Guests are of two types-those who visit just for a couple of hours and those who visit for a couple of (or maybe even more) days. I and my family have mostly faced only first category guests. But I dread the day when far-fetched relatives will come to our house and stay for quite a few days. After all, our daily routine and personal life will go for a toss. Thus where Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge scores is its huge relatable factor. You can identify with the situations the couple faces when an unexpected unwanted guest lands into their house and even sympathize with them. However, there is a lot more in the film that touches the viewers and that’s its biggest strength.
The story of the movie: Puneet (Ajay Devgn) is a film writer staying in an upmarket residential society in Mumbai with his wife Munmun (Konkona Sen Sharma) and their son. One fine day, Puneet’s chacha and very distant relative Lambodhar (Paresh Rawal) lands up at Puneet’s house unannounced. At first, the couple welcomes Chachaji with open arms but soon, they get tired of him because of his mannerisms, habits and huge huge appetite! Puneet and Munmun come up with various ideas to hasten Chachaji’s departure but they fail each time. To make matters worse, the guest refuses to announce when he would depart!
Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge begins wonderfully with some interesting sketches and a monologue by Jaaved Jaffery. It sets the mood but the later scenes where the couple and the child are waiting for a guest to arrive seemed too unreal. But things improve when the guest actually arrives and this happens in the first 10 minutes itself. The way Puneet and Munmun get irritated thanks to Chachaji was nicely presented. Hilarious scenes in the first hour are Chachaji telling the maid to sweep well and Puneet preferring to go to prison so that he can complete his script in peace than staying at home with his atithi! And how can I forget…Viju Khote getting irritated full-on thanks to Chachachi and how it leads to a disaster. The intermission point was excellent and the dramatic scene works very well.
As you can note, there’s not much story in the film and hence for some viewers, things might turn monotonous after a point of time especially in the 2nd half. Nevertheless, the sequences here work well especially Akhiledra Mishra sequence. However, the pre-climax and climax (involving Ganesh Chaturthi and Visarjan) was excellent and surprisingly, it wasn’t forced and gelled very well the plot. Also, the jokes and sequences throughout the film are sweet, funny and unadulterated. Hence this is a complete family film without a shred of doubt!
Ajay Devgn awes with a complete natural performance. You forget that he is a big star and view him as a common man suffering at the hands of an unwanted atithi. And shockingly, ever since he removed the ‘A’ from his surname, his films are doing a great job-first All The Best and now Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge! Hopefully, his next films (Raajneeti, Aakrosh, Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, Golmaal 3) would work and that too on its merits!
Konkona Sen Sharma as usual gives a confident performance and is extremely likeable. The way she everytime gets completely into her character and comes out with flying colours is really worth appreciating! Keep rocking Koko!
Paresh Rawal is what makes the film a winner. You hate when him when he makes life miserable for couple and you love him whole heartedly when he shows his humane side. A brilliant performance indeed! Sanjay Mishra was funny esp in his first scene. Satish Kaushik gives a fabulous performance. Watch out for him during his enty, intermission point and pre-climax! Akhilendra Mishra was hilarious. So was Viju Khote. Mukesh Tiwari tickles the funny bone when he tells how he bhagaoed a guest from his home! The actors who played Ajay’s neighbours and his kid were good too.
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