I M 24 Review

'I M 24' is a feature film which released on 31st August, 2012. It has been directed by Saurabh Shukla and stars Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Rajat Kapoor, Manjari Fadnis, Vijay Raaz and others. The film is produced by Arindam Chaudhuri under the banner of Planman Motion Pictures. I M 24 belong to the genre of comedy.

Story : The story of 'I M 24' revolves around 2 strugglers, who want to join and succeed in Bollywood. The duo comprises of a writer Shubendu (Rajat Kapoor) and an actor Gagan (Ranvir Shorey). Shubendu is 42 years old and is bald headed. He laments the absence of female companions in his life due to his poor look. While chatting with Kanak (Manjari Fadnis) on an internet site, he falls in love with her but doesn't want to reveal her his real age as she is 22 years old beautiful lady. His love for the beauty tempts him to lie that he is just 24 and thus the title of the film 'I M 24'. Shubendu's roommate Gagan helps him in cooking up the stories. Things become difficult when Kanak wants to meet him as she is coming to Mumbai for a beauty pageant. Shubendu has seen her on the internet due to her webcam but Kanak doesn't know as to how he looks. And then follows a hilarious ride of lies, goof-ups and cover-ups, which is initially enjoyed by Shubendu but later a time comes when he finds it difficult to lie further. The film has a predictable climax.

Performance : Though the chemistry between Rajat Kapoor and Ranvir Shorey is not that good as it was in 'Bheja Fry', the two have performed impressively. Other actors such as Saurabh Shukla and especially Vijay Raaz have performed well. Vijay Raaz's presence on the screen may give you some relief by making you laugh a bit. Neha Dhupia has also fared quite well but unfortunately she had not much to do in the film.

Script : Script is not impressive. Story and dialogues seem stale. And there are many loopholes in the screenplay too. The writer has nothing new to present in the tech savvy world. The pace of the first part of the film is moderate but the second half has become sluggish and tiring.

Direction : Actor-writer-director Saurabh Shukla has tried to entertain the audiences by showing about struggle of actors and writer in the Bollywood. He has impressively portrayed the character of a producer and has shared his filmi knowledge with his audience every now and then. He could have picked another topic for making a film as the issue dealt with in this movie is not fresh for the Hindi film audiences.

Though, the director has tried to make the film a commercial one with the help of dream sequences and unnecessary songs, his movie hardly looks a commercial movie. As a director he has tried to impress the general audiences with the use of slate and hackneyed dialogues intent but fails to do so. A much better and fun-riding film is expected from the director.

Conclusion : There is nothing new in this film which you have not seen earlier in Bollywood films. The cast and crew of this film may not succeed in attracting huge audience to the theatres. The songs are also not catchy and have not become popular. As a producer, Arindam Chaudhuri has won 3 National Awards but this film will neither fetch him an awards nor earn him sufficient revenue. He is often referred to as the 'management guru' but he failed to promote his own film successfully. Good promotion along with good content could have yield better result. Today the audience has become intelligent; hence you can't offer the same type of product again and again. So director Saurabh Shukla should have selected a better script for his directorial venture.

Box Office Prediction : It appears quite difficult for this movie to sustain life at the theatres and earn much revenue like other commercial ones.

Verdict : 'I M 24' is an average movie. Only the die-hard fans of Rajat Kapoor or Ranvir Shorey may find the movie watchable. For the remaining audience, it won't be a bad idea to give it a miss.