Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene

Black Comedy - How underrated and underseen this genre is, can be understood by looking at these films. The film has implemented how black money laundering is carried out in India. But with a smile. Such a serious subject is shown with a light smile. Zayed Khan has shown his acting skills in the last film of his life. And the rest is handled by Anupam Kher with his layered acting. The film is so good that even Rannvijay's performance is tolerable. But for the so-called rational audience, kgf public will not understand anything. One has to keep one's brain alert while watching which is the opposite of Indian commercial films. I myself saw the film 8 years after its release and realized that neglecting a small budget film is a crime. The recent Crew is a similar film which in my opinion is the best Hindi film of the year so far.

One gets a feeling that he/she has experienced this film somewhere, but then realizes that this comedy thriller is just a variation of the countless similar films we have seen of this genre in Bollywood alone.

Prithvi (Zayed Khan) is a naive young man who works nine to five for a measly salary, and lives in a rented apartment with Sam (Rannvijay Singh), a lazy no-gooder. An ideal employee, Prithvi plays it safe by budgeting his monthly expenses and leading a frugal life despite having a high-maintenance girlfriend, Megha (Tena Desae). Things take an upward spin when Prithvi finds that INR 100 crore has been deposited into his account, followed by a menacing call from gangster Dawood Ibrahim directing him to do some "tasks". What follows is Prithvi and Sam's harrowed attempts at doing what they are told and trying to hustle some money for themselves.

An average movie-goer can easily predict how the story will turn out, and the plot has been written in such a manner so as to make that task convenient and boring for the viewer. The writers probably read scripts of similar Bollywood films, added some negligible plot points of their own, and created this. Direction is formulaic as the cast appear to do what they are told, without adding even a dash of idiosyncrasy. Nonetheless, the biggest problem with the film is its characters suddenly shedding their original frame and suiting up as masters of the game, which is not only unconvincing, but is also ennui-inducing.

Nothing extraordinary to talk about the actors. Although, it was relieving to watch Khan after a long hiatus. Poor lad seems to be unlucky in this field of acting. Desae, Kher, and Singh are average.

BOTTOM LINE: Gurmmeet Singh's "Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene" is at best an average show about few characters who suddenly seem to have great knowledge about the scam they irresponsibly became a part of. Watch it if it airs on TV.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Its really great to see a comparatively small film exploring a novel idea trying to give you something fresh moving ahead than the usual. Hence SHARAFAT GAYI TEL LENEsurely earns few brownie points for this much desired brave move taking the risk, but I wish the team had shown the same inventive vision in its writing and execution too saving it from becoming a drag post the initial interesting moments in the first half.

Sharing the outline of its exciting plot, just imagine what if the ATM balance receipt one gets out of the money machine surprisingly shows an amount of Rs.100 crores recently credited in the account. And next, the person still struggling to accept the truth receives a 'private number' call from none other than the notorious Dawood, who has actually depositing that money in order to have a new middle man in the town delivering his 'Havala' payments. Based on this energetic con-plot with a wide scope of many shocking twist and turns, SGTL sadly begins with the same long intros and a song before coming to its core theme. And then instead of becoming a fun-ride, soon loses the grip and goes on overstretching the proceedings missing that expected excitement or energy.

Supporting the film to the best of their ability, everyone in the cast (Anupam Kher, Zayed Khan, Tena Desae & Rannvijay Singh) play their respective roles well but director Gurmmeet Singh fails to exploit the efforts made, delivering a completely lifeless film (with a poor climax) that could have been a fine, fast paced, thrilling entertainer instead. Moreover when you see the names of multiple music directors roped in for the average music to be incorporated in a con-thriller accompanied by an unexciting background score & cinematography, then you realize that probably the film was being conceived in the wrong manner right from the first stage itself missing the required focus.

To conclude, the fresh interesting plot of a con-game being played between just a few characters (with reference of the over-famous Dawood), gets under-utilized in SHARAFT GAYI TEL LENE released without any publicity campaign. But it still can be seen (just for its enjoyable premise) if you are able to catch it next on a channel or post its release in the home video market in the coming weeks.