Utt Pataang

Cast: Vinay Pathak, Mahie Gill, Saurabh Shukla, Mona Singh, Sanjay Mishra, Brijendra Kala, Govind Namdeo, Delnaz Paul, Murli Sharma

Director: Srikanth Velagaleti

Telling the incidents that happened one night, 'Utt Pataang' is an intelligent film that entertains while maintaining a fun element right through its 100 minutes duration. What makes these 100 minutes special is the back and forth narrative that is the USP of 'Utt Pataang'. So what one gets to see are numerous scenes that are revisited later in the film while bringing with them an altogether different connotation, something that one never saw coming. It is this narration style that makes 'Utt Pataang' stand a distance away from many other thrillers. Where 'Utt Pataang' scores is the storytelling pattern more than anything else. This is what makes this Srikanth V. Velagaleti directed film an innovative piece of cinema. Vinay Pathak breaks up with his girlfriend (Mahie Gill) only to get hooked up with another girl (Mona Singh) with help from his friend (Saurabh Shukla). However when a French inspired gangster (Vinay Pathak again, now in a double role) joins them all, there is total mayhem that leads to an unexpected end.

For a film like this with just five principal characters to boast, it is of paramount importance to keep the duration in check. This indeed happens in case of 'Utt Pataang' where care is taken to ensure that there is not much 'utt pataang' in the very narrative. Still, there are portions in the film where one wishes that things moved faster. Case in point being the entire French inspiration in Vinay Pathak's gangster character which is a little too stretched and actually seems irrelevant in the core context of the film. Also, Mona Singh's character stays on to be quite dull while also being a little unbelievable.

However this is compensated to a fair degree by Saurabh Shukla who makes the best use of the opportunity. He is fantastic. Vinay Pathak is good as a simpleton but just fair as a French inspired gangster. Mahie Gill looks bewitching throughout and adds oopmh to the proceedings. Mona Singh is just about average. The film is marred by barely average production values though. Also, it doesn't have any scope for music. Editing is good though, something which was required to complement the narrative and genre of the film.

30 minutes into 'Utt Pataang' and you regret the fact that why wasn't the film promoted at all. In the times when number of undeserving films are backed by an intense marketing and promotional campaign, a sweet but not so simple film like 'Utt Pataang' has come virtually unannounced. Now that's disappointing for a film which is a good comic thriller that has various moments that make one nod in appreciation. Vinay Pathak, the hero of that 2007 sleeper hit Bheja Fry, plays the common man. Again. He’s 35, excited to have picked up a hot girl from an Indian bar. Good for him. His wife’s an imposter. She’s heading out of the country with someone else’s bag of money. Good man Pathak’s best friend (Saurabh Shukla) helps his wife escape. Not clear why. But that’s not what plays on your mind. There’s another Vinay Pathak. This one’s the bad guy. The said bag of money is his. He talks effeminately in French, apes Inspector Jacques Clouded that is, if Peter Sellers were to speak Hindi in Pink Panther ("zin zin zin"). Bheja Fry was also lifted from a popular French production, The Dinner Game (1998). But that's besides the point. This indoor plot, set over a single night, over four rooms, four actors, moves back and forth. Forth and back. You’d imagine someone read this script and thought the supposed page turner would make for another low-budget comic hit. They didn’t bother to apply any cinema at all. The pic lifelessly goes back and forth again. You watch disinterestedly still. This is a Warner Bros production, I'm told. Seriously? Whatever.

The film takes off with two friends Nandu (Saurabh Shukla) and Ram (Vinay Pathak) meeting a single girl Koyal (Mona Singh) at a pub. As Ram and Koyal strike a conversation they realize Nandu, who had gone the washroom, has actually left. Since Koyal has no place to go Ram takes her home where he used to stay with his ex-girlfriend Sanjana (Mahie Gill). The story takes a turn when Sanjana walks in and find Koyal in the house. Sanjana is involved with a don called Lucky who is a lookalike of Ram. She has stolen his money and now trying to leave India but she needs her passport, which she left at Ram's place. Ram's friend Nandu, a private detective, helps her get it but falls into the net of the don himself.

Utt Pataang has an interesting and impressive narrative. Each character is introduced one by one and his or her involvement in the plot is explained. The story keeps getting into flashbacks, which play out into the present situation. What seems to be a regular love story at the outset turns out to be a mad comic thriller. The connect remains throughout, despite the difficult screenplay, which is commendable. However apart from the narrative structure there is hardly anything that manages to make a mark about this film. The characters are patchy. Lucky is a don and has a posh office which he runs under the guise of another company. He is someone who never spares anyone who takes away his money and is dreaded at least that's what is gathered from Nandu's description. However he does not even have Rs 5 crore to buy a house for his wife! Also he keeps mixing up with French and Hindi. While he is talking to his wife in sparkling Hindi, he turns French when speaks with others! Also there is nothing in the plot that required Lucky to be a lookalike of Ram, except vain attempt to create comedy. Then there is Nandu, a detective, who has done all possible research on people around him does not bother to check a bag before he takes it to the don.

Thankfully for the film there were no songs to loosen the pace. The first half is pretty decent. The second half loses way only to find the rhythm back later. The performances are disappointing too. While Saurabh Shukla shines, Vinay Pathak does not quite fit the bill. Mahie Gill, usually a performer, draws blank too. Mona Singh is repetitive. Utt Pataang does not have anything that could push you to buy a ticket unless you really want to watch it just for the sake of watching it! This one is a disappointment.