Fishing for the real truth and justice – Talvar

A searing screenplay threatens to burn up all commonly held theories of the real life case. Crackling writing, well researched script that treads the dangerous edge of almost delivering a judgement on the biggest botched case of Indian civilian crime history

Distanced incidents generally have a cursory impact on our minds. The remoteness from the incidents and the subjects, creates a chilling indifference and a casual judgement in our minds about the people involved. The double murder case in Delhi was one such. Most of us including me  have been personally guilty of casually absorbing details served to us by the investigating agencies and the courts resolute in our belief then that the agencies involved truly come up with irrefutable conclusions to the cases they handle. Again a view propounded by heroic stories of these agencies in our movies. Distance does create a blurred vision. As you get on with the hurly burly of life  you also give into accepting graphic details of lurid behavior in ordinary people perhaps because it caters to your need to be surprised. And perhaps also because it is easy to devour gossip. Helps to give you a closure on an uncomfortable theory of parents potentially murdering their children. You do not want to believe that happened. And if it indeed happened then perhaps it was because the people had dirty stories in their closet. Convenient to use that appendage to prop up our own sense of relief that it was not a natural order of things.

Meghna and Vishal with Talvar use that rusted sword of justice as a clever proxy to prod you wide awake and whisper, without any clear intention to conclude, that, perhaps there is more to it that needs your attention. That perhaps this has happened to ordinary people, like you, who went about their daily life as joyously as you did without any dark deeds till fate struck them a tragic blow and then things went downhill. And that is when it hits you, that we live in a humoungsly imperfect society especially in our country. You want to pray that you never ever have to deal with a dangerous system should anything unfortunate happen that requires intervention from the governance. Everything about the system seems to be flawed. Is it a wrong people or the wrong system? Is it a perfect system with dangerous people or is it a flawed system with good people trying to make their best of it. The answer seems to lie somewhere in between

We had sunk into our sofas content in sniggering at the upper middle class professional families and their lurid and lusty lifestyles. It was fed to us by the media who in turn were fed by the system. You cringed as you dined watching the seemingly impassionate couple not display enough sorrow as perhaps you would have wanted to. That one lacuna in empathetic behavior seemed to confirm to the vast majority of us that there was more to it than they revealed. She did not cry. How debased is our feeling?

Thanks to creative stalwarts like Meghna and Vishal who worked for three years researching to an extent with impartial integrity all sides of the story leading up to the double murder case of the daughter Delhi family of dentists and their resident servant. Every cast member in this brilliantly and honestly scripted movie is outstanding. Commencing from the bumbling police officer eager to help his superior close the case with a convenient theory of honor killing after the 13 year old girl is found murdered in her home by her own parents. Not really classic behavior for potential killers really. The first suspect the servant himself is found dead a day later on the locked terrace. It seems astounding today that no one thought of investigating the terrace just a floor above.

It is good fortune to an extent that an honest officer brought in by the investigating agency flips the police theory on its head and ascribes the guilt to the servant’s friends who are since free.  Thanks to sick politics and a case of one upmanship the case is sought to be debunked by their own people and a second team investigates and tries to dump the original theory.

I have not seen a more critical analysis of a real life murder and its aftermath on the screen before. It is morbid but makes you feel comfortable that all hope is not lost yet. That there are people in the industry for who the art is still to be used to furthering fairness and  goodness in society and not just serve as mindless entertainment. To use art as a medium to make critical commentary and softly challenge judgements without treading on fault lines and risking contempt of court.

Konkana Sen and  Neeraj Kabi as the parents, Prakash Belawade as the retiring agency head, Atul Kumar , Sohum Shah, the actors playing the suspected murderers , every member of the cast playing bit roles impressively excel in their realistic portrayal. The credit for that goes perhaps to the director and the producer- writer for taking the pains to extricate those performances. Everything seems so real. It reinforces the theory that I hold about great movies being those where not only the leading cast performs but each and every character that fills in the creative space on the screen making it a wholesome experience.

And when you leave the theatre you are left with a ceaseless applause for that marvel of an actor Irfan. Displaying simple nuances. Watch him make wry remarks, playing with his glasses, smirking on video games as he interrogates a potential suspect. The terrific ensemble lead by the inimitable Irfan exhibits what artistry in cinema is about. And then that unforgettable climax scene where agencies debate various theories. A rocking scene which I can safely say is one of the best I have ever seen in a Hindi film. So well written so well enacted. One may want to watch the movie again just for that one scene. Brilliant scripting.

