Karwaan is aiming for an easy, offhand charm, and we get that only in bits and pieces, especially when Irrfan hits his stride on occasion, or when Dulquer proves just how good he can be by not doing much at all.

If the story had more depth, these three could have worked magic. But Karwaan stays on the surface. Which, it must be said, is beautiful – this film will make you want to book a trip to Kerala. But it could have been much more.

Detours and stopovers to cancelled weddings, random goons, Mere Mehboob-style coy romances, run-ins with exes and premature exchange of opinions, personal life and preconceptions make Karwaan wander off in a medley of much ado about nothing.

As a consequence the more we look at them, the more out of sight they grow.

After all that running around, the life lessons it ultimately imparts only show the makers’s inability by resorting to the same old soppy idea of closure it so desperately seeks to break away from.

All said and done, Karwaan will be remembered only for Irrfan Khan & his unbelievable dialogue delivery. Go with low expectations & be prepared to get entertained in parts.

For every sequence Irrfan is not on screen, you notice, the film suffers. Think you can say that for films in general — for all the time, for health reasons, he’s been compelled to stay away. This will make you want him back even more.

At one point, a character in this film explains that he is not sure whether Person X was a good guy but it is clear that he was not bad, which in itself is quite something in this day and age. There can be no more appropriate a description of Karwaan: it is not earth shattering, but it is not bad at all. Which is another way of saying it is an intelligent, funny, thoughtful film and a pleasant experience.

The locations are beautiful and the idea of finding oneself after a parent dies is good too. But the stink from the dead body permeated the film. You will enjoy it should you leave your brains (and your olfactory senses) behind!