The movie revolves Silsila(Kunal Khemu)-a young orphan who was born and raised at the Signal and is now its manager. For Silsila, the Signal is his home, work and life all rolled into one and he is well respected here. He treats all those that work and live at the Signal as one big family however when it comes to business he’s extremely sharp too.
Silsilas “boss” is Jaffar Bhai(D.Santosh) who is the chief collector of that area and he reports to the local Mafia don Bhaijaan(Sudhir Misra). Through a series of circumstances Silsila finds himself at the centre of a larger game when an engineer is bumped off and Silsila indirectly becomes the cause for an event that puts an end to the traffic signal and those who live there.
As far as a story goes, writers Sachin Yardi and Madhur Bhandarkar have strung together a stream of extremely diverse characters ranging from a girl from Gujrat who sells outfits (Neetu Chandra), a hooker (Konkona Sen Sharma), a drug addict (Ranvir Shourey), a socialite who likes her toyboys, a kid called Tsunami as well as a homosexual who is part of the flesh trade. The first half of the story doesn’t move and one can say it’s non-existent as the focus here is on presenting the viewer with the novel experience of peeking inside a world one knew barely existed and showing the “ins” and “outs” of the business and as part of the process the viewers are also introduced to the various characters. This does prove to be a unique viewing experience as the amount of research done by the writers is truly phenomenal and shows in every frame. Some scenes shock, others make you laugh while others tug the heart strings. Rather than a story as such, Bhandarkar has directed a collage of individual moments and sewn them together in a novel manner. Just as one starts to wonder “where is this actually going” there is a twist in the tale in the second half and from there the actual story of the movie is introduced however this is the case of too little too late as the story itself isn’t exciting and lacks originality as well as coming across abrupt. One wonders why Bhandarkar didn’t start the story slightly earlier say just before or after the interval point. The screenplay of the movie by Yardi and Bhandarkar ranges from great to disappointing. The first half is superb, and the precision and detail that has gone into the depiction of the Signal dwellers is simply outstanding and deserves full marks. Yes, yet again there are times where one feels that Bhandarkar has gone more for the “shock” value when presenting his realism, however this isn’t preachy at all like say PAGE 3 which is good. The second half is odd and goes haywire due to the lack of a cohesive story which in turn muddles the screenplay.
As a director Madhur Bhandarkar must be given credit for attempting such an interesting subject and portraying a rung of society as well as a thriving “business/industry” which some of us didn’t even know existed. The depth to which Bhandarkar goes with his portrayal is truly eye-opening. He merges all the tracks of each of the individual well together, and furthermore what could’ve been a bleak and sombre venture is presented in an entertaining manner. There are plenty of laughs and moments that make you smile merged with the shocking and heart rending moments too. There are shades of his own CHANDNI BAR with the whole segment revolving around the prostitutes however it’s commendable of Bhandarkar to not retread the same material as his earlier film. Bhandarkar and his team spent months dealing with the people of the streets and looking into how the day-to-day business works, and the effort has surely translated well on-screen as he has shown the happenings with utmost realism without shying away from the truth. The get-up of all the actors is simply outstanding, and every actor looks, acts and lives the part they play which is quiet a compliment on it’s own for Bhandarkar. However one just wishes the second half didn’t fall so flat on its face. One waits for a “twist” of sorts to come, and when it does with the death Manoj Joshi, the consequent events that follow are clichéd, boring and to make matters worse the movie ends suddenly in an abrupt manner. I do understand the need to keep the movie as realistic as possible; hence there wasn’t room for any “masala” here or for our hero to take on the gangsters one-on-one however Bhandarkar could’ve surely added some more weight into the story to live up the proceedings. The manner in which Khemu becomes a witness and the movie suddenly ending comes across as a letdown. As a director I would still rank CHANDNI BAR, PAGE 3, SATTA and perhaps CORPORATE as better films on the whole simply because they are more “complete” films, however on a personal front, for its milieu, setting, ambience and characters I would rank TRAFFIC SIGNAL as his most entertaining film after PAGE 3. I have a huge weakness for films set in Mumbai city for its lifestyle and dialogues and Bhandarkar in the first half brings the city of Mumbai to life in all its rugged richness capturing the busy lifestyle with aplomb and technical finesse. However Mr. Bhandarkar….please concentrate just as much on the story as you have on the setting, theme and characters next time so the end product doesn’t comes across as being half baked.
Apart from the novel experience of watching a business almost invisible to the human eye, the other major USP is the performances.
The movie features a range of actors and most of them leave a lasting impression.
Kunal Khemu is simply fantastic! After KALYUG, the young boy impresses again oozing confidence and getting right into the skin of his character. Right from his get-up, delivery, dialogues and body language, Khemu is a complete natural. He brings an immense amount of boyish, street-smart charm to Silsila which works very well in the movie. Indeed a talented boy who can come a long way with the right movies.
Neetu Chandra who made her debut as a glam-doll in Priyadarshans GARAM MASALA is effective here in her second film as she does a complete turn-around from her first. She looks the part she plays and performs ably as well as looking naturally pretty.
Konkona Sen Sharma isn’t the central protagonist here like PAGE 3; however she plays her part with absolute conviction and leaves her mark. She breaths fire into her role, and her expressions and dialogues are just outstanding.
Ranvir Shorey has become an actor I look forward to in EVERY movie much like Boman Irani. Infact I would go as far as to say I would watch a movie just to catch this talented actor at work, and after some brilliant comic performances in KHOSLA KA GHOSLA, PYAAR KE SIDE EFFECTS he springs a complete surprise in a totally diverse role proving his versatility as an actor. He is without a doubt one of the most talented actors to come out of Bollywood in recent times, and his act as a drug addict is ample proof. The slow disintegration of his character has been expression flawlessly and Ranvirs eyes speak a thousand words here as they get more and more sunken and dead each time he is on-screen. His demise is infact one of the most touching moments in the movie.
Upendra Limaye is natural to the core and performs very well. D.Santosh is good in his small part. Manoj Joshi is as reliable as ever. Director Sudhir Misra makes his bow as a director and plays his part as an underworld Don quiet well though appears raw in parts.
The child artistes who play the various street kids are remarkable too.
Technically the movie is first-rate! Devoid of any glam-sham the movie the movie has been shot in a totally natural manner and cameraman Mahesh Limaye captures the movie superbly. One can “feel” the streets of Mumbai here and the ambience and atmosphere Limaye creates is well done. Special mention must also be made of the costumes and clothing wore by the characters as well as the make-up. Costume designer Shefalina deserves distinction marks, as the costumes and make-up look very REAL and adds a lot to making the movie an authentic watch.
The music in the movie is a letdown by Shamir Tandon. The movie features two situational songs which are placed well but instantly forgettable. The last track is an item number which is catchy and picturised extremely well.
On the whole TRAFFIC SIGNAL is definitely worth a dekkho once. It’s realistic treatment and the presentation is a real eye-opener ensuring the slice-of-life drama is definitely an interesting watch though SALAAM BOMBAY this is not. The movie is letdown by an extremely weak story, and more-so a weak second half as well as a rushed finale, however some fantastic performances and expertly canned sequences ensure that this is not a boring watch though Mr. Bhandarkars formula is wearing thin slowly.
Final Rating: * * * ¾
