Dasvidanya

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 7th Nov ‘08
Time : 117 minutes
Director : Shashant Shah; Writer : Arshad Sayed; Music : Kailash Kher, Paresh, Naresh
Starring : Vinay Pathak, Rajat Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla, Neha Dhupia, Ranvir Shorey, Svetlana
It’s a slightly clichéd story of a man who has always been dealt the short end of a straw discovering he has 3 months left to live and then deciding to do all the things he wanted to but never got a chance. The list he makes (buy a new car, foreign trip, learn the guitar etc) is for the most part predictable, as is the film but what redeems it, partially at least, is the excellent acting by all the actors and some nice humour.

For example, Saurabh Shukla, as the boss is always shown eating (actually wolfing is probably more accurate) and always has a request like ‘throw it in the dustbin’ or ‘bring water’ etc. Or Sarita Joshi, as Vinay’s mom, is always shown struggling with the remote. Or the choice of song, when the cute thing switches on the radio while being driven home in Vinay’s new car. Or even how life has always dealt Vinay the middle seat, whether in the shared taxi or even on his foreign trip. The Neha Dhupia sequence was cute, as was the Russian thing – though naming the whole film for a sequence which lasts 5 minutes was a bit misleading.

While its not entirely a soppy film, it does try to invoke pathos in parts. That and its predictability let it down. Bitter sweet, with the potential to make you and stop and think what would you do if faced with the same situation, makes it an ok watch.