OUR INDIAN culture teaches us that guests are equal to God. But today, due to the fast changing lifestyles in large cosmopolitan cities, guests are considered as a hindrance to our private space.
Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is a movie based on renowned Hindi literature legend Sharad Joshi’s article Tum Kab Jaoge Atithi.
I have also read that this movie is copied from a Marathi Film Doghaat Tisara Aata Sagala Visara. I have not seen the Marathi movie, so I am not sure how far it is true.
The film revolves around three major characters. Puneet (Ajay Devgan) a scriptwriter and his wife, Munmun (Konkona Sen Sharma) an interior designer live happily with their little son. Life is routine for them, until Chachaji (Paresh Rawal), the uninvited guest, arrives from Gorakhpur.
The couple hesitatingly tolerates Chachaji and extends their hospitality at first, but only to regret it later when Chachaji makes himself very comfortable and refuses to leave their house, despite an extended stay. The couple is worried and irritated with the guest. They start making plans to throw out the unwanted guest from their home, but none of their plans are effective.
The first half of the film establishes all the characters, and does a pretty good job of it. There are many funny incidents in the first half, all handled with the help of comic situations. The second half is bit lengthy. The editor could have easily cut the unwanted flab to get the narration in shape.
This is a simple family oriented comedy. It is not a movie that will make you roll in laughter, but displays comedy with the help of witty dialogues and situations. Just reminds us of the old classic comedies of Hrishkesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee, but never find a place in the all time classic comedies list.
It is Paresh Rawal as the ‘Atithi’ who is the scene stealer, with his flawless comic timing. He remains the driving force of the film till the very end. The versatile actor easily outshines the rest of the cast. Does tend to overact quite a few times, but his comic timing is still intact.
It seems like Ajay Devgan would continue his successful spree after the Goolmaal series and All the Best. Ajay has a good sense of comic timing and effortlessly carries off his role. Ajay is one of the few versatile actors who have excelled in all the departments, action, romance, emotion and comedy. In recent times, he has given importance to comedy movies, especially after the success of Goolmaal series and All the Best. I think it’s important to keep doing something different.
Konkona Sen is spontaneous and a complete natural and shows good comic timing. Satish Kaushik and Sanjay Mishra are impressive and chip in good performances
Ashwini Dhir, the director who made one of the finest comedy serials “Office Office” succeeds in telling a simple story, and extracts great performances from the cast.
Pritam’s music is average, but goes well with the mood of the film. The songs fit well in the narrative. Aseem Bajaj’s camerawork is brilliant and dialogues by Ashwini Dhir are very funny and witty. Robin Bhatt and Tushar Hiranandani have picked a predictable story with some interesting twists and turns.
In spite of a predictable storyline, the movie is away from multiple plots and characters. This movie is not for people looking for intelligent or classic cinema. If you go in expecting this to be another comic classic made by legendary film makers like Hrishkesh Mukherjee & Basu Chatterjee, you will be disappointed.
In today’s fast changing family values, this movie is a good eye-opener, especially for youngsters who lead a fast mechanical life. Director Ashwini Dhir is here to stay. He deserves kudos for choosing a story with a moral.
ATITHI...is a family entertainer. Free from any violence or any double meaning dialogues. All the actors have justified their roles to the optimum. If you’re an Ajay Devgan or Paresh Rawal fan, go for it. This could be the best movie to watch this week, with one’s family, as compared to the other films.
4.75 / 8 votes 
