Inside Corporate!

Everything is fair in Love and Corporate Warfare. That’s precisely the theme of this week’s release, aptly titled ‘Corporate’. Director Madhur Bhandarkar is back after the critically acclaimed and commercially successful ‘Page 3’. After giving a multi dimensional viewpoint about the lives-n-fetishes of up-market party people, he paints the ruthless-n-sharp ‘Deals’ of the business world with a penchant for being oblivious to the sensitivities of people involved in it.

Corporate is made memorable by some brilliant performances by a battery of fine actors, but undoubtedly the surprise packet is Bipasha Basu who as the high flying Vice President of Sehgal Group of Industries, dazzles with a touching-the-heart performance. Her beau Ritesh Sahani (Kay Kay Menon) is the brother in law of hot shot Vinay Sehgal (Rajat Kapoor), the Chairman of Rs 200, 000/ crore SGI. His immediate rival Dharmesh Marwah (Raj Babbar) would stoop to any level to stay a step ahead. Be it the Business awards, lucrative business contracts or pocketing the most influential of politicians, Marwah Group pips its nearest rivals at the post.

The boardroom battle hots up when Nishi steals a major Marwah project and ensures that Ritesh heads it. The ensuing battle resembles the cola war where pesticides are detected in the Sehgal brand, Just Chill. Ambitious Vinay Sehgal goes ahead with his plans in spite of the negative report of FDA. It goes without saying, Marwah gets back to him and soils his image completely. In all this hullabaloo of opportunism, the love of live-in couple Nishi and Ritesh has to deal with tough times. What they do, whether they manage to ride the tide is the crux of the story. Or, in other words, there is no scope for emotions in the Corporate world. They learn it the hard way. And they thought they knew everything.

Bipasha Basu has given the best performance of her career. Her suave chic look, dapper suits, closely cropped hair and moist eyes convey a hell lot of misery and claustrophobic loneliness. Hope to see her more often in roles of substance for she can carry off serious stuff with elan. And obviously she has had her fill of glamorous bimbette song-n-dance; it’s time for the real thing baby. Kay Kay Menon is a smoldering lava of perfection. His restless energy and deep dark eyes can do magic with the vocabulary of silence. Rajat Kapoor as Vinay Sehgal is another bright spark. In fact he is a total surprise. For his calm exterior inhabits an ambitious monster. Raj Babbar as Dharmesh Marwah justifies his reputation of being a fine actor. But the disappointments are the two young guns Minisha Lamba and Sammir Dattani who are completely wasted in spectator parts.

Shamir Tandon’s music is good only for Kailash Kher’s rocking qawwali ‘O Sikandar’. As for Madhur Bhandarkar’s direction, then hats off to this master creator. For, he takes chances with the idiom of stream of consciousness. He also takes the requisite risks by shocking the viewer sensibility by showing the stark naked truth. He never deviates from his vision to accommodate cinematic liberties or ensconce an extra song. But still, it is not as if ‘Corporate’ doesn’t have its loopholes. The prolific usage of technical business jargons can be bothersome at several junctures. Maybe it is the requirement of the context of the film, but after a point of time it gives a feel of an audio visual presentation on the difficult life of the Corporate world. Somehow, he also seemed too impressed with his earlier hit ‘Page 3’ for the narrative proceeds in the similar manner and the drivers of head honchos of big companies continue to discuss about their bosses in lewd terms. But, is it worth a stroll into the movie theatre. Yes, sure it is! As for its Box Office verdict, then it’s gonna recover its cost for sure. And yeah, the director is very clear that he is aiming the multiplex crowd. He won’t be disappointed, for the party people need something to discuss. Right! It’s time to head for the Corporate guys!