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‘Last Man in Tower’ review: A crisp and efficient critique of rampaging redevelopment in Mumbai

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Aravind Adiga’s novel Last Man in Tower is about the tragicomedy that is redevelopment in Mumbai. The book explores the ramifications of the proposed transformation of Vishram Co-operative Housing Society, a “dreadnought of middle class respectability, ready to fire on anyone who might impugn the pucca quality of its inhabitants”.

However, only the retired teacher Yogesh Murthy resists what Vishram was and what the builder Dharmen Shah wants it to become. As Dharmen promises bigger apartments and wads of cash, neighbourly solidarity crumbles. Yogesh is increasingly isolated in his crusade against Vishram’s physical and social re-reengineering.

The film version is directed by Ben Rekhi, written by Sooni Taraporevala, and with Hindi dialogue by Juhi Chaturvedi. Taraporevala skilfully extracts the novel’s essence, while also replacing the defiant satire in Adiga’s writing with a more familiar sense of resignation.

Yogesh Murthy is now Yogesh Mishra (Manoj Bajpayee), a widower with a fixed but pleasurable routine. The neighbours who drop in unannounced, the building children who come by for science lessons, the crumbling house that contains memories of his late wife Purnima and their son Gaurav (Sukant Goel) – Yogesh is at ease in Vishram.

Then Dharmen Shah (Boman Irani) turns up, promising to replace Vishram with “The Shanghai”. Dharmen finds willing conspirators at Vishram,...