Andhra Pradesh

This is a brave new intent film review

Taking stock: Farooque Sheikh and Kirron Kher in ‘Saas Bahu Aur Sensex’

Film: Saas Bahu Aur Sensex

Cast: Farooque Sheikh, Kirron Kher, Sharon Prabhakar, Tanushree Dutta

Director: Shona Urvashi

You can take an Indian out of India, you cannot take India out of an Indian!

If you have to speak with an American accent at a call centre, so what! You are still an Indian.

A refreshing way of looking at a threat to one’s identity, one would say.

The problem with Shona Urvashi’s film is all the good things come in crumbs, sporadic bursts of good feeling, even naughty humour – there is a character who says “I am Brar…don’t miss the ‘r’ ”. In between there are long sessions of tedium.

And times this tale of wives talks of sensex and fails to move.

Shona, on her part, takes an interesting premise.

There is a Parsi middle-aged stock broker – Farooque Sheikh with silver side-burns, spectacles and a rich belly making a fetching portrait.

There are ladies – Kirron Kher, Lillette Dubey, Sharon Prabhakar and the young guns, Tanushree Dutta and Masumeh.

Not quite the crowd for a story that revolves around the fate of investors at the exchange?

One would think so. But Shona turns the idea on its head to give us a story of the most unlikely investors.

They are joyous when they gain, fret, fume, and chew nails when they lose. However, the film is let down in the treatment.

Most of the characters end up as caricatures. And too many sub-plots with romantic interludes only serve to weaken the base.

Sorry, this is one brave new intent that goes kaput in implementation.

Nice moments of smiles don’t add up to a couple of hours of fine entertainment.

ZIYA US SALAM

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