Amit Sahni Ki List

Watch it. It's light-hearted and quite smart.

Amit Sahni Ki List is your film this weekend if you are looking for some fun. You should surely come out with some funny Virr Das expressions in your mind.

A movie about the quest for love. Sort of. In a way. Actually, a movie about the concept that love cannot be quantified but should be felt. In effect, this is a decent movie with the standard jokes and some really good ones. You will enjoy the moments when the fourth wall breaks. The insights are good and some are really funny. Virr Das does an enjoyable turn. The music, notably the soundtrack, make the movie come alive. Mala and Devika are a treat for the eyes. On the whole, Amit Sahni Ki List is worth a watch on the weekend, with your friends or your significant other.

Likeable in parts, Amit Sahni makes a decent watch for those who don't expect too much from their movies.

Unfortunately, Amit Sahni is not a character I'd ever want to see succeed much like that customary rich friend that thrives on self-created drama. And structured around his contrived situation is a film like him--it strains hard to find conflict even when there is none, and ends up as more like an Ashton Kutcher romedy than a Julia Roberts romcom.

In spite of the smart comic punches, timing and earnest performances, the story lacks the ability to engage you thoroughly. A few scenes (Amit seeking relationship advice from his best friend) seem unfunny. Songs are pointless. Also, the story moves at a lethargic pace and it gets to you since you can predict the ending. Mismatch or Miss Right? Instead of waiting for that 'perfect rom-com', you can give this a try.

I don't like how the film was narrated or how they got to the conclusion or what specifically the conclusion was too. At the same time, story-wise I can't quite tell what would've been a fairly reasonable change they could've made. Maybe even fluffy romcoms, while staying within the realm of exaggeration they are allowed, have started representing life all too well. Maybe that's what doesn't work about these films - they don't take me to a fairyland and neither do they stay real enough for me to identify with them.

Amit Sahni Ki List isn't exactly some excruciating film to endure but it doesn't bloom enough to qualify as a crackling film. The director's slapdash work is evident and that mortally harms the film. I am going with a 2/5. This Vir Das show isn't exactly his best work.

The makers seem to have been inspired by several popular Hollywood romantic comedies and so, the film becomes predictable. Funny on the surface with faults in its execution, Amit Sahni Ki List should probably come with a warning that says 'Burn after watching'.

Vir Das is best suited as a supporting actor, he can't quite carry off a film on his own but Vega Tamotia shows some spark. Amit Sahni Ki List tries hard to achieve something but ends up being listless.

Tongue firmly in cheek, Amit Sahni's list makes Mills & Boon seem like Shakespeare. But despite all its clichéd strengths this film got made and even found a few dozen time slots at the popular multiplex near your house. So if you're bored of the 5000th episode of your favourite TV soap. Go give Virr Das a chance. He's trying hard to break the comedian image and find a niche with the romantic crowd. Who knows, perhaps after you spend a thousand rupees watching this film, you might get the joke.

Amit Sahni…, on the other hand, is a movie that never really had any ambition to begin with. A standard story of a typically yuppie investment banker (Das as an awkward version of himself) is looking for love based on a list he made in college after a bad break-up. It appears to be a painful rehash of familiar plot-lines from sitcoms like Seinfeld, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and more.

Director Ajay Bhuyan uses a number of devices to overstretch his story: speech bubbles, voice-overs, flashbacks, etc. Everything is spelt out and reiterated, but in some smart, entertaining and contemporary touches, Bhuyan shows his potential as a film-maker. Das' acting skills augment these scenes.

Suffice it to say that the dips and curves in the narrative all add up to an experience that leaves us smiling and sometimes chuckling.