Cast: Irrfan Khan, Rahul Bose, Soha Ali Khan

Director: Anil Senior

Rating: **

The latest entry to the cinema halls, Dil Kabaddi, directed by Anil Senior, did not fetch as well as expected. It is inspired by, or rather copied from Woody Allen’s classic, Husbands and Wives, which had won the hearts of millions by its humorous theme.

But as far as Dil Kabaddi is concerned, let us just say that though it has tried hard to appeal to the audience, the director has missed out on many aspects of direction. The film is a story about married couples, who are frustrated and tired of each other and thus indulge in “outside sins.”

Samit (Irrfan Khan) is tired of his wife Mita’s (Soha Ali Khan) ‘cold’ demeanor and constant nagging. Since the man is not getting along with his wife, he finds comfort and peace in the company of a sexually adventurous aerobics instructor, Kaya (Payal Rohatgi).

On the other end of the story are Rishi (Rahul Bose) and his wife Simi (Konkona Sensharma). Rishi, who seems to be rebelling against aggressive Simi, finds himself falling for one of his bohemian students (Saba Azad). If Rishi is falling for someone then isn’t it obvious that Simi too would be drawn towards another man? Right, she develops a strong crush for her editor, Veer (Rahul Khanna), even as she plays matchmaker between Mita and Veer.

Though the director has tried hard to induce humor in the film, which is quite evident at places, but if compared to Allen’s masterpiece, Dil Kabaddi does not even come close. The dialogues of the movie are however fine overall.

The movie displays some situations and discussions between Rishi and Simi, which look quite realistic, but Mita’s regular nagging, histrionics and self-righteousness are hard to bear.

If we take a look at the technical aspects, the background music is quite rambunctious and out of rhythm with the on-screen action. Though the art direction is fine and the styling is believable, the movie’s biggest flaw is the lack of a strong storyline or graph and the resolution is not that meaty either.

The performances are fine, with Irrfan Khan giving quite an unrestrained and inventive performance and Rahul Bose giving quite a natural and consistent act. Even Rahul Khanna has done an endearing job and Konkana Sensharma is as usual, impressive.

Soha Ali Khan has also delivered her part with utter confidence, and Payal Rohatgi does well a bimbo who teaches aerobics, with a liking for wild sex.

Overall it can be said that the movie could have been better. Though the fans of the actors might still walk in to watch the movie, others may prefer to miss out on it since Woody Allen’s Husband and Wives do not translate well into Hindi.