/> Starring Nana Patekar, Danny Denzongpa, Paresh Rawal, Kunal Kapoo, Rimi
Story Screenplay & Dialogues by Rajat Aroraa
Directed by Milan Luthria
Rating: *** ½

If you are looking for that one film that takes you completely by surprise this year, then look no further.

Hat Trick has been wrongly projected as a cricket film. In truth it's as much about cricket as about hats.

But honestly hats off to the producers UTV, the director Milan Luthria and writer Rajat Aroraa for displaying such an enormously enterprising spirit.

Unlike some other films that push the envelope Hat Trick doesn't get self-indulgently didactic or ham-handed. The narrative, segregated into three nimble and endearing slices of life, never fails to entertain.

Not for a second does Luthria let go of that mellow momentum that secludes the also-rans from the must-runs.

Hat Trick must work at the boxoffice. It doesn't flounder even once in telling its story of lives that barely crisscross and yet come together in a collective clasp celebrating life at its most basic and elemental level. The homilies spill out willnilly from Rajat Aroraa's acerbic and energetic words which often say a lot more than they seem to.

Of the three stories in the film which one do I single out for its dazzling display of of keen showmanship? Let's see... The one about a Gujarati janitor in London ( played by a flawlessly in-character Paresh Rawal) and his journey in London from ignorant racism to poignant patriotism is mapped with the mellowness of a supple symphony played at the middle octave by an orchestra that knows its job.

Yes, there's a load of wisom here. But never thrust into the narrative. The leaps of profundity come out of a genuine feeling of camaraderie between the script and its treatment.

The second story about a bond that grows between a surly doctor (Nana Patekar) and a veteran cricketer (Danny Denzongpa) is very 'Munnabhai' in content. It nevertheless leaves a lasting impression, thanks to the vividly written words about the connection between life and laughter, giving and attaining nirvana.

In brief, this slice-of-life segment makes a penetrating comment on the doctor-patient relationship and, yes, a hug can really go far, provided you let it.

The third story about a Sikh cricket fan (Kunal Kapoor) and his newly wedded wife 's sudden obsession for Dhoni is wackily life-life, filled with a kind of kinetic comicality and spinnig sensuousness. Watch Kunal with his adrenaline-charged performance take this segment to heights of hilarity.

There have been a number of episodic films recently. But none so audacious and enchanting, precocious and poignant, intense and blithe....Hat Trick is like a blind date at the movies where you discover that the partner to be far more engaging than you expected.

Go for it, wholeheartedly.