The movie may not only serve as an ingredient for heated debates on the weekends but perhaps instigate a relook at the whole case from a new angle with pressure building up from the masses and not just relegated to good mood days of a few investigating or judging authorities. 

The movie does equal justice to all the angles trying to play an impartial role as a medium just bringing the theories to you but the nudge wink effort towards one angle is not lost on the audience and we know where our sympathies will lie till proven otherwise. If this movie manages to change the course of events I think a round of applause to the people behind this creative work led by Vishal Bharadwaj and Meghna Gulzar is in order

Watch it to know that justice denied should be a cross to carry for a nation with conscience.

*****

When Quest meets sufficiency

To Quest for something that we do not have is the eternal nature of mankind. And to not do justice to it a curse of over sufficiency. You go searching for a home and the ebullient agent as a nature of his job sells to you the unique selling points of each home and each condo that is on the market. By their good natured description the city should be full of homes that you would never want to let go. Has it made ever made you wonder that estate agents are the most positive people we can meet. They never decry or deride anything or anyone. But more on that some other time. Back to our quest. Assuming it is a condominium that each of us is after we would really crave to know the facilities that come with the condo. After all the homes are defined more by their exterior facilities than their interiors.

“So how many facilities here? “ You ask.

“Lots. Look there are tennis courts, squash courts, skating rink for the young” The agent looks at you with search for fulfilment in your eyes.

But you are not through yet.

“How many? “ Yes you are not going to be satisfied with just one court of each. There better be at least something to compete with the Wimbledon facilities.

“Two?? “  The agent says hoping that it should be enough for you to practice your long abandoned game.

“Hmmm” meaning well will manage with these two but let’s look at other facilities before I am satisfied.

“Swimming pools? “

“ Three in total’ the agent says,’ one Olympic size and two small ones “

And then you whip the finale quest “Gym? “

“Oh yes, there is one with 15 treadmills” the agent says while looking over and wondering when was the last time the potential client had ever stepped on one.

“Is it open 24 hours?”

“No” Weakly

“Aha...”  You go, having found one weak point that you can use to show your discontent with the place later if required.

Then the views of the home and the floors. You are always looking for that one eternal bliss of a view that will last forever. One view that will get you the envy of the Joneses. Make you the pride of the neighborhood. But is there one such unique view?

Since most of the country is green it is unlikely you will ever have a view that you are dissatisfied with. With a condo like Interlace you will have homes looking in all directions.

Which floor is really the best? Is it better to be on a lower floor or be an elitist top floor resident.

I wondered about our quest. And it does not exclude me. I am a state of art in asking the questions above. But in that fragile moment of introspection I wonder about our quest. Why are we always in search of more than what is on offer. What will I do with an Olympic size swimming pool when I am yet to make my way to the changing rooms six months after I became a resident? What will I do with 15 treadmills if running on one for fifteen minutes makes me wheeze away to glory? How much time from the hurly burly of life do I really get to sit in my balcony on a higher floor and stare away into the horizon or relish the greenery?

I suspect most of it comes from our need to be acknowledged by visiting friends and relatives as having a superior environment around. There is no upper definition of superior. It is a moving milestone for our eternal quest for more than what we have.

In the entire search for materialistic nirvana did we actually ask the simple question who our neighbors are? It is not too strange to find people sardonically grin and say

“It’s been three years and I have never seen my neighbor”

One never even wishes people on the way down to the lobby in the lift. No smiles. We don’t like friendly or over friendly people. We wouldn’t care much about who lived in within ten feet of our homes. But we all individually care to live in the best environment individually enjoying the best in life. It is not about becoming altruistic. It is not even about becoming overly pushy in getting acquainted with people who value their solace and quietude.

It is just a lazy reflection on my part with me being equally guilty of all that I have written above. To be eternally in the search of materialistic happiness within confined selfish boundaries. I am going to make a promise. I will try to smile at a few people every day and let them wonder what’s wrong with me. It boils down to the essence of life. Materialism is finite but emotions live on forever.

Is Death Divine ?

Reader Alert - If you feel queasy about the notion of discussing death please do not proceed beyond this point ! 

