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.

The Legendary Hrishi Da cinema, that was sweet and simple is back after a long, long time in 'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?'. It's not half of what the cult filmmaker made during his heydays, but talented writer-director Ashwni Dhir brings back such memories, of telling a simple story in the most simplistic manner.

'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?' is about a family of 3, who's life turns upside down when a Atithi knocks on their door claiming to be a far-away relative. Dhir's writing and direction both are fantastic in the first hour, you just don't stop laughing. But his writing and direction falters in the second hour, it loses grip and becomes really dragging. If you laugh loudly pre-interval, you yell at post-interval portions. Despite being a good film, it's minuses cannot be forgotten.

Coming to the performances, Ajay is good. Konkona Sen Sharma is, as always, proficient. Paresh Rawal is the real scene-stealer. The Legendary actor sinks his teeth into the character and brings it out with flying colors. Satish Kaushik is terrific in a brief role. Sanjay Mishra is okay.

On the whole, This 'Atithi' is welcome, because of it's simplicity.

There is a family of 3, father, mother and son have a guest to welcome whom they can't remember as a known one, yet the guest live with them for an unexpected period of time. They don't know, when will the guest leave their home?

Not a believable story, even every scenes seem to us as unreal, far from the reality. The jokes are quite passable. There are several religious scenes which we never enjoyed. Otherwise it entertain us a bit. Overall, not recommended.

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 sincerel.