Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji ***

Love grows. Men don't. The promotional catchline for the film aptly describes the theme. Madhur Bhandarkar, known mostly for his hard-hitting and realistic portrayals of popular culture themes, scores with this one. Though he has ventured outside his comfort zone, he manages to strike well. Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji is a funny, yet realistic depiction of urban life situations and people, and at a close look, about three men, who are on a loser's streak in their love life. Naren Ahuja (Ajay Devgn, perfect as the geek) is seeking a divorce from his wife, and moves into his ancestral house to start afresh. To dispense pangs of loneliness, he finds two paying guests to move in with him -Abhay, or Abby (Emraan Hashmi), a womaniser, who is involved with a former beauty queen as her toyboy, and Milind (Omi Vaidya, a delight to watch), who works with Jhatpatshaadi.com, a matrimonial site, and is on the quest for true love.

Things take a turn when Naren meets pretty young thing June, in his office, working as his intern. Milind, on a night spouting shayari, falls for Gungun, a radio jockey and a struggler. Both of them with initial apprehension, plow along, and slowly start falling in love. As for Abhay, dilemma appears in the form of Nikki, Anushka's stepdaughter, whom he falls in love with. What happens when a 38 year old man, facing mid-life crisis, falls for a young 19 year old; or a naive bumbling idiot hankers behind a gold-digger, form the crux of the story.

The film is well-scripted and made, and edited well. Certain scenes simply leave their mark, like the one in which Shruti Haasan proclaims that she loves watching pornography, or the one in which Ajay Devgn tries hard to fit in with a bunch of teenagers. About the performances, Ajay Devgn is as usual, good. He plays the part of the geek to the hilt. Emraan Hashmi has nothing new to offer. Omi Vaidya, however, is a delight to watch on the screen. He is cute, naive, bumbling, and very adorable. His dialogue delivery, with its particular accent, is endearing. Shazahn Padamsee was passable, though very cute and lovable. Shruti Hassan has a striking screen presence, though with weak dialogue delivery, and is unimpressive in this one. Newcomer Shraddha Das does okay too.

Madhur Bhandarkar has certainly done well for a first-time comedy. The film may not be an in-your-face comedy, but is sure worth a watch.