Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge

Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge
Director: Ashwni Dhir
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Konkona Sen Sharma, Paresh Rawal and Satish Kaushik
Quick Take: Ho-hum
Based on an article by renowned Hindi literature legend Sharad Joshi, Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? is about the modern man’s inability to adhere to the atithi devo bhava (guests are God) adage.
Puneet (Ajay Devgn), Munmun (Konkona Sen Sharma) and their son are the quintessential urban Indian family. They have all the happiness in the world with the absence of guests. Lambodar Bajpai (Paresh Rawal) lands up on their doorstep and after the initial reverence he soon turns into a big pain in the neck. The premise is relevant to modern times but Ashwni Dheer’s treatment of the subject is inept. The movie is replete with fart jokes, crass one-liners and antics that do not go down well with the novel concept.
Paresh Rawal has the best and the worst lines. His character seems like a re-hash of roles he’s done earlier in Malamaal Weekly and Judaai. Konkona Sen Sharma is over qualified for her one-dimensional role. We know Ajay Devgn has the comedy chops like no other, but in Atithi… his histrionics gradually transgress into hamming by the time we reach the climax.

There is a wonderful montage of sketch animations at the start of the film, which set up things quite well. But the movie never manages to change gears and ends up being stuck in the folly of forced humour. Predictable and clichéd, Atithi… makes you laugh a few times and a twist ending is definitely a pleasant surprise. If only, the dialogue and the screenplay were as intelligent as Joshi’s original piece. As for the movie’s prospects, this week it’s the best of the worst.