Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?

Ashwani Dheer caught my attention in "One Two Three" his first directorial outing. Under-rated and deserved a wee-bit more recognition/ appreciation. So obviously I was looking forward to his next venture namely "Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge". Unlike "One Two Three" which turned into a slightly complicated owing to the parallel sub-plots, "Atithi stays clear. Its a single plot running in a single direction. No complications - simple!

Performances::

Paresh Rawal:: The "Atithi" character is the backbone of the premise and no doubts on that front. Slightest error in delivery would have led to catastrophic results. Paresh knows this fact and hence treads the path with extreme caution. His performance is nothing short of perfection. He brings the Atithi character so much true to life that you will mind will begin to flash out strong resembling relatives. Every act and every line is realistic.

Konkana:: There is no scope to doubt her performance, as usual she is impeccable. In "Atithi..." her costumes deserve a special mention.

Ajay:: In my opinion, he was miscast. Even if it was Sunil Shetty the expectations would have run on those lines, if you know what I mean.

Satish Kaushik leaves a mark. Akhilendra Mishra and Viju Khote were adequate. Other Ashwani Dheer regulars do their part of stocking fillers viz. Sanjay Mishra, Mukesh Tiwari etc.

There are adequate humour in store for the audience. I particularly liked the "Sholay" and the "Beedi Jalaile" spoof.

If not a laugh-riot on the lines of Priyadarshan, "Atithi..." is a decent fare and safe for a one-time watch.

The movie had great expectations. That was quite natural having Paresh Rawal in the casting. People might expect this to be another Hera Pheri. However, I didn't had any of that kind of expectation. I just wanted to watch a decent comedy movie.

The first 15 minutes were the best part of the movie. However, later the comedy scenes were too isolated and stand independent. And most of the comedy/tragedy have not required a guest. Any other character in the movie could have done those. There are hardly any jokes you could remember.

The unnecessary songs leave their mark, making you to think why the hell so many songs are there in the movie. There are 3 devotional songs!!!! But, "Jyothi Jalaile" is the only songs you would remember for its funny side (it has the tune of famous "Beedi Jalaile" from Omkara).

The acting by all the members are good. But, the story lacked a good comedy theme in it so that actors can contribute more.

The two things you would remember coming out of the hall are the "Jyothi Jalaile" song and the climax. I recommend this only if you have no other work and just want to kill some time.

Watched the movie back-to-back after Road, Movie.. Was disappointed with Road... So opted for this one to lighten up the mood.. Jokes were hackneyed and copied from "The Great Indian Laughter Challenge".. The movie was not at all hilarious but also not boring.. Decent time-pass flick with your family.. Songs were very interesting with unorthodox lyrics.. Go and watch the movie with not much expectations.. Paresh Rawal is a first-rate actor.. He successfully brings out the Frustrating emotions among the audiences.. Konkana Sen Sharma has looked surprisingly beautiful... Ajay Devgan was decent too but repetitive.. Over all one time watch..

At first the movie made a wrong impression when it came out with an inspired poster from the English Flick "License To Wed" as its first look. Later after the new posters came in, the makers couldn't impress the viewers with their 'Just OK' promos on all the TV channels. As a result the film was not able to generate enough curiosity in the trade circles, despite of the presence of Paresh Rawal in its lead comic role.

And now after watching the so called comedy, it can be easily said that the final outcome is exactly similar to its average promotional campaign and nothing else. Though director Ashwni Dhir sincerely tries to revive the magic of those realistic and lovable films by Hrishikesh Mukherjee & Basu Chatterjee. But his ATKJ fails to make an overall impact on the viewer and misses the mark just like the recently released "Toh Baat Pakki".

Based on the plot of an unwanted guest (Atithi) in the house, the movie starts off well and manages to impress the viewer with an appreciable climax too. But it's between these two ends that it loses the grip over the subject and starts wandering into many predictable, uninteresting and repetitive sequences which unfortunately take away the beauty from its noticeable concluding 30 minutes. For instance how many times we have seen a married couple going to a hotel to spend few days and then being caught in a sudden police raid at the place.

Instead of writing some novel and fresh scenes in the script, the writers have gone for the usual comic punches involving the Police and Underworld Don seen many times before in similar other projects. To be precise the first scene of the movie itself is highly inspired from the famous Pakistani Stage Artist "Umar Sharif's comedy play". Apart from these, the overused farting sequences of Paresh also tend to go over the top after a while. Moreover the characters remain the part of a movie only and the viewer never feels any empathy towards their tough & helpless circumstances.

However there are few worth watching moments in the flick, which are able to save it from being called a merely below average product. One is its beautifully directed final hour which gives you the glimpses of our rich traditional values and culture. Second are the highly enjoyable and well acted scenes of Satish Kaushik with Paresh Rawal, capable of moving you emotionally. And third are its two devotional tracks with their innovative western arrangements by Pritam especially the "Mata Ki Arti" track made on the composition of "Beedi Jaliye Le" Performance wise, Paresh Rawal excels in the title role of an Atithi. He truly looks great and acts superbly as a village person visiting Mumbai after a long gap. Konkona is very natural and real in her portrayal of a lady trying to cope up between her home and work. But Ajay Devgan is strictly OK with nothing exceptional to write about. Satish Kaushik is a delight to watch in his few scenes and from the rest of the cast Sanjay Mishra stands out as the watchman. The child artist playing the couple's son doesn't get much scope in the script. Musically the soundtrack is fine with a catchy title track from Amit Mishra, but it cannot sell as a Music CD alone in the market. Cinematography serves the purpose well and dialogues are good in some particular scenes.

In short, ATKJ is a sincere attempt but could have been much better with some fresh and hilarious sequences added into the script. Actually it's a light comic drama and not a complete comedy as misleadingly projected by its makers. It fails to generate any laughter but is capable of making you smile at regular intervals. A simple and clean movie, which can be watched with the entire family on a weekend holiday.

According to the opening titles the movie is inspired from a short story or article by Late Sharad Joshi, but I also found the subject hugely similar to Satyajit Ray's masterpiece "Agantuk" meaning Stranger, which had the great Utpal Dutt playing the unwanted guest in the house.

Its one of the best of Paresh Rawal equally supported by Ajay and Kai Kai.. Perfect family fun.