. Salman is a crazy guy and can’t be a good husband although he’s in the middle age now but still not matured enough.. ( if u all saw Dus ka Dum.. hosting Katrina & Neil) he treated her bad, and she was so unhappy to come on the show.. as someone just forced her to do it! and ofcourse it was Salman..noone knows.. I think he’s forcing her to stay under his wings and never fly away because he’s the reason for her success!!
He can be a good father but can’t be a faithfull husband.. there4.. better for Katrina to breakup with him and find a better partner.
The movie was nice.. we all enjoyed it.. we were 5 people together watching New York, and no one said any negative point about the movie.. we had a good time..but..but.. but.. I’m sure in this world there’re lots of ppl who would say: yeh bakwas film hai.. laken qui bakwas hai?!! I’ll answer it.. becasue they’re some bakwas ppl who love “only” bakwas shallow stupid movies.. there’re lots of people who consider good movies as bad and vice versa!!
So.. please just ignore those ppl who don’t know how to value any good movies.
Nice review. A brave attempt by Kabir Khan to make such a movie in a ‘Liberal’ country like India. But i wondered why a film like New York got good reviews by the Indian critics, It’s really strange.
Still i thing Khuda k liye was 10 times better than New York ignoring all its technical stuff.
fathiya:Who the hell do u think salman khan cannot be good husband !!!!Now i Almost 100%sure u r crap and u doesnot have mind!!!!!Talk abt the movie y to talk abt Salman khan here!!!!Old women!!!!!!u suck
MoviE wAs GooD!!!!!i LikE thE mOviE!!!!IFfran khan again deliver very good peformance !!just love it!!!iT is NoT Tht gOoD mOviE buT it iS nice one!!!It deserve to be HIT!!!!!
NeXt WEeK ,iTs biggEsT ReLeasE oF thE yeAr 2009!!!!!KamBakkHt iShq!!!sO excItEd To WatCh It fiRst Day FirSt Show!!!!hOpe It WiLL bE gOOd OnE ALso!!!!!
Sudeep: you’re a crack dumbo.. just like your typing.. see which way you’re typing yr comments.. we’re unable even to read them.. !! i LikE thE moviE.. etc.?! awful typing!
And therefore u love Akshay.. a shallow actor with some shallow movies.. meaningless scripts.. cheap comedies.. will I hope that KI will do well but I don’t think it’ll be as good as SIK… maybe.. we don’t know yet.. we’ve to wait and see.
you’re saying about New York: it’s not that good movie but it’s nice!!!!! hahahahhahah.. r u drunk or what?!! anyone would say that?!! How it’s nice but it’s not that good?!!!!!
Go just teach yourself how to talk and how to type yr comments then come back to me, writing some shitty stuff here and consider yourself a brilliant commentator!!!
gr8 movie after a looong time….got in some fresh air after d strike…a brave attempt by kabir khan..d topic cud hav easily turned into a documentry…bt he never let d pace die.bt still dere wer some grey areas which make u sad..make u feel d pain of 9/11 nd after effects on asians
neil ws gr8 as an actor….he always is since johnny gaddar….
john i always feel is xpressionless..bt i guess dis movie ws perfect for his xpressionless expressions..:-D
katrina…beautiful as always..nd perfect fr maya.
Fathiya:first i wanna say sorry!!!I become wild if someone speak nonsense abt salman and akshay!!!
i totally agree with u that movie is not bad .It is nice movie.BuT it is not better than the movie khuda ke liye(pakistani movie,i think this is the right name).It doesnot contain that emotion which this kind of movie have to been.When u come out of hall u will not have same emotional face or u donot really think again abt the real fact it show
MosT of the critics have given it 4 star movie but i think it is 3 or 3 and half star movie out of 5.there are also few critics who have given it lower than this.THe critics name rajeev mashad of ibn has given 2 star and zoom critics given it 3 and said it doesnot feel emotion in emotional scene
NY deserve to be hiT.Since we the movie watcher have dry period of 6 month.we go for enjoyment and if it provide than it must be hit or superhit
I wish every movie to be hit especially upcoming movies like kambakkht ishq(greatest expectation of all,it must be minimum superhit or blockbuster,if this movie is not wht i expect i will sure not watch movie after than) LOveaajkal(i think this movie will be also hit or superhit) kaminey(this must be superhit or even blockbuster) Eventhough i donot like saif ali khan and not big fan of sahid but still hope movies does well
I m JusT waiting to c more good movie!!!!
this movie is simply a copy of khuda kay lia!
cheaters…………….
Abdul Hadi: no.. it’s not.. it’s not a copy of Khuda ke Liye.. I saw KKL twice.. that one is a different issue.. that one’s script is (not) about what happened post 9/11, only a part of the movie was.. but the movie New York is about this issue.. Khuda ki Liye is about music forbidden in Islam.. about how some people practice islam in a wrong way.. as well as the story about the father who lived in a sin for years with a girlfriend and didn’t remember his islam’s ethics only when he finds out that his daughter wanted to marry a british young man, whom she was in love with, and the way he ruins her life, in the name of Islam, and how some people’s attitude changes after meeting a fanatic sheikh who poisons their mind and teaches them wrong stuff about Islam.. it’s an explanation of all that.. it’s any explanation that music doesn’t harm any one in any way ( Naseeruddin Shah did a very good job in this movie) it’s like a lecture about islam.. in addition, it shows what happened during that period of time, in the 2nd half of the movie, the eldest brother was caught in US and he did nothing and was tortured.. so u can’t say that the movie New York is a copy of KKL because New York is about 3 friends who lived happily, didn’t have any problems and suddenly their life changes.
Hollywood did many movies about 9/11.. different movies, different stories.. so what? It was a big disaster in 2001, and I’m sure that bollywood will do some more stuff about 9/11 but in different ways.
Really awesome movie, with all masala needed for success.. Love, Loss, Fight, Joy, Anger, Revenge, Success.. Every possible cognitive aspect a movie can touch, you will find here… That also in an appreciate manner for perfect duration of time..
The team must be appreciated for such fine work.. It’s not just another Bollywood movie: it has its value, it’s impact, it’s great music.. all tied in a delicate and beautiful manner..
Loved it. And i know you will love it too…
Kalyan – Watch your word! SRK doesnt work with gay partners okay its just that karan, farah and aditya chopra just love his amazing work!!!! All his films are not from those three people only he knows how to socialise with other directors hes not like others get that! NO ONE can beat SRK not even your ”Akshay”!! haha!! SRK works much more harder then Akshay Kumar!!! SRK ROCKS AND WILL ALWAYS!!!!
I love you SHAHRUKH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Kalyan, This topic has nothing to do with SRK and abusing any star isn’t allowed. Comment deleted