Rajkummar Rao and actress Patralekha co-star in Hansal Mehta’s CityLights 2014
Indian production CityLights, which is a drama. It is a remake of the 2013 British film Metro Manila, which was nominated for a BAFTA
Despite having a limited release on 350 screens, CityLights was a hit because to its modest production costs and steady box office earnings.[5]
Plot
The life of Deepak Singh (Rajkumar Rao), a former Indian Army driver who now runs a clothing store in a Rajasthani village, is entangled in a web of destitution, hopelessness, and frustration. Rakhi, who is portrayed by Patralekha, and their young daughter Mahi make up Deepak’s family. He cannot pay back the money he owes for his store, so they accompany him on his voyage to Mumbai. When Deepak arrives in Mumbai, he uses extreme tactics to look for him because he has no contacts or addresses other than that of his friend Omkar.
Two scam artists deceive Deepak by offering to sell him a flat for Rs 10,000, then taking off with the money. The Mumbai police decline to report them because they have no information about them. His wife encounters an escort working at a nightclub who offers them temporary housing in a building that is still under construction and persuades her to work as a bar dancer until Deepak gets a job.
Deepak accepts a position as a driver for a privately held security company, earning Rs 15,000 per month. Manav Kaul, who plays Deepak’s senior coworker Vishnu, knows that he is naive and undertakes several favors for him to win his trust. Later, Vishnu explains his plans to rob a package the security service is transporting. When Deepak violently objects to the concept of the theft, Vishnu uses his knowledge that he has hidden a box that he previously took in Deepak’s home as leverage to threaten him. Deepak agrees to the risky scheme of taking the keys to this box because he feels cornered. However, during the robbery, Vishnu is ambushed and killed. Rakhi loses her job in the meanwhile. When Deepak discovers the box that his senior had taken in his home, he devises a strategy to guarantee Rakhi and Mahi’s safe return to their hometown.
The plot of the film concludes when he is killed while trying to take the agency’s keys, but thanks to a cunning move, he is still able to give Rakhi the imprint of the key for the box he stole. Rakhi is filled with memories of Deepak and their joyful past as she and Mahi return to the countryside.
Cast
Deepak Singh Patralekha is portrayed by Rajkummar Rao. As a Rakhi, Paul David Singh
As Vishnu, Manav Kaul
Boss Mhatre is played by Sadiya Siddiqui as Sudha Pramod Pathak.
Waqar is portrayed by Khushboo Upadhyay as Sonali by Resh Lamba
Mahi Singh, played by Vaibhavi Upadhyay, is Deepak and Rakhi’s daughter.
Patralekha, the stage name of actress Anwita Paul, made her acting debut in the production CityLights. The production company withheld her name until the trailer was published since Paul was dating the lead actor Rao. The directors ignored the question when the media persisted in asking about the starring actress.[6]
Ajay Bahl was originally scheduled to direct the movie, however owing to creative disagreements, Hansal Mehta took his position.[7] It was announced in December 2013 that filming will start in Rajasthan.[3][8]
The movie’s initial release date of May 1, 2014, was subsequently moved to May 30, 2014.[9] At a Mumbai event on May 5, 26 minutes of video were shown in advance.[3]
List of songs No. Title Artist(s) Length
First, “Muskurane”5:34 in Arijit Singh
“Darbadar” 2.Niti Mohan4:22
“Ek Charraiya” 3.4:46 Arijit Singh
- “Citylights” (the song’s title)Rashid Khan, Ustad3:23
Five. “Soney Do”4:27 Arijit Singh
“Ek Charraiya” (Unplugged) 6.J. E. T. Gannguli4:47 - “Muskurane” (Audio Only)Irfan Mohammad Ali4:59
32:18 in length overall
critical acclaim
According to the Times of India, Dev Agarwal’s “Citylights” has stunning cinematography. Pictures of the family sleeping next to a mound of trash, a “3BHK” in a construction zone, Deepak gazing into a vast sea of utter hopelessness, and a broken bicycle in a courtyard stand out. The family’s move sticks with you as a vivid fresh experience, yet at times, its sojourn in the city brings back memories of previous experiences.[12]
Hansal Mehta’s direction makes Citylights “intensely gripping and thought-provoking; the interplay of emotions and how the couple copes with the city’s hardships are the high points of the film,” Sweta Kaushal says in a Hindustan Times review.
