Thaindian News

By Joginder Tuteja
Film: “Coffee House”; Cast: Ashutosh Rana, Sakshi Talwar, Aman Dhaliwal, Neha Mishra, Vrajesh Hirjee, Vinod Nagpal, Javed Khan, Paintal; Director: Gurbir Singh Grewal; Rating: *

This is actually turning out to be too bad to be true! Week after week, audiences are being subjected to some terrible movies. Now add “Coffee House” to the list.

I have some questions for the filmmakers: Did you really feel that you would be able to find an audience for a movie like this, which not only has a dry subject but a boring narrative? And what is the relevance of a title like “Coffee House”?

Typically, a film takes some time to establish its characters, begin a story and generally ends with some conclusion. In case of “Coffee House”, you don’t get to see any highs or lows.

It is one flat narrative that stays the same way from start to finish. You see multiple stories running parallel, something which started with “Yuva” and ever since then has been seen in films like “Life In A Metro”, “Salaam-e-Ishq”, “Hat Trick” and most recently “Firaaq”.

In the case of “Coffee House”, you get to see the story of Ashutosh Rana who is an idealist and wants to change the socio-economic situation of the country through his newspaper and street plays.

Then, there is a small team led by Vrajesh Hirjee that aims at being desi Robin Hoods by robbing the rich of their wealth. A quartet of senior citizens have their own problems to solve while a couple, which is in a live-in relationship, sees this crumbling right in front of their eyes.

With so many stories running parallel, there had to be some portion of the film that could have been entertaining. However, nothing of that sort happens and you keep wondering where exactly the film is heading.

If this wasn’t enough, there is a communal angle that comes in towards the interval, something that diverts the proceedings. Suddenly, Ashutosh Rana gets all charged up, starts delivering fiery speeches, begins a revolution and in no time you find a nationwide protest taking place. Now where did this one come from?

This is hardly a coffee worth sipping even in your house. Just ignore it completely, it isn’t worth your time.