Mar 03, 2011 12:48 PM
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Utt Pataang is a smart film, which gradually sucks you into its world. What sets it apart from comic-thrillers is the fact that the entire drama takes place in a single night. At first, you wonder, hey, what happened to Saurabh Shukla? Where did he disappear from the restaurant? Then you wonder, why is Vinay Pathak's girlfriend Mahie Gill desperate to have her belongings? Much later you question, who is that look-alike of Vinay Pathak and what is he doing in his apartment? But you get your answers in the post-interval portions and the rejoinders only highlight how intelligent the screenplay is and how efficient the director has been, in terms of keeping you hooked all through that one hour and fifty minutes.
Final word? If out of the box themes are your choice, head for Utt Pataangright away. This one's no Utt Pataang film in the name of entertainment!
Utt Pataang talks of incidents that occur in one night. Vinay Pathak is on the brink of a break up, caught in a dangerous money deal gone horribly wrong. Caught in this chase for the bagful of money is his private detective friend Saurabh Shukla, a heartbroken woman (Mona Singh), a French-obsessed gangster (Vinay Pathak, again) and the gangster's moll (Mahie Gill), all thrown into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse chase. Layers of secrecy unfold and the game gets worse as the night wears on.
For any comic-thriller to succeed, it ought to clear the doubts - in the most simplistic manner, mind you - before the film reaches the finale. The screenplay (writers: Saurabh Shukla and Srikanth V Velagaleti) is almost perfect, except for an instance towards the second half. The best part about this film is that barring the simpleton Vinay Pathak, everyone has a crooked/shady side to him/her, which makes them appear very real. In fact, each one is double crossing the other and that's why you feel ecstatic.
The screenplay writers and director complement each other wonderfully well. If the writing is watertight, the direction is top notch. In fact, the writing would've gone for a toss had a lesser director wielded the megaphone. Arun Varma's cinematography captures the look of the film well. I'd like to give brownie points to the editor (Sankalp Meshram) for the sharp edit. Sanjoy Chowdhary's background score enhances the impact. Saurabh Shukla's dialogue are realistic.
Vinay Pathak proves yet again that he's a super actor. Though he's getting typecast as a simpleton, the other role - with a French fixation - is what catches your attention. Also, he gets the French accent and pronunciation right. Saurabh Shukla is remarkable all through. Mahie Gill springs a surprise. She plays a con woman who is emotionless and who is lusting for money most convincingly. Mona Singh does very well. Sanjay Mishra doesn't get much scope. Brijendra Kala is okay. Delnaaz Paul is cute. Murli Sharma and Govind Namdeo appear towards the finale. Both are perfect. Kurush Deboo is fair.
On the whole, Utt Pataang springs a pleasant surprise. It has a novel premise and what makes it even more appealing is the way the subject material has been executed. In fact, it's a difficult film to conceptualize, pen and also execute and should be appreciated by those who have an appetite for out of the box themes
