Johnny Gaddaar (2007)

I have a simple test of a masterpiece. Once you come out of the theater do you masticate the movie in your mind, going over every character, discussing their nuances, idiosyncrasies, opining on the modus operandi and going home to listen to the soundtrack. Johnny comes through on all these counts. A brilliantly scripted, directed and edited tale with convincing performances by the players. There is not a moment which allows you to leave the theater even if the nature's call is of particular urgent nature. The lead actor, Nel Mukesh, does fit the bill in his role as the cold killer but then on a neutral ground I was not too impressed with his histrionics capabilities. The credit goes to the director for riding with all the actors, unique in their own right, and blending them better that those Hawaiin cocktails with little umbrellas on them. Every Hindi thriller that I have seen, be it Don II or Dhoom, I have always tried to guess the twist and have succeeded, more often than not. Well, happy to admit that Johnny G got the better of me. With so many gray characters floating around, twists come dime a dozen and well thought through at that. The movie surely stands as among the top ten best made Hindi movies in my list.