Calcutta Mail
Saw Calcutta Mail on the first day of its release.My friend was insisting on Kuch Naa Kaho, but I cannot resist the temptation of seeing a thriller on the first day of its release. I came back with mixed feelings.

Synopsis
Calcutta Mail is the story of a Avinash (Anil Kapoor giving a good performance, as is expected of him) who arrives in the city of Calcutta in search of a Lakhan Yadav (Sayaji Shinde in a very insipid performance. Been there done that, trying to be menacing with a Bihari accent even though his Marathi roots show through in the dialogues.)
He takes a room in a chawl, where he has to share a room with (Rani Mukherjee; looking good, but grating on the nerves). She writes novels, and to get an authentic perspective, lives in a chawl. The goings on start getting murkier by the minute, and blood is shed a plenty before we get to know the reason for the goings on.
By the time the story gets explained, you have lost interest in the fate of Anil Kapoor, and the only person you feel sorry for is yourself to have sat through all of this.
Manisha Koirala makes an appearance in the flashback, and looks ethereal(You might take this with a pinch of salt, as I used to be a big Manisha fan earlier).
Satish Kaushik also shows his histrionic skills as a politician.
Saurabh Shukla does not impress with his here today gone tomorrow Bengali accent.
I cannot give away much of the story in this synopsis, as the way the story is unfolded makes for good viewing.

Analysis
Anil Kapoor does not disappoint in a role that is tailormade for him. His role though reminds you of his recent ill-fated, badly made enterprise "Rishtey". Rani Mukherjee tries to make the best of her half-baked characterisation. Manisha Koirala doesn't have much scope to perform except to look good, which is a gargantuan task for her after she put on so much weight. She succeeds partly. Satish Kaushik is ok, Sayaji Shinde is passable.
Saurabh Shukla does shine through in some scenes, but the overall feel is disappointing.

Technique
When I thought of going for a movie directed by Sudhir (Is Raat Ki Subah Nahi) Mishra, I was absolutely confident of what I should expect. But, unfortunately, the brilliant director seems to have fallen prey to commercial considerations.
The songs come in at alarming intervals, and disturb the flow of the movie. Some of the locales which are tried to be passed off as Bihar seem absolutely unauthentic.
The script has been written by Sudhir Mishra with Ruchi Narain and Saurabh Shukla. The first half of the movie, barring the songs is absolutely relentless in its pace.
Dialogues by Saurabh Shukla are run of the mill.
Cinematography by Ravi Chandran helps to build the gritty story through its claustrophobic view of Calcutta.
I cannot comment without bias on music by Anand Raaj Anand and lyrics by Javed Akhtar as these are unnecessary in the film.


Sidelights
1) Not many know that Sudhir Mishra was the person responsible for co-scripting the cult classic "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron" with Kundan Shah. As a light aside, Ravi Baswani's character was also named Sudhir Mishra in the film. Moreover, the character of Naseerudin Shah was called Vinod Chopra.
2) He has also scripted little known but much appreciated films for Vidhu Vinod Chopra (Khamosh) and Saeed Mirza's (Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho).
3) He has also assisted Vidhu Vinod Chopra in directing "1942 - A Love Story"
4) Sudhir Mishra has also written the script of all his own films (Dharavi, Is Raat Ki Subah Nahi)
5) Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit had bit roles in Sudhir Mishra's "Dharavi".
6) He is slated to take over the task of the late director Anant Balani for his Kareena Kapoor, Rahul Bose starrer and Pritish Nandy produced "Chameli"
7) This movie is a remake of a Telugu hit "Choodalani Vundi" starring Chiranjeevi and Anjala Zhaveri. Anil Kapoor approached Sudhir Mishra to direct it, and Sudhr Mishra refused at first, but later relented after he was given the authority to remake it in his own way. So, he kept the basic premise of the film, and rewrote the whole script.

Verdict
Would I recommend this movie to someone?
To tell the truth, I had a headache after I watched the movie. This was due to the incessant blood and gore. Mind this, I am not against such stuff, but it got to a point where the audience went beyond caring about the goings on.
If you are an Anil Kapoor fan, go for it. He has turned in a great performance.
Fans of Sudhir Mishra like me will be disappointed as we expect a stark realistic film from him. It is certainly a let down to see him bow down to commercial considerations and film dream sequence songs in foreign locales.
I would reccomend such people to see "Is Raat Ki Subah Nahi" again.