STARRING

Ajay Devgan, Paresh Rawal, Konkona Sen Sharma, Satish Kaushik, Mac Mohan, Sanjay Mishra, Akhilendra Mishra and others.


DIRECTOR

Ashwani Dhir


STORY


The plot of the flick revolves around characters of Puneet (Ajay Devgan), Munmun(Konkona Sen Sharma) and Lambodar Bajpayee, who is  a distant relative of Puneet. Chachaji has come unannounced and been visiting Puneet’s house in Mumbai. Initially, Puneet and his wife, who is an interior designer by profession, take his visit in good faith and provide full hospitality in every possible way.

However, when Chachaji continued to stay at their place, the couple who were habitual of staying alone in the house and pursue their professional goals, get disturbed and start plotting  to make Chachaji leave the place and go to his village.

This all also happens because Puneet, who is a writer for television programmes, has just got a break of his life and a chance to work in films. But in the presence of Chachaji, Puneet finds it difficult to concentrate on his work.

Even Munmun is perturbed as she can not deal with the pressures of a demanding professional life and then also taking care of her family and Chachaji, who does not give any signs of leaving the home anytime soon.

On the other hand, Chachaji is an ordinary soul from a distant village in North India. He is sixty -five years old, but does not understand or does not want to understand the fast paced roller coaster life of big cities like Mumbai.

This conflict of interest between Puneet- Munmun and Chachaji, and Puneet’s schemes for getting rid of the senior citizen creates hilarious situations in the house. If Puneet and Munmun succeed in their effort and what happens to Chachaji is revealed in the later part of the flick.


PERFORMANCE

Paresh Rawal, yes the veteran actor who plays the character of a distant relative from Gorakhpur , is the soul of the flick. He is not only natural in his acting but seems so likable as a sixty- five year old person with lots of old world charm and imparting those inimitable Sanskars to Puneet’s(Ajay Devgan) children in Mumbai.

His innocuous acts have made the movie work and he can be easily termed to be one of the best actors in bollywood.  The climax sequence of Ganesha sthapana is especially interesting and fulfilling. Paresh is amazing in portraying the character of a guest who creates disturbances in the routine of a nuclear family living in a metro. But his warmth also wins respect and love from the people living in his surroundings.

Ajay Devgan, who plays the lead character of Puneet in the film, comes out with a winning performance. By now Ajay Devgan seems to have mastered the art of understated comedy that was the hallmark of movies made by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Bhattacharya during eighties.

However, Ajay Devgan shifting to a hotel with his wife Konkona and child seems somewhat unconvincing. Even the raid sequence at the hotel and finally Ajay Devgan hiring goons to remove Paresh from his house, make his act go overboard.

Konkona Sen Sharma, who plays the part of Ajay Devgn’s wife in the flick, enacts her part convincingly. The bong babe is natural as a working woman who gets disturbed by the intrusion of unwanted guest Paresh Rawal. Her reactions seem so normal for a woman living in the fast lane of a metropolitan city where both partners work to survive.

Satish Kaushik comes out with a solid performance and impresses in his interaction with Ajay Devgan. Similarly, Sanjay Mishra, Akhilendra Mishra, Mukesh Tiwari and Viju Khote carry their parts well in the film.

The direction of Ashwin Dhir shows that he is not only comfortable in directing comedies but also competent enough to anchor this type of film loaded with drama and emotions. The music by Pritam passes the muster. The title track is already popular with the audiences. Other production values are good.


STARDUST VERDICT

 Ajay Devgan, Paresh Rawal flick comes as a breeze of fresh air in these troubled and violent times. The gentle and soft humor directly touches your heart. If you like the old world charm around your house, the movie is tailor made for you. A good fare.

Star Rating: * * 1/2