too boring .. acting is good but still boring

As always Vishal Bharadwaj produces a GEM. Classic performance by all characters, especially Pankj Kapoor. Must watch for every one. 4 out of 5 stars for it.

Like in Omkaraa the director(Vishal Bharadwaj) has chosen excellent actors. The top honors of the acting goes to Panjak Kapoor as Abbaji. and Tabu as Nimmi. Pankaj Kapoor’s acting is very intense at the same time very controlled. Not like some of the stupid villains in our commercial Hindi and Tamil films with their gimmicks and stylizations. Tabu is one of our best actresses in the Indian film circuit. Her sexual innuendos are spoken with a charming and provocative manner even when fully clothed . Irfan as Miyan gives an excellent support to these two actors. The cameo performances are from Om puri and Nasruddin Shah as the corrupt policemen. In this film they raise the level of performance to the peak with their dry humor.

All in all an excellent film which can be seen more than once to understand the nuances of Bharadwaj’s direction.

Did you know that Vishal Bharadwaj originally wanted to cast Akshay Kumar as Maqbool which later went to Irfan Khan. Akshay Kumar no doubt could have played the role well but what about those gin soaked eyes of Irfan Khan that do not act drunk at all. Could Akshay Kumar reflect so many emotions through such tiny props? Akshay could have used method. Irfan uses madness. This Shakespearean adaptation of Macbeth is as Indian and tragic as the Bard could have got in English. Tabu and Pankaj Kapur equally elevate this dark, moody piece of filmmaking beyond a certain construct of technical restrictions to an almost surreal horror of realism. The assembled cast of theatre and television actors exceptionally bandy around the three main protagonists to flesh out a claustrophobic drama of human desires. I have never been able to wake up from the torpor that hit me when I first saw Maqbool and with each repeat viewing I try to grasp every minute of its overwhelming excellence.