As the first major big banner release after the resolution of producer- multiplex owner dispute, New York was supposed to woo the audiences back into the theatres. But after watching it on the big screen, I am not sure that the film would manage that feat! Earlier director Kabir Khan’s Kabul Express had rather interestingly brought the war-ravaged Afghanistan and its Taliban- story in focus. In New York, he attempts to step up the ladder and portray the Post- 9-11 proliferation of Jihadism in US. Weaving any such burning sociopolitical issue into the script of commercial cinema requires a lot of finesse. Because in such a script the characters, the events and their progressive evolution are not only supposed to explain the history and the ideology but they are also supposed to connect to the audiences at a human level. Kabir Khan’s film fails big time at that human level- it just doesn’t touch you!

New York begins well. The SWAT teams, whirring helicopters, screeching tyres, dramatic arrests and interrogation sequences in pure Hollywood style whet your appetite. Omar- a young Muslim man (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is being accused of being a terrorist. His connections with his ex-college friends Sam alias Samir Shaikh (John Abraham) and Maya (Katrina Kaif) are being probed by an FBI agent Roshan (Irrfan Khan, whose name now has dropped the Khan from it!) FBI is suspecting that Sam is running a sleeper cell of a Jihadist terror network and now Roshan wants Omar to return back his friends’ lives to get more information. Will Omar betray his friends’ trust? Is there any truth in FBI’s accusations?

The film had the potential to be a taut, suspenseful thriller. But within first twenty minutes, we realize that it is not going to be so! The character- development here means a needlessly long flashback about the three friends’ lives at New York State University featuring colorful college contests, American football and a quickly resolved love-triangle. This rather flimsy part of the film practically kills off its thriller-aspirations. First of all, none of the protagonists (barring perhaps Neil) looks anything like a young college student and secondly, it all seems like a cheap trick to include some fun and some Yashraj- masala into a serious storyline! The serious parts that follow do nothing better. The torture scenes, the terrorist acts, the investigation, the ideological explanations and the climax then keep presenting themselves in a rather predictable and none-too-convincing manner.

The film lacks the pace, the suspense and the novelty. The emotional and ideological conflicts presented here are rather superficial. The performances too are nothing much to write about. Neil Nitin Mukesh brings in sincerity but lacks intensity. John and Katrina (including their famous fleeting bed-scene!) are plain dull and uninspiring. Irrfan lends some of his charm to the proceedings but largely just seems to be going through the motions. The songs are good but could well have been chopped off to quicken up the pace. The only positive thing: Yashraj production values are superb as ever and technically the film is slick.

Terrorism-related films have now become dime- a-dozen (Read Bollywood Takes On Terrorism on cinemasangeet.com) and New York hardly brings something new to table. If you have seen Road to Guantanamo, Khuda Ke Liye or Traitor, then you have probably seen everything that is there in NY!