To make a satire on Dawood Ibrahim is a brave effort, no doubt. But is it a successful effort? Barely.
Arnab Ghosh (Sunil Grover) is a table-thumping, loud-mouthed journalist modelled after a popular prime time news anchor. His antics, though they generate ratings, fail to amuse the channel boss, who relegates him to a less important slot as the host of a cooking show. Disturbed by the demotion and with a heavily pregnant wife (Anjana Sukhani), he decides to go for the big kill – an interview with the dreaded don D (Zakir Hussain). He lures the don out to grant him an interview and accompanies a fashion writer (Dipannita Sharma) and his two-man crew to Pakistan.
For a film that is a satirical take on news channels, it gets its facts askew for comedy’s sake, which is granted. Still, the TV channel shenanigans of Arnab are downplayed – you only see one scene in the studio, which is loud, forced and not really funny. There are funnier skits online. The first half is a weak build-up to the interview with D, which makes up the rest of the film. While the dialogue is clever in the interview, where D is seen as a masterful manipulator, it does drag and you find your attention wavering. Yet the climax does take you by surprise.
( 2 / 5 )