Harsh Chhaya directorial debut 'Khajoor Pe Atke' which is on the lines of the 2016 Marathi film 'Ventilator' is not up to the mark in context of its comedy genre. With the stereotypical take on the mindset of a middle-class Indian family, Harsh Chhaya makes it slightly overdramatic with the absurd narrative of the film. It is a critical member of the family held in the ICU of Fortis hospital, as his elder brother residing in Lucknow is informed about the crucial condition. The film begins introducing Jeetendar Sharma played by Manoj Pahwa, the eldest brother receiving a phone call of his nephew Alok Sharma played by Vicky Arora who informs him about the seriousness of the situation. Being the eldest of all Jeetendar makes the decision to make his way to Mumbai following up an unusual conversation with her wife Sushila Sharma played by Seema Bhargava who urges him not to spend so much on four flight tickets as this is an unnecessary visit to Mumbai. Jeetendar informs his yet another younger brother Ravinder Sharma played by Vinay Pathak about it in a taunting manner and heads to Mumbai with its family including son Amit Sharma played by Nabeel Ahmed and daughter Nayantara Sharma played by Sanah Kapoor.
Ravinder's character sketch is as usual as the rest of his films, kind of kinky and a weirdo at times. He is inquiring about the flight ticket rates, aiming to book the cheapest tickets and his wife Anuradha Sharma played by Suneeta Sengupta suggests him ''Paidal hee kyu nahi chaley jaatey''. It is Kadambari Sharma the wife of the critical member played by Alka Amin who just keeps eating Burger or Pastries in hypertension accompanied by his son Vicky Arora aka Alok. Alka Amin's senses their greed for property behind their visit. Vinay Pathak's entry to the hospital is quite hilarious as he straightaway whispers in Manoj Pahwa's ears ''Property ka kya hua.''
They all are here to date the Mess!! Sanah Kapoor as Rosy [Going by her facebook name] is dating a fakester local lad Rocky played by Prathamesh Parab who promised her to give her break in glam world, saying, ''Aye tu heroine banne k liye heech bani hai." Whereas her younger brother is caught in a dance Bar as he explores Mumbai. ''Inka pura Khaandaan hee namuna hai'' shouts Inspector Dileep Jadhav played by Nagesh Bhonsle.
While this series of mess around is not at all a Rollercoaster ride. The film starts off well but heads nowhere. The emotional touch towards the end missed the intensity and was seemingly less impactful. We see drama all way along. Harsh slightly overdid the narrative. We wish we witnessed an emotional ending to endure in the end. A major part of the film is shot in the waiting room of the hospital. Director of Photography by Sidhant Chowdhry has done a fine job capturing smooth scenes of the demanded narrative. However, the biggest loophole I would say is the execution in terms of many things happening at a time.
We would suggest not to make an effort of watching this one on the silver screen.
Cast :Vinay Pathak, Manoj Pahwa, Seema Bhargava, Vicky Arora
Director :Harsh Chhaya