Saturday, July 16, 2011

Delhi Belly *** 1/2

Indian cinema has finally come of age. And the average Indian viewer is ever so grateful to the Censor Board, who is gracious enough to acknowledge that he/she is mature enough to watch films peppered with swear words and sexual references and enjoy them too. By definition, Delhi Belly is a traveller's diarrhea, usually caused by street food (read: contaminated). And this is very disease and its after effects forms the crux of the aptly titled film.

The film opens with three flatmates Tashi (Imran Khan; unimpressive), Arup (Vir Das; awesome. Watch out for his voice) and Nitin (Kunaal Roy Kapur; best of the lot), who live in a dingy Delhi flat with no water, or for that matter, peace of mind. Tashi is confused - he is due to get married in a month and still doesn't know whether his girlfriend (Shenaz Treasury) is the one. Arup is frustrated with life - his girlfriend has dumped him and his boss' idea of creativity is making him sketch a smiling banana, while Nitin, after wolfing down chicken from a street vendor, battles a bad case of the Delhi Belly. Oh, and in case life wasn't bad enough, they now have a gangster behind their blood, and must find a way to get out of all this mess. Yes, baby, shit happens.

The movie is funny, fast-paced, short, unpretentious, and manages to keep you captivated till the very end. Certain scenes/dialogues simply leave their mark, like the one in which Nitin comments about Tashi's new car (When a donkey screws a rickshaw, this is what you get) or the one in which Arup, tries to cover the CCTV screen from the policeman (in a burqa!). Newcomer Poorna Jagannathan is simply amazing, and Shenaz Treasury chips in well too. Overall, a must watch movie! DO. NOT. MISS. IT.