Brings The Same Concept & Theme And It Goes Very Wrong This Time..

If one looks at the number of Bollywood films that are being churned out about religion, piousness, and god-men, most deal with thwarting/satirizing the ideologies of faith and religion like OMG! Oh My God! (2012) and PK (2014). Dharam Sankat Mein promises a good theme but ends up confusing itself with its preachy message.

The story about Dharam (Rawal) who wakes up one day to find that he was born to a Muslim couple and was adopted by his Hindu parents is a clever start. And when he learns that his biological father is still alive, breathing, he decides to meet him. But is accosted by the aged man's caretaker to practice Islam so that he doesn't offend his father. Even this is acceptable, but the drama that follows and the way that everything is depicted is full of flaws and cringe- worthy.

If the makers wanted us to take the drama seriously, they could have polished it with doses of critical, thematic representations. Of course when you satire, seriousness is a collateral damage, but making Rawal fool around just to induce humor is some embarrassing tripe. Running around offices, stealing documents is not the best to way go about it. While the antagonist (Shah) brings back the nightmarish memories of MSG (2015), one can predict what's gonna happen and that is why PK is such a bad movie. It preaches, with no consequences.

One will also think why and how an agnostic person suddenly becomes so conscious about religion. No, not because of the obvious reason in the pot, but because of poor writing. The writers clearly have forgotten to base the primary character on something credible. The drama becomes tedious and deafening when Rawal goes on soul- searching, simultaneously practicing Islam and Hinduism. Annu Kapoor is a catalyst in the film who is an advocate in the film but carries out the job of a priest. It addresses issues like blind faith, religious differences, and conversions, but the problem is it shouts on your face. A few chuckles is all that the film offers, and if you (choose to) manage to pass the first half, second half will be easy.

The casting and performance is bad. Shah could've been replaced, while Rawal is the only thing that could salvage the drama which tears down to a substandard comedy. Ugly camera work and dialogs that are awkward do not support the trembling premise.

BOTTOM LINE: The film could have been better for the makers' intentions were wise - to satirize the plight of a man who is caught between the crossfire of two big religions. Unfortunately, the development and execution falters to make it just short of satire. 3/10 - below average.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES