Starring: Vir Das, Vega Tamotia, Kavi Shastri, Anindita Nayar
Directed by Ajay Bhuyan
Rating: **
Another film for which the promo makes a more than sufficient watch. Amit Sahni Ki List is one more in the line of those modern, urban Bollywood romances that are inspired more from the Hollywood romcoms than the shuddh desi bharatiya prem kahani. The film is predictable, a familiar tale of a young, smart, confused, urbane male trying desperately to find himself and his significant other. A bit like Pyaar Ke Side Effects, somewhat like Wake Up Sid. We have Vir Das playing an investment banker, trying hard to settle down in the face of heartbreaks. He draws up a list of the qualities he desires in his lady love and you know then that he will eventually find his perfect match in a thoroughly imperfect lady. Despite the in-your-face smartness of the narrative, ASKL has no freshness to it. Be it the lead, the set of friends and sidekicks, they are repeats of people we have seen. What’s more, you never once feel for the lovers. No sparks fly and the love story never manages to soar high enough. Partly, it’s to do with Vir Das, who is never able to become Amit Sahni; he is just Vir Das, a standup trying hard to be an actor. His performance too seems more like a staged comic routine. Vega Tamotia, last seen in Chittagong, is quite lovely, but made to act here with this hyped up eccentricity rather than with an easy touch. Hopefully, she will find her groove and the deserved space soon.
