Though the film touches upon the political aspect here superficially, it exposed the other system and its vindictive nature before its release for which it literally fought its way. You probably rooted for the film to win. Should you watch it for that reason alone? Happy to report, there’s more than just that.

This simple film is so much more about dealing with life, death, and the fuzzy space in between, that suddenly becomes precious when you’re hit with the thought of losing the most loved one. You can sense the tragedy. We all have. But we can do nothing about it.

I suspect a subject like this easily lends itself to realism, since the film itself is more often than not aimed at adults. Frankly, the presence of Robert Downey Jr. alone gives the franchise more gravitas than a bunch of serious lines ever could. There is much spectacle to keep the usual lot happy.

…every character in this film has to be unusually positive for us to unquestioningly gloss over the complexities of a story like this.

After all of that, sitting through two Superstar SRKs over two and half hours could seem like a chore or bore—if you’re not a fanatic yourself, or at the very least, merely interested in watching a film. Sure there’s a lot of the usual narcissism going on. To be fair, the fears were almost wholly unfounded. The picture keeps you glued to the screen for the most part. It certainly leaves a genuine and real impact.

This is absolutely the most gut-wrenchingly personal, mainstream film on an urban Indian family that I’ve ever seen. Yet, for the number of twists and turns that take place in the plot, or the story-line as it were—between four main characters who are together for as many as four or a few more days—the film runs the risk of you zoning out eventually and noticing merely the extraneous things that make this picture so much fun after all.

You get instantly drawn to this guy and therefore this film. Sure, the issue it addresses is urgent (homophobia, section 377, right to privacy, etc. etc.). But there is something very deeply unaesthetic about mere activism posing as art. It rarely works. This film does. Because of its very personal, painfully heart-felt writing (Apurva Asrani), first.

Tere Bin Laden: Dead Or Alive, retains a fine balance. It is, for the most part, black comedy at its best. Yeah it does stretch things a bit much towards the final few minutes.

The film seems obviously centred on Sonam. It’s hard to tell if any other actor would’ve cracked this role better. Suffice it to say the fears, mainly drawn from her painfully unendurable recent performances (Khubsoorat etc.), remain unfounded.

Quite simply, it works for you, or it doesn’t. There is no logic. It is about emotions. You sound like a fart verbalising or intellectualising beyond a point. I’m wholly aware of it. So, will rightly desist. Or will try to.