Mirch DIRECTOR: Vinay Shukla CAST: Arunoday Singh,Shahana Goswami,Sushant Singh,Rajpal Yadav,Raima Sen,Konkona Sen,Boman Irani,Shreyas Talpade rating: * Why sex is so hard to do,pun completely intended,is evident in spades in Mirch,a film that uses that most primal of acts in the most leaden of ways. Four stories interconnected only with the fact that the leads end up carnally entangled take nearly two hours to prove that we are still very far from smart,funny show-and-tell tales. No real ess-ee-ex please,we are Indian.Egged on by his girlfriend (Goswami),a struggling scriptwriter (Arunoday) tries to convince hot-shot producer (Sushant) about his brilliant story. The latter is sceptical. Is kahani mein thodi mirch chahiye,he says,it being a euphemism for you know what. Struggling scriptwriter goes into the producers loo,adorned by wall-to-wall photographs of yesteryear stars,bangs his fists,and comes out a transformed man. How about we use you-know-what as a sutradhar? Like this,he says,and starts his Arabian Nights tale featuring sorry men and needy women.Rajpal and Raima play a husband and wife in ancient times. She cant get enough of him,he loves it. Then he gets suspicious,and of course,hes right. Hes a poor cuckold,and cant do anything about it. Prem Chopra is an old man,Konkona is his nubile wife. She gets a strapping sevak,who serves him,to service her. Same story. The other two have the same theme: Shreyas and Boman are also upended by their scheming wives. The message of this movie is that all women,bar none,are blessed with tiriyacharitra,loosely translated as immoral. Thats why they are always on top. Dear me. shubhra.gupta@expressindia.com
