On paper Barah Aana has a cracker of a theme—that of class divide and how a threesome of ‘have-nots’ take their revenge. But the film fails to deliver and ends up as dull, dreary and deadbeat. Naseeruddin Shah (a driver), Vijay Raaz (a watchman) and Arjun Mathur (a waiter) are three slumdogs facing constant humiliation and disgrace. One day Raaz hatches a plot to get a better life and assert their individuality. But it takes far too long for the film to come to the point, with nothing much happening in the first half. Moreover, it has a TV-movie appeal and a rather amateurish feel, the colour coordinated slums seeming more in tune with a film like Dil Chahta Hai. Naseer’s presence is wonderful but his character is not adequately fleshed out, his silence seeming more gimmicky than genuine. Arjun who was surprisingly good in Luck By Chance is surprisingly ineffective here. Even the accomplished Tannishtha is unable to make her talent felt. The trumpcard is Raaz who single-handedly makes the film work. Let’s have more of this actor on screen.