The fear of Divine Death

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

-       John Donne

Termination of all biological functions. That is how Death is defined. It is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that you look forward to. Instead you are hurtling towards it on the train of time. A train that cannot stop. Stop so that you may admire life but learn to savor it as it passes you by. And in that treatment it is uniform to all. Everyone is aboard the same vehicle. All perceived superiority helping as differentiators come to a grinding halt when you meet death. It looks at everyone with the same cold impassioned vision and your wealth; educational indexes are rendered to the dustbins of life.

Death is the climax of our life. It is the endgame that no one is keen to reach. We are scared of the nothingness beyond. It was a lazy Sunday when I began thinking about what frightens us about this nothingness and why our life revolves around preventing ourselves from derailing in life and meeting it too early. And what does happen after you meet it.

Robin Sharma elucidated on life before death and talked about how to do your best before you die in his book on “Who will cry when you die “. So that you are remembered for it .He tells you about a life that ends before you know if you while away and reach a point of looking back with regret over a lifetime wasted. So he recommends you to realize your potential to the fullest, to seize the opportunity to do well unto yourself and those around you. What is the legacy that you leave behind?

I thought it could be interesting to reach beyond this barrier of end of your time, turnaround from beyond life and see what it is that you were so scared of was. But for that one had to know what one looked like dead. To be not scared of it. To look at it as the culmination of all events like any other in your life. What then bothers us about dying? What, like John Donne, makes us want to live on and not face the dreadful and mighty death. It is the thought of terminating those bonds of affection which we built around us. Those who we learnt to love and protect and perhaps for whom we lived to provide best that a life on earth could offer. Protecting them from miseries brought on by ill-health and social life. And then one day it’s kaput. You just don’t exist for them anymore. You cannot reach back and tell them how much you felt for them. You cannot undo the mistakes. It is too late. You are beyond the terminus of life and from the yonder if you can indeed look back there is nary a thing you can do about it.

I came across a snap taken when I was in a post-surgery sleep. The hospital’s white covers seemed to provide an eerie feel to the snap like a lifeless person with a shroud. Almost like one could look at the climatic station of life. Is this how one looks when one is dead? I wondered!  I stared at the picture for a long time mulling over the calmness that seemed to pervade the motionless face. The superstitious advisories of all elders on how to not speak about death as it waits in a station near you should you think of it, vanished. Instead there was serious introspection.  I felt lie it was indeed some escape. No professional challenges to think of, no meaningless competitive work wars to fight over, no fears of financial security to worry about, no worries on how to protect a future that seemed to revolve only around preventing oneself from becoming poor or not having enough to eat and on a more practical note having enough to be proud in a peer group, live in a place at the end of your life in a house that seemed appropriate to your status, move around with friends as high up on the social ladder as possible and be rich enough to have the personal banker greet you with delight every time you visit the bank.

And then I cringed. How shallow! Looked at the picture again. Who will cry when I die? Not the companies you work for. Not the folks in the neighborhood you lived in. Because in the society today they will probably have to go to the Facebook page to know how the guy who died, looked like. Not the friends who will hurry up with their RIPs just in case they are seen as insensitive. Immediate family members will be affected of course. It is the impact of, bonds of habit, breaking. The comfort zone is disturbed. The fallacies of the person seem to recede in the background and a gloom filled arena of regret takes over. How things could have been better! It is the salutary effect of mourning with guilt where one hopes to want to undo sometimes genuinely and sometimes more as a societal compulsion.

But remember the train is moving on for the rest. The body has been dumped in the eternal journey of life. The memory of the dead person becomes a distant diminishing vision as the train chugs farther away. When you look over the wall do you get offended that people do not miss you or remember you as much as you would love them to do? But you cannot get offended. Regret is an emotion is on this part of the life terminus. One must remember that everyone gets eased out of the train at some point. Life goes on and it must go on for those who stay on and have to continue to worry about the miserable competitive living. Your photo hung on the wall is not going to help them. Your bank balance left behind to some extent will. But a physical presence till the end of their life could have.

You feel humbled when you imagine yourself dead. The acceptance of mortality has that effect. All that superiority buffing you up through the various perceived materialistic successes in life are futile unless they are spiritual. Spiritual that comes from an elevated soul. An elevation that emanates from doing well to society. To those around you. No success propelled by impaling those around you and making them lesser human beings will aid that elevation. Perhaps extending an emotional support system to living beings within the boundaries of a region, those within your physical and spiritual impact may perhaps rise above the framework of the physical universe and pervade the soul network if it exists.

