Fenil and Bollywood

By Taran Adarsh, January 1, 2010 – 12:32 IST

After almost five years, accomplished actor Saurabh Shukla returns to the director’s chair with RAAT GAYI, BAAT GAYI?, a film that’s making the right buzz. Making an adult comedy that talks of one night stand is tough. But giving the serious issue a humorous take is tougher.

RAAT GAYI, BAAT GAYI? is about relationships and also looks at the philanderers, who, despite being committed, don’t mind having a PYT in a closet, for no strings attached fun.

You may draw parallels with THE HANGOVER because the protagonist can’t recall anything that happened the previous night. But it must also be said that the film throws a few surprises, which makes it completely different from any film, past or present.

But there’s one factor that throws a spanner. There’s not much meat in the story. Also, it unravels at an excruciatingly slow pace. In fact, the wheels start moving only towards the penultimate 20 odd minutes, when the answers start coming.

In a nutshell, RAAT GAYI, BAAT GAYI? offers a few laughs, not laughter unlimited!

Rahul [Rajat Kapoor] wakes up with a bad hangover after a party the night before. There, he had met a sexy young woman Sophia [Neha Dhupia]. They got drunk and there were sparks flying. But Rahul doesn’t remember what happened after that. Did they go all the way?

His wife Mitali [Irawati Harshe Mayadev] is in a particularly bad mood and Rahul suspects that she might know about his little escapade last night. Rahul starts chasing his night, trying to retrieve it, trying to find out what really happened.

His friends Saxena [Dalip Tahil] and Amit [Vinay Pathak] are going through their own marital crisis of sorts. Driven to his wits end, he realizes that he must meet Sophia again to get the answers.

Almost three decades ago, Basu Chatterjee made an adult comedy called SHAUKEEN, which told the story of three men who eye a pretty girl, who’s completely oblivious of their intentions. In this film too, director Saurabh Shukla looks at three men with a roving eye.

Sadly, the screenplay [writers: Saurabh Shukla and Rajat Kapoor] falls woefully short in terms of generating interest. In fact, till three-fourths of the movie, there’s not much movement in the story, except for a few humour-laden sequences. It also moves lethargically and is unnecessarily slack.

Ankur Tewari’s music is strictly functional. Fuwad Khan’s cinematography captures the varied moods well.

The film scores in the performance department. Every member of the cast – Neha Dhupia, Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Dalip Tahil, Irawati Harshe Mayadev, Anu Menon, Navniit Nisshan and Aamir Bashir – deliver fine performances. Especially Rajat and Vinay. Ranvir Shorey, Makrand Deshpande and Sudhir Mishra appear in cameos.

On the whole, RAAT GAYI, BAAT GAYI? doesn’t work.