Random review: No one killed Jessica

Ah. First Hindi movie of the year in the theatre. I didn't want it to be a serious one, but I did want to catch 'No one killed Jessica' just because Raj Kumar Gupta's first movie 'Aamir' was just so mind-blowingly awesome. So, there we were, the usual trio of Pizzadude, Viv and me at Jade yesterday. And here, as usual, are my random thoughts about the movie:

• I always wondered why the movie was titled 'No one killed Jessica'. Why didn't they pick a Hindi title, or simply 'Jessica' (to follow 'Aamir')? Then I read that after the accused got off scot-free to everyone's shock, newspapers reported the news with the headline 'No one killed Jessica' to show the irony. Hmmm. Interesting and creative. Now I really like the title.
  
  
• Most reviews I read have raved about Vidya Balan's restrained performance in the movie. I, however, felt that perhaps it was a bit too restrained. My image of Sabrina Lall was of a fiery, spirited, brave and relentless woman who never gave up, even though it took her years to get justice. Vidya's character, however, seemed kind of passive and boring. I read that Vidya never met Sabrina, maybe she should have?
  
  
• It was refreshing to see Rani Mukherjee get away from the mould and try her hand at playing such an interesting character. I thought she pulled off the fearless, swear-word-spouting reporter role quite well, even though it's not her home territory.
  
  
• Rani looked thinner than usual in the movie. But when she went on Bigg Boss to promote the movie, she looked her plump self.
  
  
• Speaking of Bigg Boss, did anyone catch that episode? Salman invited Raj Kumar Gupta on stage and said, "Aapne Aamir banayi, bahut achhi thi. Ab Salman kab bana rahe ho?" Hey bhagwaaaaaaaan. Like one of my friends said, Sallu is so bad he's good.
  
  
• Speaking of interesting characters, the policeman played by Rajesh Sharma was amazingly written. Very intriguing.
  
  
• The actress Myra, who played Jessica, was hot and pretty at the same time. A rare combination. And she looks a lot like the real Jessica Lall.
  
  
• I kept wondering why they gave Vidya such dowdy clothes, and how come the two sisters in the movie looked and dressed so very differently. Until I saw pictures of the real life Sabrina Lall. Google her. You'll also go "Ah ok." like me.
  
  
• Okay I need to ask you this if you watched the movie in the theatre. Did everyone in the audience burst out laughing every time Monu's mother appeared on screen? We did! She was ridiculous!
  
  
• I wondered why they only kept the original names of Jessica and Sabrina and changed the others like Bina Ramani, Malini Ramani, Sayan Munshi and Ram Jethmalani (Shyam Tolani?? ROFL!). And Vikram Jai Singh doesn't even sound like a Bong name.
  
  
• Also, why didn't they stick to the original investigators Tehelka and Star News instead of giving all the credit to NDTV?
  
  
• The music is really nice, especially the song 'Yeh pal' by Shilpa Rao. She has such an awesome voice, I loved her 'Ek lau' in 'Aamir' too. Oh, don't listen to 'Dilli' too many times, you will get so addicted it will drive you nuts.
  
  
• Loved the guys who played APJ Abdul Kalam and Manmohan Singh. The heads (no pun intended) were spot-on!
  
  
• The dialogue was really good. I liked this one in particular. "Mujhe ek karod nahin chahiye they. Lekin mujhe ek goli bhi nahin khani thi." Though he became the laughing stock of everyone with his 'I don't know Hindi' statement, he did give us something to think about. What would we have done in his shoes?
  
  
• Overall, I hope the movie becomes a huge hit, not because it's better than 'Aamir' (it isn't), but because 'Aamir' didn't get its due and at least Raj Kumar Gupta should.