If only good ideas alone could make a brilliant film, Harsh Chhaya's directorial venture Khajoor Pe Atke would have been a fantastic watch. Chhaya who has been an actor himself (Laga Chunari Mein Daag and Jolly LLB immediately come to mind) has a brilliant idea at his disposal, that he has exploited to give us few giggles, but his execution lacks the much-needed precision and finesses to impress us. The film is a slice-of-life comedy that celebrates life and death with a generous dose of tongue-in-cheek humour. The situational comedy that this film features an ensemble cast including Manoj Pahwa, Vinay Pathak, Seema Pahwa, Dolly Ahluwalia, Vandita Shrivastava, Sanah Kapoor among others.

When an elderly person from a middle-class family, is put on the ventilator everybody, rushes to the hospital, to offer what they can in their individual capacities. But it turns out that every person in the family has his/her mini goals or agendas of sorts which need to be served first. Vinay Pathak Exclusive Interview: Khajoor Pe Atke is a Situational Comedy You Just Can't Afford To Miss! Watch Video

So you have the ailing person's wife who continues to be a glutton with the excuse that she is compensating for the emotional vacuum created by the sorry occurrence by binging. The brothers of the dying man (brilliantly played by Manoj Pahwa and Vinay Pathak) with their respective wives have their ulterior motives as they rush from their respective cities to Mumbai to help the cause. Behind the veneer of care and concern lies drama that evokes humour.

What is 'orchestrated' as a must visit to the hospital, eventually turns out to be a city tour, a quick opportunity for matchmaking for the young ones in the family, and even a chance to audition for a movie role for an aspiring actor in the family. All this and more creates a rather tricky situation and the humour that emerges from it is very organic.

Our Verdict: While the film has some genuinely funny moments, the screenplay gets sluggish and absolutely predictable as the narrative unfolds and nears the conclusion. Watch this one for Vinay Pathak and Manoj Pahwa's acting brilliance which adds much substance and sparkle to this paisa vasool entertainment!

Ratings: 3 Stars

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 16, 2018 07:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).