Film: Mithya Director: Rajat Kapoor Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Vinay Pathak, Harsh Chhaya, Neha Dhupia, Naseeruddin Shah, Saurabh Shukla Rating: ***** Running at: Inox (Forum, City Centre) Now, there are no screws-gone-astray in the head here. But Mithya, is quite like the Ulta Perk. The biting in part of the experience comes as crisp and precise, but the savouring bit has way too much sugar and not everybody is known to be overtly enthusiastic about the sweet tooth. Sweet, however, might sound a little oxymoronic as a smart, non-meandering, somewhat plausible comic plot wheels out of control and ends up being a teary contemplation on fate, ‘to be or not to be’ as director Rajat Kapoor puts it. Rajat Kapoor takes up a formula that seems to have inspired quite a few Bollywood flicks of late, from the mighty Farah Khan in Om Shanti Om to the uninspiring E Niwas in My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves —- that of a small-time actor with stars in his eyes. He also, quite predictably, throws in a sizeable dose of the underworld flexing muscles and guns in the already miserable life of a star-crossed wannabe. But then, you still believe what he wants you to believe in the promos, that this one’s different. Maybe because, you have in the back of your mind a cast that has magical actors like Ranvir Shorey, Vinay Pathak, Harsh Chhaya and yes Naseeruddin Shah. But then VK’s (Ranvir Shorey) story, as very Don(old and new)-like he is planted in an underworld kingpin’s place, starts losing its oxygen, the laughs that is, when the director tries to punch tormented emotions with a character that looks etched out for some whacky gut-wrenching comedy. Shorey has a face that speaks best without words (remember the vagabond in Traffic Signal?). And when you try putting typical Bollywood sob-lines on it, it looks both uncomfortable and unconvincing. And there lies the undoing of Mithya. As long as the lead’s eyes dart around furtively, full with hints of humorously vulgar or decidedly funny circumstances and misfortunes, ably assisted by ribtickling dialogues, Mithya keeps you happily stuck to your seat. And what precedes, keeps you hoping that the loose bits will be taken care of until you realise that the film is quite over. With a cast like that, Rajat Kapoor had a winner in his hands. And arguably the same actors (if you can count out the grubby faced Neha Dhupia) salvage the film from dwindling into absolute mediocrity. Harsh Chhaya, Vinay Pathak and Brijendra Kala give knock out performances in their cameos. Naseeruddin Shah, it seems, should give up doing useless bit roles like he did in Bombay to Bangkok and yes, the one in discussion right now, if he doesn’t want to end up being a sad caricature of himself. A bigger difficulty probably lies in the belief behind the film. That lofty dreams just get bigger every day, bigger, false and beyond your reach. And in the fact that we always don’t enjoy, lives just a wee bit better or worse than ours, being tattered beyond recognition in fiction too. Dark storytelling should never try to sell itself as an entertaining comedy. Look at the Mithya posters, and you’ll know what I am talking about.
