/> MOVIE DETAILS

Cast: Vinay Pathak, Gul Panag, Anuj Chaudhary, Sid Makkar
Director: Parvati Balagopalan
Producer: Shripal Morakhia, Charlotte Wontner
Music: Sagar Desai
Lyrics: Subrat Sinha

THE FILM

First and foremost, the entire premise around Vinay wondering whether he is a gay rests on a weak platform. Just because you are unmarried, are a little shy of approaching women and are still a virgin doesn't necessarily mean that your interest could well lie with a man.

Also, an accidental kiss by a male employee of yours, played quite well by Anuj Chaudhary, doesn't mean that your priorities could lie elsewhere.

But for Vinay, it all turns out to be one big nightmare as he starts dreaming about Anuj rather than his female employee Gul Panag. He loves her but starts believing that he lusts for Anuj.

He wants to take her out on a date but instead fires her from the job. He wants to try a night out with two women and a man and fails in each of his attempts. And then he finally finds out that he is 'straight' after all.

Confused? Well, even I was. Not as much as with the narrative but what was the director eventually trying to tell. Moreover, if this wasn't enough, there is this brief gay rights sermonizing that happens towards the pre-climax!

Looking at performances, this is Vinay Pathak's show all the way. He has the camera focused on him right through the film's duration and one doesn't mind that.

If there is someone else who has a meaty role in the film, it is Anuj Chaudhary who does come up with a natural performance and gives a good account of himself. His jokes as a stand-up comedian are hardly funny though. Gul Panag's presence in the film is far lesser than one would have expected and that's a pity.

If one looks at the basic flow of the movie, it reminds you of quite a few recent Bollywood flicks.

An unmarried man running a restaurant in London was recently seen in Cheeni Kum, it's renovation by a bunch of friends is straight out of Kal Ho Na Ho, the gay angle being the central theme was seen in Dostana, a man searching for a bride in UK was seen in Namaste London, though in a slightly altered version.

Coming back to the film's entertainment quotient, it isn't as if the movie completely falls flat. Even though the beginning isn't as engaging, 30 minutes leading to the film's interval point are quite strong.

Introduction of Anuj and Gul perk up the proceedings while the scene where Anuj plants a kiss on Vinay's lips is excellently done. The interval point is the highlight of the film but it's the post interval portion where the narrative starts getting predictable and quite stretched.

In fact the songs that come up are plain boring even though they play in the background. The one towards the pre-climax when Vinay finally looses his virginity is plain criminal and could easily be eliminated.

Overall, there isn't anything that you really take back after Straight is over except for a few individualistic scenes.

PACKAGING

The DVD comes in a basic paper packing

DURATION

The film's duration is 110 minutes

SPECIAL FEATURES

None

TECHNICAL DETAILS

- 16X9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1

PRICE

Rs. 199/=

CONCLUSION

You don't 'become' a gay. Either you 'are' a gay or you 'are not'. That's the underlining thought on which Straight is based. And this exactly is the predicament of the lead protagonist Vinay Pathak who wants to find out if he has 'become a gay'. Interesting plot, isn't it?

However, the execution isn't as interesting. This is one movie that you could perhaps give a lazy watch at home but that's about it.

Rating: **