With its brilliant cast, genius writing and intelligent editing, ‘Island City’ is ironically a beautiful tale of our ugly lives. The actors Vinay Pathak, Amruta Subhash and Tannishtha are breathtaking in their performances. The direction by Ruchika Oberoi is sensitive and strong. The three stories that go parallel to one another seem like our own stories. We have faced the same problems and frustrations in life. We all have been stuck in a loop and didn’t know our way out. But ‘Island City’ shows us that there is a way out. It only requires a lot of effort. Go and be amazed by the brilliance of the film. It won’t disappoint.

Ruchika Oberoi’s multiple award-winning film is a tale of people who have become islands in themselves. They live, exist and operate within a city, yet their world is absolutely cut off from the hustle and bustle around them. They keep walking in search of one soft voice, one touching emotion, one driving sentiment, but the silos are too tough to break out from. Island City is weirdly funny, sarcastic and tragic. You have met these people in real world, maybe you are one of them. A collection of three stories, it puts on display the paradoxes of a metropolitan life. Oberoi has set it in Mumbai, but it could be any megapolis. All three stories are about dominant men, violence on the soul and the anxiety of being trapped. These characters are not in love with their situations, but the willingness to break the glass ceiling needs an external force. It doesn’t happen on its own. Conditioned to accept things as they are, all three protagonists sleepwalk through their mundane lives. Every section has a shocking end and that’s cherry on the cake. Oberoi has woven the story in an intriguing manner where you laugh over the absurdities, but also sympathize with the actors. A lonely urban life is the recurring theme, but Island City comments on other topics such as the MNC work culture, women’s emancipation, stress management as well. The most effective story is the last one featuring Tanishtha. When it comes to acting, it’s a battle among equals with Amruta Subhash a shade better than the others. Island City is well paced, nuanced and to the point. Watch it for the sake of good cinema.

Neither the narrative triptych that constitutes Island City nor the film's theme of urban alienation are particularly startling. Yet everything about this cinematic outing is mint-fresh. Director Ruchika Oberoi's debut film is a sure-handed tale of three tenuously connected characters contending with themselves and with those around them in a bustling but unsettlingly impersonal Mumbai. It is its steady, understated tone and tenor that elevates Island City many notches above the ordinary. The firm's temporary tagline - fun, frolic, festivity - is only a smokescreen. Its avowed corporate policy reeks of overt control. It upholds "orderliness, organization, obedience". Every frame of the superbly crafted Island City, even those that seem static on the surface, resonates with meaning and vibrates with intense energy. The acting, too, is of the highest calibre. Vinay Pathak is pitch-perfect as the corporate employee caught in a soul-destroying cul de sac. It takes Amruta Subhash minimum effort to convey the entrapped hausfrau's deep desire to break free from drab domesticity. Tannishtha, playing a woman seduced by the promise of a new life, calibrates the character's emotional arc to a nicety. Laced with sly wit and captivating storytelling feints, Island City touches heights that Hindi films do only once in a blue moon. It is absolutely unmissable.

There are several striking visuals in Ruchika Oberoi’s maiden venture which instantly communicate its central theme of dystopian alienation: a large city can turn so impersonal, our relations have become so transactional and empty, and our lives can become so mechanistic that the only one capable of any human warmth, is, ironically, a robot. Ruchika Oberoi's film focusses on how impersonal and transactional life in a big city can be. It reaches a point when the one capable of any human warmth, is, ironically, a robot. Island City works best through these fleeting, arresting visuals, their impact diluting when the director turns her attention towards building the narrative arcs. The core idea is expanded upon in all three segments, but the results are uneven: some parts work (especially in the second segment), the others not so much. That big cities are empty and soul-less (and Mumbai, Oberoi’s location, is our biggest) is a familiar theme. Oberoi renews it with a couple of good ideas, but doesn’t manage to give us an underneath layer: you are left wanting more, more depth, something that goes beyond the obvious. But there’s no doubt that Oberoi has an eye. I will be keen to see what she comes up with next.

Mumbai has been the muse of various filmmakers for the longest time. The pulse of the metropolis is the indomitable spirit of Mumbaikars, who rise like a phoenix against adversity, every single time. However, the much celebrated resilience is not always by choice. Ruchika Oberoi's film explores this tangled 'Mumbai state of mind' through its three unique characters — a middle-aged bachelor stuck in a mundane job (Vinay Pathak), a housewife (Amruta Subhash) finding joy in tragedy and a plain Jane seeking 'real' love (Tannishtha Chatterjee). The three stories have little in common, except for the constant feeling of being caged and buried under societal and financial pressures. Every character seeks freedom. Poignant and melancholic, Ruchika helps you in finding your voice amidst the chaos of the city. Her vision mirrors the gamut of emotions every Mumbaikar feels at some point in his/her life. It addresses the brooding sadness that lurks in the deepest corners of our heart. While all actors perform well, it is Amruta Subhash, who stands out with her expression of quiet optimism in dire circumstances. While the execution is effective, the length of the stories may test your patience somewhere. We wish they were crisper. Overall, this one deserves to be watched for its riveting take on love, longing and loneliness.