Masand's Verdict: Dasvidaniya, a moving drama

HIGH EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT: The film will undoubtedly leave you with a lump in your throat.

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Cast: Vinay Pathak, Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Ranvir Shorey

Direction: Shashant Shah

A moving drama that will undoubtedly leave you with a lump in your throat, Dasvidaniya stars Vinay Pathak as 37-year-old simpleton Amar Kaul who lives with his eccentric mother in a small suburban apartment, and works for a bully of a boss who barely looks up from his lunch while scolding him.

When a visit to a doctor for a routine stomach ache results in his finding out that he's dying of cancer and has only three months to live, Amar decides to make a list of everything he'd really like to do before his time is up.

Directed by Shashant Shah, Dasvidaniya is heartbreaking and humorous in equal measures. Despite several missteps in the film's second half – especially the scene in which Amar has an emotional breakdown when abroad, extending into a short monologue in which he questions his fate; also all the mumbo-jumbo with tantrics – Dasvidaniya still succeeds in coming off as well-intended and sincere.

Much of the credit for that must go to Vinay Pathak who delivers a measured performance as the cheerily upbeat protagonist with an expiry date.

The film keeps you engaged not so much on the strength of its plot, as it does for the interesting characters who inhabit it.

Sarita Joshi plays Amar's cranky mother with a hearing problem, and she makes her one of the film's most loveable leads.

Saurabh Shukla is first-rate as Amar's dosa-chomping boss; and Rajat Kapoor and Neha Dhupia as Amar's childhood friend and flame respectively never miss a beat.

Gaurav Gera, playing Amar's younger brother is appropriately unobtrusive; and even Ranvir Shorey in only a cameo is delightful.

Starting off on an inspired note, Dasvidaniya loses some of its steam in its second half; but when it's not trying to beat its own chest about what an honorable film it is, it's actually quite poignant.

I'll go with three out of five for director Shashant Shah's Dasvidaniya. It's emotional and sure to leave you teary-eyed. Watch it, but take your tissue box with you.

Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)

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