This is a slap on the Dabanggs and Tees Maar Khans of the world who think that the audience wants to watch shit in the name of 'Entertainment'. Movie making as i see it is as basic as story telling and NOJK does exactly the same. It tells you a story. A Story which everybody is already aware of and still keeps you on the edge of your seat in every single sequence. A Story where you know what is going in the end but still immerses you in the journey and not the destination. Cinema is not only about mindless 'entertainment', it is also about showcasing our society, it is nothing but a mirror of our surroundings. and THAT is exactly what NOKJ does, in a hard core, non apologetic way. It shows us the dirt in our system and how people can give power and when time comes they can take the power back as well. All it takes is one joint effort.
The subject itself is so strong that even an average film could come out to be nothing short of brilliant, but the way the director takes the story to a different level altogether is mind blowing. The movie should bring out emotions in even the most cold blooded movie goers. Even to those, who hardly care about the 'storytelling' or the social significance of cinema. Hats off to Raj Kumar Gupta for keeping it real and maintaining the perfect balance between the commercial and the artistic parts. On one hand he takes two mainstream actors since otherwise the movie will not sell and nobody will come to the theaters no matter how good the movie is. On the other hand he takes an entirely new support cast, where almost no one has done any (noticable) roles earlier and takes out the best performance possible from their limited screen time or one or two dialogues only. I think more than an actors' film, this is an absolute writer/director's film.
Vidya Balan (as expected) does a very realistic portrayal of Sabrina Lal. Rani Mukherjee also does justice to her cocky/bitchy portrayal of the news anchor although at a few places you might feel that she is doing the bitchy bit a bit too much and it was all unnecessary. I just wish that somebody else was taken in place of (ex VJ) Neil for Vikram's role. Rajesh Sharma does well in his police officer role and a special mention must be made of a 2 minute dialogue of the guy who did Manu Sharma's role. Also the girl who portrays jessica does her part so well in the two or three scenes that she gets, especially in the flash back bits that you desperatly want her killer to go down in the end.
I also loved the unapologetic tone of the movie, be it in the usage of cuss words throughout the movie or mock the socialites like bina ramani or lawyer ram jethmalani. I think the movie is a slap on their faces as well. Throughout the movie, you feel ashamed of living in a society where a man kills a woman surrounded by 300 people and no one has the guts to just say the truth.
Although the movie could have been about 15 mins shorter but i guess i am ready to discount all that given the fact that someone atleast had the balls to stand up and show us our real face and does what movies are supposed to do apart from 'entertain' especially through some crazy writing. Some of the dialogues are so hard hitting that they show you the 'real' world that we live in. My favorite ones being 'Mujhe 1 Crore nahi chahiye, But Mujhe 1 Goli bhi nahi Khani' and 'Sab Khaate hain madam, but fark padta hai Kisliye'
Overall: A Brilliant start to the new year and a MUST watch at any cost movie.
Feel-O-MeteR: 10/10 (Yes, you read it write, i have written 10/10)
PS: Yes, I understand that on a 'movie' front its an 8/10 but for me just the fact that the movie plays its 'social' role in this case and is a brave effort in itself. The Subject itself counts for 2 extra points in my books :)