# Life in a... Metro
**Life in a... Metro** (Hindi: लाइफ इन अ मेट्रो) is a 2007 Hindi-language drama film directed by [Anurag Basu](https://www.edgepedia.org/anurag-basu), set in Mumbai, that follows the interlocking lives of nine city dwellers dealing with extramarital affairs, loneliness, ambition, and love.[1](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/life-in-a-metro/) It was produced by Ronnie Screwvala for UTV Motion Pictures and released in India on 11 May 2007.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/life_in_a_metro)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 11 May 2007 (India), Hindi-language drama; certified A in India[1](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/life-in-a-metro/) |
| Director / producer | Anurag Basu (director, story, screenplay); Ronnie Screwvala, UTV Motion Pictures[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/life_in_a_metro) |
| Structure | Nine characters in Mumbai whose stories of infidelity, love, and ambition intersect[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/your-week/story/20070528-film-review-of-life-in-a-metro-748687-2007-05-27) |
| Music | Pritam Chakraborty, with the on-screen "Metro" band appearing at key plot points[4](https://www.livemint.com/Consumer/qWKCGaY7Lai3WyLGuNFqOK/Music-of-Life-in-a-Metro-launched.html?facet=amp) |
| Literary sources | Plot and several characters based on Billy Wilder's *The Apartment* (1960) and David Lean's *Brief Encounter* (1945)[5](https://www.moviebuff.com/life-in-a-metro) |
| Overseas opening | About $100,000 in roughly four dozen UK theaters and $62,000 in North America on opening[6](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/metro/20070516.htm) |
| Awards | Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress[7](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/life-in-a-metro) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and structure
The film weaves four primary storylines: an elderly couple seeking to rekindle romance late in life, an ambitious young man working for a manipulative boss, a young married couple drifting apart, and a woman holding out for a meaningful relationship.[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/revisiting-life-in-a-metro-anurag-basu-anthology-film-7045052/) Rahul ([Sharman Joshi](https://www.edgepedia.org/sharman-joshi)) occupies an apartment owned by his uncle and rents it to couples having affairs; Shikha ([Shilpa Shetty](https://www.edgepedia.org/shilpa-shetty)), trapped in a loveless marriage to Ranjeet ([Kay Kay Menon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kay-kay-menon)), is drawn to the struggling actor Akash (Shiney Ahuja); Shikha's sister Shruti (Konkona Sen Sharma) meets Monty (Irrfan Khan) through a dating agency; and Shikha's former teacher Shivani (Nafisa Ali) romances Amol (Dharmendra).[5](https://www.moviebuff.com/life-in-a-metro) The fortunes of the characters link through Rahul's arrangement, and complications arise when Rahul discovers that his girlfriend Neha (Kangana Ranaut) is using the same apartment to meet Ranjeet.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/life_in_a_metro)
The film is openly derived from two classics. Reviewers identified the call-center subplot as a transposition of [Billy Wilder](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-wilder)'s *The Apartment*, and the Shikha–Akash railway affair as a homage to *Brief Encounter*.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/may/13/bollywood.musical) Anurag Basu made an impromptu change while shooting the climax: he did not want Shikha to end up with her lover Akash, judging that no Indian woman would put her desires above her family; Shilpa Shetty later said that compromise is what made the track work.[10](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/life-in-a-metro-15-years-anurag-basu-mumbai-shilpa-shetty-irrfan-khan-anthology-relevant-7903965/)
### Cast and characters
The ensemble pairs established stars with character actors: [Dharmendra](https://www.edgepedia.org/dharmendra) as Amol, Irrfan Khan as Monty, Konkona Sen Sharma as Shruti Ghosh, Kay Kay Menon as Ranjeet Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty as Shikha R. Kapoor, [Shiney Ahuja](https://www.edgepedia.org/shiney-ahuja) as Akash Sharma, Sharman Joshi as Rahul, Kangana Ranaut as Neha, and [Nafisa Ali](https://www.edgepedia.org/nafisa-ali) as Shivani.[11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800956/fullcredits/) Critics singled out the Irrfan Khan–Konkona Sen Sharma pairing: India Today's Anupama Chopra, a film critic and author, wrote that the film "belongs to Irrfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma", both playing emotionally clumsy thirty-something virgins.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/your-week/story/20070528-film-review-of-life-in-a-metro-748687-2007-05-27) The Indian Express's retrospective called their storyline the film's comic relief and praised the chemistry between the two.[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/revisiting-life-in-a-metro-anurag-basu-anthology-film-7045052/)
## Music
Composer Pritam Chakraborty created the songs and also appears on screen as leader of the "Metro" band, which includes singers [Soham Chakraborty](https://www.edgepedia.org/soham-chakraborty), Suhail Kaul, and the Bangladeshi singer James.[4](https://www.livemint.com/Consumer/qWKCGaY7Lai3WyLGuNFqOK/Music-of-Life-in-a-Metro-launched.html?facet=amp) Sony BMG and [UTV Motion Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/utv-motion-pictures) launched the soundtrack at an event in New Delhi on 28 March 2007.[4](https://www.livemint.com/Consumer/qWKCGaY7Lai3WyLGuNFqOK/Music-of-Life-in-a-Metro-launched.html?facet=amp) The band appears at bus stops, terraces, and railway stations, commenting on the action in the manner of a [Greek chorus](https://www.edgepedia.org/greek-chorus); The Guardian's Philip French, its long-serving film critic, compared the device to Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye in *Cat Ballou*, and noted the film has no conventional dancing.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/may/13/bollywood.musical) Reviewers were divided on the device: some found the band's constant appearances irritating, while a retrospective in The Indian Express credited the music with breaking the fourth wall to express the characters' happiness or pain.[12](https://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/review-life-in-a-metro/story-UvWVqCKW5RW6Vw731JnurK_amp.html) • [10](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/life-in-a-metro-15-years-anurag-basu-mumbai-shilpa-shetty-irrfan-khan-anthology-relevant-7903965/)
## Reception and box office
Critical response was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 40% Tomatometer from five critics and a 78% Popcornmeter audience score from more than 5,000 ratings.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/life_in_a_metro) [Anupama Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/anupama-chopra) judged that "the film works" despite uneven narratives, praising Shilpa Shetty as the betrayed wife and Menon as the roving husband.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/your-week/story/20070528-film-review-of-life-in-a-metro-748687-2007-05-27) Khalid Mohamed of Hindustan Times gave two and a half stars, calling the cinematography classy but the film derivative.[12](https://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/review-life-in-a-metro/story-UvWVqCKW5RW6Vw731JnurK_amp.html) The BBC's Jaspreet Pandohar gave two of five stars, writing that only the Sharma–Khan storyline raised genuine interest.[6](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/metro/20070516.htm)
Overseas, the opening was weak: about $100,000 across roughly four dozen UK theaters and $62,000 in North America, despite a publicity push in which Shilpa Shetty gave more than 25 interviews in the UK and Australia following her [Celebrity Big Brother](https://www.edgepedia.org/celebrity-big-brother)-era fame.[6](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/metro/20070516.htm) Rotten Tomatoes lists a US gross of $150.2K.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/life_in_a_metro) The film later received the [Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-award-for-best-supporting-actress).[7](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/life-in-a-metro)
## Legacy and sequels
Retrospectives treat the film as an early example of Basu's hyperlinked, ensemble storytelling, in which the city itself functions as a character.[10](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/life-in-a-metro-15-years-anurag-basu-mumbai-shilpa-shetty-irrfan-khan-anthology-relevant-7903965/) [Irrfan Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/irrfan-khan) pushed Basu to develop a sequel, telling him after *Jagga Jasoos*, "Metro 2 banaate hai"; Basu has described the follow-up *Metro...In Dino* as a tribute to Khan and to the singer KK, and confirmed it will be the last film in the series.[13](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/anurag-basu-shares-how-the-life-in-a-metro-trilogy-came-to-be-and-shares-irrfan-khan-was-the-reasondeets-inside/articleshow/122198214.cms) Basu has rejected the idea that his 2020 film *Ludo* is a sequel to *Metro*.[10](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/life-in-a-metro-15-years-anurag-basu-mumbai-shilpa-shetty-irrfan-khan-anthology-relevant-7903965/)
## References
1. [Life in a... Metro (2007), TheReviewMonk](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/life-in-a-metro/)
2. [Life in a ... Metro, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/life_in_a_metro)
3. [Urban Ballad: Movie Review, Life in a Metro, India Today (Anupama Chopra, 28 May 2007)](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/your-week/story/20070528-film-review-of-life-in-a-metro-748687-2007-05-27)
4. [Music of 'Life in a Metro' launched, Livemint](https://www.livemint.com/Consumer/qWKCGaY7Lai3WyLGuNFqOK/Music-of-Life-in-a-Metro-launched.html?facet=amp)
5. [Life in a Metro, Moviebuff](https://www.moviebuff.com/life-in-a-metro)
6. [Dismal opening for Metro in US, UK, Rediff.com (Arthur J Pais, 16 May 2007)](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/metro/20070516.htm)
7. [Life in a Metro (2007), Indian Film History](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/life-in-a-metro)
8. [Revisiting Life in a Metro: A well-made anthology film, The Indian Express (11 November 2020)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/revisiting-life-in-a-metro-anurag-basu-anthology-film-7045052/)
9. [Life in a Metro review, The Guardian (Philip French, 13 May 2007)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/may/13/bollywood.musical)
10. [Life in a Metro turns 15, The Indian Express (Mimansa Shekhar, 11 May 2022)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/life-in-a-metro-15-years-anurag-basu-mumbai-shilpa-shetty-irrfan-khan-anthology-relevant-7903965/)
11. [Life in a Metro (2007) full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800956/fullcredits/)
12. [Review: Life in a... Metro, Hindustan Times (Khalid Mohamed, 18 May 2007)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/review-life-in-a-metro/story-UvWVqCKW5RW6Vw731JnurK_amp.html)
13. [Anurag Basu shares how the 'Life In A Metro' trilogy came to be, The Times of India (2 July 2025)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/anurag-basu-shares-how-the-life-in-a-metro-trilogy-came-to-be-and-shares-irrfan-khan-was-the-reasondeets-inside/articleshow/122198214.cms)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2000s › Drama films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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