What does this mean for us now when we can physically read this and how do we actualize its potential. I look at the snap again. Was it worth building up all that futile ego like carbon inside the engine of life reducing its efficiency and power? Anger that we perpetuate within ourselves to help fuel our negative emotions. Manipulate strategies with vile next steps in the world outside to step to the next level of perceived professional success and beam in the peer group of winners.  Should I stop nurturing the little animal of revenge against people who have wronged me in life and use that energy elsewhere? Should I stop worrying about how to get that next big physical and materialistic asset, to be less ashamed of not conforming on time with similar winners from peer groups! Is my victory at being able to garner sufficient acknowledgement of everything I do in life or just use this magic of life that exists for now within me for a larger purpose.

I am not interested in finding greater spiritual meaning to life nor achieving super stardom in wealth and position on the ladder of success as those we work will hope to see in us. But I think the answer lies somewhere in between. But most importantly in not being afraid of death. You can be afraid of the pain that brings death. But not death itself. Death is only a culmination of a role that you were playing in a magical life.

Did you make the best of it or did you succumb to emotions controlled by the powerful chemicals in our brain. Did you reach a status where you looked from beyond the wall of life and in the parallel universe and smile (if you still can) and feel

“Hey that was not bad?” ‘It is good being DEAD. Divine Death. Understand it and you will perhaps embrace better life today’

Important to be human first citizen next – Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Wondering when was the last time I ventured into a theatre and did not get blasted with over the top dialogue, colours, background sound and over the top acting. If it had something to do with patriotism it had to be even more vocally violent. Loud shrieks and the power of the lungs equated love for the country. And if it had to be about people across borders the caricaturing of burlesque characters had to abound in the chase for authenticity. Luckily Bajrangi Bhaijaan succumbs to none of those temptations as its Bajrangi devotee – Pavan Kumar Chaturvedi Salman Khan makes no bones about his eternal quest to be a conformist and generally be a nice truthful human being. Colours run riot as his devotional character is established and culminates with his coming across a little mute girl who has wandered off into Indian territory from the Pakistan side across Wagah.  While Pawan makes genuine attempts to shake off his responsibility towards the little girl, she finds familial comfort in him. After rescuing her from harrowing incidents with unsocial elements he takes upon himself the arduous task of returning the little girl to her parents across the border

How does one get a girl across the border without passports, visa and acceptance of the fact that the mute girl is indeed a Pakistani citizen? Kabir Khan known for his entertainers like Ek Tha Tiger, New York and Kabul express all of which attempted new screenplay territories and weaving a gentle social message into it, does not disappoint. His prima facie victory is his casting.  It is doubtful if anyone other than the muscular but baby faced Salman could have fit the bill, Nawazuddin as a Pakistani Journalist does not even need any opinion on and the cute surprise package Harshali Malhotra who plays Shahida the little lost girl with such subdued panache that one finds it difficult to believe that she is actually not from Pakistan.  The best part of the story telling is that the director feels no compulsion to find excuses to get back to the heroine Kareena Kapoor playing Rasika – the hero’s family friend’s daughter despite a very clear love angle being developed. That one thought was the sincerity to the conviction of the story that needed to cross borders.

Treading dangerous terrain of potential offended feelings Kabir carefully treads the emotion mines and portrays both nationalities with polite and genuine justice. He defuses religion and geography sensitive bombs with the ease of a specialist and makes the audience comfortable with discussion of otherwise regularly volatile topics like the hesitation to visit the others religious sites or mouth religious salutations. There is a clear attempt to indicate that it is ok for both the religious communities not to ostracize the other’s approach to their religion or its practices. Tolerance towards communities at home is one aspect but reaching across communities across the borders requires even a wider chest and Kabir and Salman exploit that need to the fullest by scripting the bottom line – Being human is more important than being a citizen of a country

The movie is not in the face and does not have loud head banging music which usually hurts you even after you exit from a hall and goes at a steady pace sometimes even slowing down without  making you shift in your seat. The scenes supposedly across the border are captured with a lot of authenticity though on and off one does not notice shortfall in the ethno linguistic area as the people speaking  across the border still sound like at home. There are certain heart rending scenes that connect very well thanks to the artiste’s complete conviction towards their roles.  With its dose of comic interludes, tear jerking scenes and a lush photography it is a good watch for the entire family.

