A cross between a political satire and a romantic comedy, this must be in a genre of its own, because while it might not get high marks in either genre, it would certainly fare well in that peculiar hybrid genre where the theatre of the absurd is played to a tee.
High marks to Pankaj Kapur who despite his diminutive stature lacks nothing in dominating every scene he is in. Likewise, Shabana Azmi holds her own as a very charmingly evil mother and mother-in-law to be, and reminds me terribly of M from the Bond movies. Anushka and Imran make a decent enough pair although the sparks don’t fly all that frequently, but with Imran’s shaggy looks and Haryanavi accent, and Anushka’s skimpily-clad tattooed limbs, it’s fair to say that you’ll get your money’s worth.
Speaking of Anushka, the girl is talented, no question about it, but she is rapidly gaining a stereotypical reputation for being a bubbly air-head. Here’s hoping she’ll get a break to prove her mettle in the days to come.
But back to the storyline: this is a half-baked political satire that takes off splendidly but gets lost somewhere around the “addhha” mark– which is exactly the term used to describe the intermission of the film.
