Metro…In
Dino’s
assembly
of
actors
exhaust
all
their
charm
at
the
end
of
this
messy
musing
on
metropolitan
monotony,
observes
Sukanya
Verma.
When
Anurag
Basu
made
Life
In
A…Metro
in
2007,
Bollywood
anthologies
were
still
a
novelty
for
moviegoers.
Add
to
that,
its
musical
roots
by
Pritam’s
sutradhar
in
rock
band
mode
lend
the
storytelling
a
refreshing
momentum.
By
the
time
he
created
Ludo
in
late
2020,
his
maverick
multi-narrative
crime
drama
was
another
stylish
addition
in
the
genre
that
hit
the
overkill
mark
during
the
pandemic.
Circa
2025,
audiences
have
grown
increasingly
picky
with
a
poor
attention
span
flitting
more
towards
streaming
than
screen.
Metro…In
Dino,
Basu’s
soul
sequel
to
its
mid-2000s
predecessor,
is
a
reflection
of
this
fuzzy
mind
chronicling
a
dozen
or
so
protagonists
caught
in
a
clutter
of
chaos
and
conflict.
Slice-of-life,
coming-of-age,
rom-com,
couples
therapy,
love
triangle,
teenage
woes,
mid-life
crisis,
Metro…In
Dino‘s
mish-mash
of
themes
across
Mumbai,
Delhi,
Kolkata,
Bengaluru
and
Pune
is
a
hurricane
in
need
of
calmer
hands.
Instead,
Basu’s
trademark
whimsy
revels
in
sending
his
characters
round
and
round
in
circles
until
they’ve
spun
long
enough
and
collapsed
in
a
tizzy.
More
rueful
than
romantic
than
in
its
outlook,
its
humour
stems
from
the
eternal
realisation
of
illusion
versus
reality
as
married
couples
and
singles
grapple
with
disappointments
and
dreams.
In
little
less
than
three
hours,
Metro…In
Dino
crams
in
infidelity,
abortion,
career
choices,
sexual
orientation,
second
marriages,
office
harassment
and
toxic
masculinity
in
ways
that
feel
more
superficial
than
sympathetic.
There’s
an
awfully
predictable
pattern
in
every
single
character’s
emotional
growth
every
time
one
snips
off
her
hair
as
a
mark
of
liberation
or
screams
her
lungs
out
and
seeks
closure.
The
problems
remain
the
same
and
so
does
Basu’s
treatment.
For
a
long
time,
the
movie
meanders
only
to
perk
up
occasionally
every
time
Pankaj
Tripathi
shows
up
on
a
dating
app.
Pritam
and
Co
resume
their
melodious
narrator
duties
introducing
its
assorted
bunch
across
a
musical
of
rhymes
emanating
the
air
and
amusement
of
jingles-meet-Jagga
Jasoos.
Most
of
the
inhabitants
of
Basu’s
Metro-verse
are
related
by
blood
or
bump
into
each
other
in
his
oddball
idea
of
meet-cute.
Of
these
Sara
Ki
Shayari
is
probably
the
reason
the
filmmaker
roped
in
Sara
Ali
Khan
—
otherwise
overshadowed
by
her
look-at-my-look
in
a
jarring
wig,
nose
ring
and
glasses
with
traces
of
Love
Aaj
Kal‘s
hokey
hangover
as
she
alternates
between
corporate
chic,
clumsy
and
clueless.
It’s
good
to
see
Konkona
Sen
Sharma
back
on
the
Metro
bandwagon
as
the
delightfully
bungling
love
fool
Pankaj
Tripathi’s
miffed
missus
charting
the
course
of
their
dull
marriage.
Providing
the
fuel
for
Sara’s
romantic
confusion,
Aditya
Roy
Kapoor
sticks
to
his
cool
Casanova
vibe
like
he
does
in
every
other
movie.
Meanwhile,
Ali
Fazal
and
Fatima
Sana
Shaikh
portray
a
young
marriage
crumbling
under
life
goals
colliding
with
social
ambitions.
Their
arc
is
far
more
complicated
than
the
details
Basu
wants
to
delve
into.
Yet,
the
duo’s
throbbing
intensity
renders
it
deeply
heartfelt.
Anupam
Kher,
Neena
Gupta,
Saswata
Chatterjee
are
relegated
to
whiny
oldies
with
problems
that
look
as
dragged
out
as
Metro…In
Dino‘
length.
Secondary
characters,
including
a
cameo
from
Basu
and
fellow
film-maker
Imtiaz
Ali,
are
hastily
squeezed
into
its
sometimes
hectic,
sometimes
hurried
pace.
Its
assembly
of
actors
infuse
a
sense
of
genuineness
but
exhaust
all
their
charm
at
the
end
of
this
messy
musing
on
metropolitan
monotony.
Pritam’s
songs
are
tuneful
but
far
from
groundbreaking.
The
writing
is
sharp
but
not
razor.
Confusing
Siri
for
a
sex
expert
is
neither
wise
nor
witty.
Ditto
for
the
unadventurous
third
act,
wherein
just
as
Metro…In
Dino
appears
to
get
audacious
only
to
completely
lose
steam.
For
all
its
repent
now
regret
later
reckless
talk
on
risk-taking,
Metro…In
Dino‘s
ultimately
safe
acceptance
of
life
resists
every
opportunity
to
step
outside
the
norm.
Metro…In
Dino
Review
Rediff
Rating:
