Cast: Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vinay Varmani, Vikram, Tabu, Isha sharwani Director: Bejoy Nambiar Genre: Crime, Drama Rating: 2.5/5 Movie Reviewed At: PVR Cinemas, Udaipur

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Rain falls gently; Vinay Varmani’s David stands towering, with braided hair and a hockey stick in his hand. Four goons dash towards him while a powerhouse track plays in the background and with gorgeous slo-mo sequences, our angst ridden protagonist bashes them unapologetically. You want to know the core flavor of David? It’s style! The David of 1975 (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is the right hand of the feared Mafia in London. The story further complicates when he stumbles upon secrets that were not known to him and all together falls for Mafia Ghani’s daughter as in a paper book tragedy. Vinay Varmani’s David is an aspiring guitarist/singer in a politically boiling Mumbai of 1999. He gets his big break but the dream falters and crumbles as his devout catholic father faces humiliation at the hands of a Hindu religious group. The third David (Vikram) is a fisherman in Goa, 2010, who faces inner conflicts as the girl who he loves madly, Roma (Isha Sharwani), is about to tie knot with his best buddy in 10 days. It is in the enthralling sense of audio and visual aesthetics, in which the heart of David lies. The way with which Bejoy Nambiar directs this saga is spellbinding and one needs to hold his jaw so as to stop it from falling on the floor time and again. Be it the smashing of heads on the folk tunes of Goa or the B&W aura of the story set in London, Bejoy Nambiar shows a maddening passion in portraying them. While there are some scenes you just can’t forget (viz, Neil Nitin Mukesh’s breathtaking entry), some of the sequences seems to stretch till eternity; especially Vikram’s story, which is sans of any purpose and connotation.  The pure aimlessness of this tale acts like a perfect lullaby and it feels overstretched and completely pointless. What sweeps you off your feet is Neil Nitin Mukesh’s David. The way he walks, the way he talks, the way he fires and the way his arc unfolds, one word, mind-blowing! Watch it when an advisor darkly utters to him, “Tere aankhon mein David, bahut hi ranjh aur takleef hai!” And tell me if you don’t have Goosebumps all over your arms! When all could have been the dawning of a masterpiece for David, it is the inconsistent pacing and the dingy climax that pulls away some of the punches. And yes, what was the need to connect the dots between various eras? A consistent theme would have done the same job. A lesson learned I guess. David is experimental cine-making that dares to blow conventions to winds with its stunning cinematography but ultimately leaves you cold. It takes two and a half hour to arrive at a conclusion that regardless of all the flair and elegance wrapped up on its sleeves, feels like a vanity fair.