Bhatti’s satire on Punjab police

The film is in the usual Bhatti mould; `misdirected’ by Bhatti himself, `Mahaul Theek Hai’ has some of the stalwarts of Bollywood `overacting’ for him, like Raj Babbar as the businessman, Kulbhushan Kharbanda as heroine’s father cheated of land by own brother and Navin Nischol in the guise of the DGP. But the surprise of the show is Smeep Kang, the fresh Chemical Engineering graduate from the Panjab University, who rose above his initial nervousness and handled his role well, even scoring over his co-star, one film-old Chandni Toor. However, what amused the audience the most, if the applause and the laughter were any indication, were the romantic sequences between Bhatti and his `real life’ wife Savita.

However, directorial mistakes peep out in between, more so in providing the impact in those very scenes which slipped into a rather comical imitation. Though H.M. Singh’s `music drive’ is in the typical Punjabi format, an overdose of it and the length of the songs created a kind of ennui in the viewers. But what the audience seemed to relish more was the sight and sound of their own city and its surroundings, picturised beautifully by Harmeet Singh.

Nevertheless, in the final analysis, the film provides wholesome entertainment and points to a `theek mahaul’ for the Punjabi film world.