A sweet movie with a big heart……

Movies these days have exotic locations,costumes, but lack soul.Here’s where Athithi cashes in as a movie.It’s made with a humanitarian intention and with a touch of class,this one wins your heart instantly.The movie despite the existence of any big stars has good actors who perform their roles with superb conviction.Its like revisiting an old 1970 classic of Hrishikesh Mukherjee who told the simplest of stories in the most simplistic manner.

Inspired from a short story in a Hindi novel”Tum Kab Jaoge Athithi”,the movie is involved in a fast paced Mumbai where people have no time to spend for themselves,save alone relatives.Puneet(Ajay Devgn) is an enthusiastic script writer who works on his laptop continuously churning out sentimental flicks.His wife Mun Mun(Konkana Sen) is an architect who works under an always confused boss.They have a playful son who enjoys his school life and is barely good at academics.The colleagues of both the members of the couple tend to explain how disturbing is it if a guest stays in at their place.They simply laugh it off as hardly any person has entered their house since a decade.This sees an entry of Lambodar Chacha(Paresh Rawal) an old fashioned,aged man who comes to Puneet’s place.He has very strong principles and forces others to stick by it.He wins the warmth of all the residents of their apartment.His weird habits tend to irritate Mun Mun and disturbs her daily schedule irreparably.The guest slowly becomes a burden on the head for the family.Moreover,his lengthy stay at the place tests their patience.The film starts with a depiction of Athithi Devo Bhava, but slowly and cleverly deviates from it and shows how today’s generation have their lives changed with the entry of guests.

When Chacha in an unfortunate incident becomes a matter of ridicule,Puneet stands up to him.The child starts to like the uninvited guest with the latter teaching him the ethical values,traditions through wonderful stories.Suddenly there’s an incredible change, a positive one in the child’s life which start reflecting in his school life too.Though Puneet’s life starts getting dimmer day by day,the guest’s values are slowly transforming him to a better person.Few comic situations,some heart-felt scenes,life like situations keep the viewers engrossed in this family flick meant simply to entertain.Straight and smartly told.

First and foremost,the film could have gone entirely wrong without good acting.Ajay,Konkana and Paresh Rawal weave magic with their subtle acting skills.Though the first 15 minutes of the movie doesn’t give a good impression,the latter parts drool in, the senses of the viewer.The music is just par with the exception of the title song.To name a few,the characters of Satish Kaushik,Sanjay Mishra are beautifully interpreted.The naturalistic nature the film bears is heartening.The movie connects well to our mundane routine life situations.It’s difficult to predict the commercial success of the because the opinions will be mixed.If you want something practical,this one’s not a good pick for you.Surely will be well approved by family audiences and with strong word of mouth might take off well .Ashwani Dhar,the director does a commendable  job in conveying a good story.

RATING:3.25/5