Johnny Gaddaar

Johnny Gaddaar (or Johnny Traitor) by director Sriram Raghavan is a delicious blend of film noir and thriller/suspense/caper genre elements, with 70s Hindi movie Retro ambiance deftly weaved into the fabric of the film. If you haven't seen it yet, I suggest you skip the rest of this post (spoiler warning) and go watch the movie now. Otherwise, enjoy the various pieces of trivia that follow:

Best Scenes:

• Undoubtedly, the 15 minute or so train sequence is the most brilliantly executed part of the movie. There is something surreal about the relentless presence of the ambient sounds at various points as the train moves from one location/time to another. The compartment is perfectly claustrophobic as well.
  
• When Seshadri discovers who the 'Gaddaar' is (whirring fan, dead wife's tapes ...awesome)
• Shardul's expression when he realizes who the Gaddaar is (Gaddaar, indeed! in several ways)

Key Stuff:

• Movie-Parwana (source of Johnny G's plan)
• Movie-Johnny Mera Naam (source of Johnny G's alias)
• Homage to Vijay Anand's movies (Jewel Thief, Teesri Manzil and Johnny Mera Naam)
• During the fateful train journey, Johnny G is reading the novel 'The Whiff of Money' by James Hadley Chase ('Crime Never Pays' is a common moral in Chase novels)
  
• Story comes full circle. The Gaddaar is revealed right at the beginning (so this isn't a whodunit). The events that lead up to the final surprise hold center stage.
• The protagonist isn't evil, but chance plays a key role in how the character mutates.
• Terrific soundtrack, weaving in 70s songs which you can never be quite sure if they really existed in some 70s movie or if they just sound like 70s songs made in 2007 (I'm guessing some are remixes of old songs, some of them are original, but 70s sounding)
• Some resemblance between personalities of Johnny G and Talented Mr. Ripley
• The money counting machine fails to detect the counterfeit notes.
• The movie 'Pulp Fiction' is full of homages to other movies (the story comes full circle as well). Same for Johnny G.
  

Other movie/book references within the movie (no major plot connection):

• The Guide (character reading the novel by R.K. Narayan)
• Amitabh Movies: Zanjeer, Deewaar, Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony, Don, Satte pe Satta
• Anand
• Shaukeen
• Scarface
• Eyes Wide Shut
• Titanic, Citizen Kane (Shardul's marriage is not working, wife doing jigsaws)

Next on my list: Manorama Six Feet Under