Traffic Signal ……. Reviewed

Page 3 , Corporate and now Traffic Signal . Madhur Bhandarkar finally completes his trilogy .  Madhur’s films are always different, filled with real characters and with glimpses through the life of a common man . Other than his dismal multi starrer “Aan…Men at Work“, Madhur has always been faithful to his audiences by churning out films that are worth a watch. So does Madhur get it right for the third time in a row? Is it a Hatrick or not ? Read on to know…

What’s it about—-Traffic Signal dawns over the day to day life of beggars, street vendors, crooks, robbers, con-men, prostitutes, etc. who make a living on the traffic signal . It’s a story that we observe in our daily life but we barely care to notice . Madhur Bhandarkar brings to our notice this thriving 180 crore industry and how it operates . From beggars , to builders , to busiineesman , to ministers, to the mafia all are involved directly or indirectly in the operation of this industry . We wait at the traffic signal grumbling when the red light will turn to green , while they wait excitedly for the light to turn red.As soon as the light shifts to green ,these people at the traffic signal start their operations . In Traffic Signal there is no one basic story as such,it’s a story of several characters and their day to day struggle . A sort of main story does appear during the finishing reels of the film so as to bring the movie to a culmination,but i wouldn’t like to reveal it here.

Positives—Madhur Bhandarkar is one film maker who keeps on surprising his audience with the most novel plots be it Page 3 , Chandini Bar or Satta . But in terms of concept Traffic Signal is his most novel film to date . The potrayal of life of a multitude of people and the operation of the industry at Traffic Signal is simply amazing . Madhur’s confidence in his script and his direction is applause worthy . Madhur has filled everything from humor to sadness to romance in this wonderful movie . Credit must be given for the casting,each character fits his role completely.Not taking big names in the industry to potray roles works well for this film .  All actors play their part with great competence.
Kunal Khemu(Silsila) has definitely matured as an actor after this film . Konkona Sen,in a small role, is good as always  . Upendra Limaye(Manya) gives a very real to life performance . Ranveer Shorey is a revealation . His shift from comic roles to this role of a drug addict is fantastic.His idiosyncrasies,his style of talking,etc. is simply fantastic . Sudhir Mishra gives a decent performance but doesn’t impress much.He needs to work on his dialogue delivery . To describe each characters performance will make for a very long review as there are hundreds of characters in the films . And I must admit each of them give commendable performances .  Mahesh Limaye’s cinematography is first rate and enhances the look of the film . The look given to all the actors is also perfect and suits their characters completely

Negatives—If you are among those audiences who watch movies just to view lavish lifestyles,designer clothes and palatial homes then please keep distance from “Traffic Signal” because all that Traffic Signal will give you is slums,tattered clothes and misery . Also the film’s main story is wafer thin and the climax itself is not very innovative . But Traffic Signal is supported , not by its main story but by its infinite subplots . And that works well for the movie . The soundtrack is also a major let down . The movie also gets slightly monotonous in the second half and some taut editing could help it’s cause.

Final Verdict—- Traffic Signal is a good end to a great start of films(trilogy) of Madhur Bhandarkar . It’s hard to find such films made in our Bollywood industry . Madhur deserves a round of applause for this innnovative plot and great execution . What’s best about the film is that at no instance does it become preachy . It does not tell you what is right and what is wrong , like most Bollywood films do . Its aim is just to show the audience a ubiquitous industry that they are unaware about . Traffic Signal is definitely worth a watch . It will make you laugh with its humor and once in a while will bring a tear somewhere in the corner of the eye . So go watch Traffic Signal it is definitely Paisa Vasool .

Rating—7/10