Sankat City Hindi Movie

Madcap, irreverent and cleverly written, Sankat City is bright entertainment. Jul 10, 2009 By Jahan Bakshi

It's all about the money, honey. That's what Pankaj Advani's zany comic caper says, and it's also the reason why I saw it today in a near-empty theatre, while mega budget duds rake in the moolah. Ah. Hallelujah.

Size does matter, yes- and Sankat City probably outsize any other Hindi film playing in theatres currently as far as the fun factor goes, and without compromising on its own or its audiences' intelligence. Madcap, irreverent and cleverly written, Sankat City is bright entertainment, reminiscent of the likes of Kundan Shah's Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. While it may lack certain panache and pizzazz- especially on the technical front (the money factor being at play), the film has enough to keep itself crackling and it's (so far) small audience chuckling right till the end.

Performances are consistently good by the whole cast- Kay Kay Menon, Anupam Kher, Manoj Pahwa, Dilip Prabhawalkar, Yashpal Sharma, with even Rimi Sen being surprisingly effective- with the sole possible exception of Chunky Pandey who goes ham-mer and tongs quite literally, almost as if to compensate for his somewhat underwritten character.

Advani brings a nicely wacky, yet simple touch to the sprawling narrative, and though the storytelling seems disappointingly tame at times, he does well to hold things together till the end.

It takes time to get used to the slightly jerky camera and sometimes poorly lit frames, but once things get into the flow, it's pretty much smooth sailing till the end, unlike in real life where rough waters await the film. Giving away any of the plot that involves con-men, a loan shark, a real estate agent, a movie duplicate among others and their crazy quest for cash would ruin the viewing experience, but I do heartily recommend that you catch Sankat City in theatres and give yourself a good time and a fighting chance for a whole new and original wave of cinema to survive and succeed.