Songs do not really complement the strength in the story line but provide support. The leads are all into their roles with grand conviction and it is a treat to watch Harshali , Nawazuddin and the handsome Salman live up to the director’s expectation. Kabir true to his name strives to live up to his name of the saint who is revered by all. He seems to want to bring that thread of affection  with this attempt

The Indians and Pakistanis will not run into each other’s arms with this movie releasing in both the countries but it is guaranteed to make them want to look at each other with a different more accepting lens

It will be good to know what the gods make of it . Jay Shri Ram as Salman could have said.

Housekeep ! It's a Sunday

Very Busy sunday ! House keeping !

Deleted 2000 spam mails in my gmail and 4000 in my almost defunct Hotmail account.

Spent 1 hour unfriending 35 ghosts on my FB. They must have given up on me and life on FB long back. Nothing on their pages else they must have blocked me wink emoticon

Had a video chat on skype with my friends abroad for 1 hour. Fifty five minutes was spent on whether they could see and hear me clearly. By the time we could , we were exhausted so greeted each other for five minutes and closed shop.

Collected the weeks mail from the post box and destroyed 200 advertising mailers.

And finally for my dead What's App account where I am part of 267 groups, spent four hours deleting inspiring messages, breathtaking attachments of performances and good mornings, evenings and nights of the last 254 days. All this because my phone refused to allow me to do anything more unless I freed up the memory.

Whoosh ! Sweating. And my wife has the gall to say I spent the day whiling away without doing any work 

Shruti ..Maybe you want to hear me out ?

Dear Shruti,

Hello and Good sunday morning !

Always believed you were the most cute lady on TV. Your persona is very endearing. I actually saw Comedy circus only for you. You are like a little sister one would love to have.

However the other day I was a tad disappointed by your Tweet on the PMs action of asking people to take selfies with their daughter. Disappointed not because you opinionated on the popular PMs request  but because I see in his request a genuine possibility to explode awareness in one single action.

It is absolutely not a question of whether you have a right to share your opinion or not but by questioning a very valuable game changing request you are doing it disservice.

Please allow me to explain. The people of this country are very simple. I am not talking about your or me. It is the vast majority of simple humble people who unfortunately are given into crass way of looking at their daughters in a differentiated manner. These people are also imitators of who they follow. They do everything that a leader does. If the leader tells them to take a selfie and show respect for their daughter they will. Is this in itself not a simple win for women folk of India and elevating respect ?

You are yourself very popular. And elements of doubt on this sneaking into the people's mind only does disservice which I am sure is not your intent.

Should the people have hurt you with their reactions to your tweet? Absolutely not. Can it be avoided? Possibly not. Because it is these very crass people that the PM hopes to change with his request.

Please do not get hurt by the dozens that are abusive and vulgar. But please do not give a chance to the thousands like me who find you endearing but start suspecting the intent of your opinion. Simply because yes it matters

Hope you find merit in my view.

Best wishes

warm regards
Navindutt
Singapore

DDD - Sincere Ensemble cast,witty one liners, joyous colours and an impassionate dog

Crackling wit sprinkled along the entire length of the leisurely storyline. Classily subdued humor that takes potshots at the hypocritically pretentious rich families who are all a hoax and monetarily hollow beneath their branded exterior. 

Charitably bandied together in a sponsored cruise on the hopes of rescuing failing businesses, the various families with their expertly etched out roles crisscross each other’s lives. The audience and the friendly dog get a ringside seat to watch the ceramic outer of the pseudo rich crumble to reveal as ordinary as can be humans that dwell within with their fair share of one upmanship, envy, love, hatred and apathy for relationships gone sour over time. 

With Zoya we discover or rather rediscover life family and relationships on journeys to exotic lands. If it was Goa or Spain previously on road trips, this time the terrain shifts from land to water. And startling blue it is. Richness needs to be defined in as sumptuous colors as money can buy and a cruise ship provides that. A smart Zoya also smartly keeps the hoi polloi out by moving turning a cruise ship in the sea into her studio though surprisingly overawed by the territorial privacy and efficiency in shooting that it provided her she does not exploit its facilities too much tending to instead do some PR for Turkey 

A gorgeous family of a apparently successful businessman on the brink of bankruptcy, a disinterested son who makes sad business presentations without his heart in it, a married but business savvy daughter and disowned with typical arrogance that rich old school Indians reserve for their female offsprings and a wife quietly resigned to her husband’s secret affairs and lack of sincerity in their marriage. He sponsors a cruise across exotic lands to friendly and unfriendly business partners in the keen hope to buy deals to seal his financial security. 

