If Pahlaj Nihalani and team had managed to mute every cuss word uttered in the movie, we would have had our very own silent film of this era! Saat Uchakkey is overflowing with gaalis – used sometimes as a conversation starter, at times as punctuation and almost always to show the “art of living, Delhi style”.
Our censor board nitpickers still have managed to mute a handful of words but frankly, one wonders what purpose it serves considering the barrage of maa di…s and Behend di….s that are already in ample supply.
Anyway, gaalis per se are not a problem. The Purani Dilli feel to a large extent justify their presence. But a little bit of story and some seamless narrative flow hurt no one ever. Sadly, these essentials are in short supply!
The presence of actors like Manoj Bajpayee, Vijay Raaz, Kay Kay Menon, Annu Kapoor and Anupam Kher brings in a certain amount of credibility to the film. But director Sanjeev Sharma, who also doubles up as the writer, lets this opportunity fritter away.
Manoj Bajpayee plays Pappi bhai, a man who buys lottery tickets hoping that one day his streak of bad luck would end and he would have a happily-ever-after with his girlfriend Sona.
Aditi Sharma brings in the required spunk into her character. As a femme fatale with whom both Bajpayee and policeman Kay Kay Menon are besotted, she is quite enjoyable to watch.
Pappi and his sidekicks indulge in histrionics. These are the few moments when the film does manage to engage us. Nitin Bhasin as Haggu is delightful and Aparshakti Khurana in his first film is spot on as Khappe.
The first half is spent trying to form this gang of Saat Uchakkey who want to become rich by hook or by crook. Post interval, it is an ineffectual attempt at trying to redeem itself.
The plan is clear – the group of seven now wants to loot money and jewels that they believe is hidden inside an old haveli. This is executed in the most vapid fashion. Annu Kapoor and Anupam Kher have been given such embarrassingly sketched characters one can’t help but feel sorry for them.
In fact, the ensemble cast has given it their all but the loose ends in the script turn it into a knotty mess.
The likes of Manoj Bajpayee and Kay Kay Menon deserve better and so do we. Saat Uchakkey gets just 2 QUINTS out of 5 from me.
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