Sankat City

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 10th July, 2009
Time : 120 minutes
Director & Writer : Pankaj Advani; Music : Ranjit Barot
Starring : Kay Kay Menon, Rimi, Anupam Kher, Yashpal Sharma, Manoj Pahwa, Chunky Pandey, Sanjay Mishra, Rahul Dev
After the two turkeys that I’d just seen previous to this, this one was like an oasis for a water starved desert traveller. Its a comedy caper, kind of ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’, kind of ‘Fish Called Wanda’ and a little bit of ‘Oceans Eleven’. But its well put together, supported by a stellar character star cast and works…



It stars the following kooky characters
• Faujdar Bhai (Anupam Kher) : mobster cum money lender, has a unique way of dealing with people who cant pay him. He lets them roll a pair of dice and if they get a 3, they have 3 days to pay him etc. He is also a devotee of a baba and though he does follow him in letter, he doesn’t always follow him in spirit.
• Gogi (Manoj Pahwa) : Film director who would want nothing more than to get his now flop leading actor killed on the set so that his film becomes a hit. He wants nothing more than to retire and open a studio with his assistant director.


• Lingam, The assistant (Sanjay Mishra) : helps out in any way, including not going to the toilet for many hours so that he doesn’t miss an important appointment for his boss. Will run the studio but has one precondition – Aishwarya must come for the studio opening, minus Abhishek
• Pachisia, The builder (Yashpal Sharma) : owes Faujdar 2 crores, has a soft spot for pretty ladies and popcorn but not the stomach for them.
• Guru, The car thief, (Kay Kay) : steals cars and does well for himself, along with old man Ganpat in a run-down garage, until he steals Faujdar’s car and money
• Mona (Rimi) : street smart con artist, who’d conned the car thief on a previous occasion. Is friends with Faujdar’s driver who’s in trouble as the car got stolen on his beat.
• Suleiman Supari (Rahul Dev) : will kill anyone, as per his self-confession, even his dad



The interaction between these assorted ‘madmen’ is good, the dialogue is very good, funny, the situations come naturally, don’t seem contrived. And while it does all ‘fit’ in the end, it doesn’t really do it with the brilliance of a ‘Lock, Stock’ – though maybe that is too high a benchmark. It drags a little bit in the end, the whole garbage dump sequence was a bit too long / unnecessary, but you are still kept on the edge of your seat, waiting for the madness to resolve itself.

Also, for a change, its not brainless, its not timepass, it has good performances and its better than the two crap films I saw recently – though maybe that’s too low a benchmark ! I enjoyed the film, a few laugh out loud moments and I’m sure you will too…