Khatta Meetha

It is probably one of those things where you have to be there to get it, but I found this movie hilarious. I have to watch with subtitles and I had to stop the movie a few times because I was laughing so hard I couldn't read the subtitles and keep up. There are some very serious topics -- corruption, murder, the plight of Indian women in forced marriages -- but I think Akshay Kumar's performance is near perfection.

Didn't expected this from Priyadarshan.

Engligh subtitles, please.

Funny.

No matter what the fate of his earlier works, Priyadarshan has reached a stage where audience still remembers his glorious days and patronise his latest outing in a hoping for a gratifying experience. You & me fall into the "Khatta Meetha" trap for this very reason. The product is not too bad, but then not up to the mark either. The audience has a disconnect as there are many places where the plot loses steam. A little bit of sincere effort could have turned the tables. The product is glossy and music is peppy but that doesn't help much. Comedy is good only at certain places.

This movie's story is about a joint family's sons and son in laws who are construction contractors. Their father is an upright retired judge. But, the next generation is wiser about the "ways" of the world.All hell breaks loose when one bridge construction by them collapses, killing about 60 people. Crimes are committed to frame a scapegoat. The youngest son (Akshay Kumar) of the judge (Kulbushan Kharbanda) is an oddity because he runs his own fledgling contracting business and is constantly facing a cash crunch. Murky events keep occurring. The dialogues hark on corruption in government contracts, which leaves little money to do quality jobs with standard and safe materials.The ladies in the movie are the youngest and unmarried daughter of the judge (Urvashi Sharma) and the new Municipal Commissioner (Trishna Krishnan), a spinster who was once Akshay Kumar's college sweetheart.The story is enlivened by Akshay Kumar's superb, pivotal performance and the extraordinary energy and acting from Rajpal Yadav, his worker and sidekick. Johny Lever delights in a small but effective role.For once, Priyadarshan, the noted Director, has failed to make an engaging movie.

I'd love to give this film more stars. Akshay Kumar does his best as the unappreciated contractor son of a raja, overshadowed by his extremely corrupt brothers-in-law. There are a couple of smashing songs, some of the slapstick is hilarious and the film does highlight corruption in construction and local government.But somehow the film doesn't quite gel. Akshay struggles to find a balance between the humour & serious elements of his role, Trisha Krishnan's commissioner is ineffectual against the tide of corruption and she lacks chemistry with Akshay outside of the songs, and the comedy seems out of place juxtaposed with the vile behaviour of the villains - there is some pretty unpleasant violence including a gang rape. Finally, the film offers no solution (easy or otherwise) to corruption.So a promising premise peters out in an sometimes entertaining but patchy film, and the hard work by the crew has not equated to an accomplished final product. Akshay fans will probably overlook these faults.Reasonably good English subtitles with only the odd error.

So great film