Dubai Return was shot in the year 2005, but remained unreleased like a couple of other movies that the late actor Irrfan Khan shot. The movie had a digital release on Youtube and was a tribute to the craft that Irrfan Khan brought to the table as an actor.
The film features Irrfan Khan as a hitman with an identity crisis. This comedic drama has been directed by Aditya Bhattacharya and includes a stellar cast including Vijay Maurya, Divya Dutta, Razzak Khan and Ritu Shivpuri. It has been finally released in the Bandra Film Festival under the category- Gems from the past.
Irrfan, who plays the role of Aftab Angrez, is a small time yet ambitious hitman who orchestrated a high-profile murder and fled to Dubai for 10 years to escape from the cops. Much to his surprise, once he returns to Mumbai, he is an unknown name in the Mumbai underworld. He is constantly battling with himself and the world and constantly retraces his steps to the incident that occurred 10 years ago. The urge to be a famous hitman supersedes his relationships and friendships.
The movie captures his journey in trying to make a name for himself while reuniting with his old crew. Irrfan takes you on a journey filled with restrained comic scenes, finding love and reclaiming Mumbai.
If we ignore the print quality of the movie and get over the ‘blast from the past’ that the year 2005 offers us, we appreciate the acting more than the storytelling. Razzak Khan and Irrfan Khan steal the show with their incredible ability to make the audience laugh with their unpredictability & poker face comedy. From the dialogues to the fashion and set design, this was an artistic film in every aspect.
It is inspiring to see how Irrfan performed consistently throughout his acting career regardless of the film being a small budget one or a major production. This is one of the many reasons that the world came to love him as an actor. As special as Angrezi Medium is to his fans as his last movie, this comes quite close as an equally memorable experience for the audiences. Dubai Return presented Irrfan in his element one last time.
Dubai Return is available for viewing on Bandra Film Festival’s YouTube channel.
