Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante

Excellent movie! Not known much, but a movie of morality and quality. Bollywood should produce such movies, again, unfortunately, it is unknown as a film and I was astonished to know that it was 14 years' old film. We are driving ourselves towards commercial movies! An excellent life lession movie.

A blatant copy of "Trapped" starring Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon marks this horrible movie. When will the Indian directors stop making copies of Hollywood flicks? Why don't they instead copy movies of Fellini or Godard? At least they will create a good cinematic sense among the Indian audience. Apart from the acting department in which almost everyone did their very best, I don't think this movie needs any recommendation. Awful!! Yes I would say the cinematography was good, the pace was good and yes, to an audience who doesn't have a widespread Hollywood knowledge, its a top-notch thriller. But movie making is an art which needs creativity. And there is a difference between copying and being inspired. When you are copying the entire theme, the rest doesn't count for me as I know that the team has faltered in the very start. Thats why I give it a three.

What a powerhouse of a film! Konkana Sen Sharma is the mother of a young child. The father is a famous heart surgeon who has to leave town and after his departure there is a break in and the daughter is kidnapped. She has sever asthma, the members of the family each have a kidnapper or accomplice to guard them. The ante is upped every few hours and time is running out. There are escape plans, attempts to kill, and extortion, and the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat. Why has the girl been kidnapped? What do the kidnappers want? How will it all end? See the film, go on this thrill ride, to find out. You will not be disappointed by the amazing performances from Konkana Sen Sharma as the distraught mother, Irfan Khan as the cruel and disturbing kidnapper, Zakir Hussain and Sandhya Mridul as the accomplices, and Rajit Kapoor as the helpless Dad. Even the little girl is less annoying than most movie kids.

Yes there are some flaws but it all works quite well. The final resolution is shocking, and makes what came before seem in part a bit illogical.. I cannot say more without revealing the punchline - so go figure out for yourself what a couple of flaws are..

But these are minor when you look at the impact the film has. A great way to have two hours fly by!

Well, who cares? 'Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante' does get into action right from the start as it shamelessly rips off Luis Mandoki's 'Trapped'. Tanvir Khan pretty much copies every scene and even so, the execution is poor because it's made on a very low budget as a result of which it perhaps isn't as slick as it could have been. The cinematography does not do much to help. The absence of songs keeps the pace steady. The only thing that stands out in this hackneyed film is the acting. Konkona Sen Sharma does a fine job of a young Indian modern housewife and mother who is held hostage at her own house while her daughter's abducted and her husband himself is a hostage. Sandhya Mridul is spot on. Irfan Khan is wonderful and Rajit Kapoor and Zakir Hussain do very well. The child actress is horrible as she tries to copy Dakota Fanning (who was also awful). Overall, 'Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante' is a banal thriller. Tanveer Khan just proves to be another Bollywood hack.

The Director draws inspiration from Hollywood films, however, his attempts to add a twist to the story ends up making it too melodramatic. The best part is Irfan Khan playing Krish, one of the three wronged kidnappers, who has a mix of desperation and cool reserve. The rest of the characters are not great, the pace is slow and the story is a bit predictable. However, there are some thrilling sequences between actor Irrfan and director Konkona which are worth watching. The movie works in bits and pieces, but it ends up being unbelievable. This is a movie that tries too hard to have a conscience and it's a big mistake.

~ P. X.