With an assemblage of family, friends and adversaries who could be potential family businessman Mehra ( Anil Kapoor) and his sulking no nonsense wife (Shefali Shah) set off with fun loving son Kabir(Ranveer), a miffed married daughter Ayesha ( Priyanka ) who has been ignored on the invite to the cruise ,her control freak hubby Manav (Rahul Bose), potential future bail out hope (Parmeet Sethi ) and the sutradhaar dog Pluto ( voice- Aamir Khan) meeting on board with dancer Farah(ANushka) and Farhan as Sunny Gill – good friend of Ayesha 

With a large cast, well etched characters, numerous endless conflicts, dramatic face offs the possibilities of an entertaining ride is endless and Zoya does not disappoint at all. It requires astute presence of mind, freaking control of the script, tough captaincy and an ability to not get overwhelmed by all the characters in the story crying for attention and a proper happy closure. Zoya makes it look effortless. 

It is unfair to start dwelling and describing the story any further without impairing the fun element for fresh viewers because it is all about the surprise element in the sophisticated witty dialogues. There is a constant tongue in cheek refrain through the script. The sarcastic takes on the rich Delhites are never offensive or hurtful but chuckle inducing. 

It is a dysfunctional family with each of the characters at crossroads with each other’s expectation. No one is perfect but every character somewhere succumbs to the exhibition of the emotional power that another loved one has on him or her. Can they break out of their own threshold of personal security to discover lost love, make new friends or reconnect in failed marriages. Does love finally conquer the all-powerful language of money. Zoya explores this intelligently and with a lot of entertainment bringing all of this together in a controlled explosion of classy colors, an ensemble of characters each of who acts from the lead to the person who has just one line, scorching beautiful photography. 

Most discerning quality of the movie is the way it treats its characters who dot the heavily populated storyline. Not a single actor overacts or hams. Mark out Vikrant Massey as the handsome dude who falls for new comer Riddhima Sud in the scene where they are cornered, Lalit and Vinod as the business men who are always at crossroads and come together to work on a life boat, whistles for Farhan Akhtar making a limited presence as Priyanka’s ex love interest, a slightly out of sorts but impressive Anushka as the dancer, Zarina Wahab as Priyanka’s mother in law and Rahul Bose playing the annoying husband to the hilt. Watch out his reactions during a tennis match. 

Even a gaggle of Delhi housewives comprising among them Divya Seth ( an actress of good caliber missing for a long time), Preeti Mamgain ( who impressed us since the Banegi apni baat days) ,Debanshi Shah are absolutely impressive and not forgettable. Even Manoj Pahwa seen so often in movies actually finds his mettle here. 

It is difficult not to mention each and every character that dots the landscape and does tremendous justice to their role. I would say a first time in history

Which brings us to the awesome foursome in this story mainly the lead characters who give it all they have. Anil Kapoor and Shefali know their craft but are so wonderfully subdued only erupting briefly when required. Shefali constantly reminds you of Jaya Bhaduri with her brilliant range. Never thought however that  we will talk of Priyanka and Ranveer as great actors. But they indeed are just that, stupendous. Priyanka hammed a lot in Barfi but it is a huge relief and a delight to watch a subdued Priyanka speak more with her eyes and soft facial expressions. Ranveer is the real find. He has found himself with his perfected sense of comic timing and there are many times that you laugh because of the silence. Each of the 200 plus characters dotting the landscape of the movie are brilliant and Zoya deserves kudos for that. 

Shankar Ehsaan Loy craft some songs with lot of joie de vivre. The nonstop one take shot of Gallan Goodiyan is delightful. Watch out as far as you can into the screen and you can see the most nondescript side actors doing their bit sincerely. 

So why does half the crowd come out compare it to TWMR. Because there is no slapstick comedy here and the script unfolds at a leisurely pace. The well-spaced out emotions is what actually helps you to believe that the Mehras are who they are , a dysfunctional but loving family with equally good friends. Beneath the surface dwell good people is the message. They just need to find themselves. 

DEspite  the crackling one liners through the script the pace slackens at times making you feel the director stepped out to think where to take the movie next. The humour at places is a bit forced or just too sophisticated to make impact. But it does not hurt. You keep smiling through the 31/2 starrer. DDD. Well Done Zoya ! 

(Alert - I have a strange feeling, people who liked TWMR will hate this movie :-) )