Sankat City

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In a week, where the big banner has failed to deliver, here comes an entertainer in a small package. “Sankat City”, directed by Pankaj Advani, is a comedy cum thriller, capable of impressing both the critiques and the viewers who are in search of something out of the routine. It’s a roller coaster ride with enjoyable sequences and well written scenes along with splendid performances by the entire star-cast.

The movie takes off slowly, creating the required ambience for its characters to establish themselves. And after 15 initial minutes, it drags you in and starts entertaining with its superb enthralling narration. The story moves around a few amusing characters who all have to pay back huge amount of money to a big Gangster of the town. Now how they all manage to arrange that money, which keeps changing hands every five minutes, is the small gist of the movie.

The first half moves on an electrifying pace as compared to the later. The second half has only few minutes of dragging and predictable scenes but then it also picks up the pace, progressing towards an engrossing and surprising climax. Sequences related to various characters are interconnected superbly, backed by some great skillful writing. The star-case ensemble has everyone giving a worth watching performance in their own respective roles. The most entertaining one comes from Dilip Prabhawalkar, as the old man who is a master in re-painting the stolen cars. Kay Kay Menon as the car thief impresses once again with his effortless act. Anupam Kher bounces back with his famous comic timing as the big Gangster. Rimi Sen looks cool and convincing playing the con woman. Chunky Pandey (the actor), Manoj Pahwa (the producer), Yashpal Sharma (the businessman), Rahul Dev (the contract killer) and Virendera Saxena (the imposter Godman), all leave a good impact in their brief roles.

Musically, it has only a few songs, used briefly along with the moving storyline. So, they don’t act as an obstacle in the high paced drama. Cinematography is simply basic, with no special gimmick or lighting used to enhance the scenes. But even then, the director keeps you glued to your seats with his interesting and unexpected twists and turns in the story. The intelligent remarks on fake religious figures and sexual fantasies are a treat to watch in this black comedy. Though it also has some major flaws in the storyline but the fast proceedings on the screen don’t give you the moment to think about them.

In short, if you love the genre of thrillers without heavy action, relying more on conspiracies, plans and last minute upsets, then “Sankat City” will not disappoint you, if given a chance. It’s a brilliant take on conmen, media world and gangsters on the similar lines of “Ek Chalis Ki Last Local”. A must watch as the small surprise package of the season. 

Ratings : 3 / 5  

Sankat City, the latest brainchild from Moserbaer and Seven entertainment has finally proved that Bollywood directors do have a sense of humour that the audience can understand and relate to. Though the film has no Khans or Kapoors to boast of, it is better than most recent movies claiming to belong to the genre of comedy. Debutante director Pankaj Advani has proved his abilities and shows great promise as he executes this wild roller coaster movie with style and though the storyline is somewhat clichéd and predictable at a few places, he makes it worth watching.

The story is set in Mumbai where Guru(Kay Kay Menon) is a small time car-thief. He along with his partner in crime Ganpat(Dilip Prabhawalkar) who owns a car service garage give the stolen cars a new look and sell it. They hit a jackpot (or so they think) when Guru chances upon a Mercedes car outside a brothel and his happiness doubles when they find a bag with 1 crore rupees in the car. Little do they know that the car belongs to gangster Faujdaar(Anupam Kher) and they start making big plans as to what they will do with the money they make.

Their dreams are burst when Guru tries to sell the Mercedes to Suleman Supari (Rahul Dev) another goon who recognizes the car and alerts Faujdaar. When threatened, the terrified Guru reveals that the cash is stashed away in Ganpat’s garage. Meanwhile, Ganpat has hidden the money in a safe place to protect the money from robbers. By the time Guru and the gangster’s cronies reach the garage, Ganpat has met with an accident that has resulted in temporary memory loss and the location of the money is now unknown.

Faujdaar gives Guru a deadline of 3 days to return the money and a dejected Guru who has almost given up on his life stumbles upon Mona (Rimi Sen). Mona is a con woman who had teamed up with Guru in the past for a robbery but she had cheated him of the money and now she needs a partner again for another theft. Guru agrees and they pull off the act successfully. But for their bad luck, they lose the money due to a turn of events, and the movie goes on to a gripping climax.

The movie has way too many characters and too many twists but it does not irritate or confuse the viewer, it surprisingly entertains. Some of the comic scenes including a spoof on a south Indian item number are hilarious and the second half of the movie had me gripped to my seat. Rimi Sen can call this one of her best performances as she is the perfect con woman and plays her role to perfection. A true entertainer. Worth the 2 and a half hours spent watching it.