Saas Bahu aur Sensex

Compiled by Gaurav Malani / INDIATIMES MOVIES / Updated: Jul 8, 2019, 13:35 IST

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Director: Shona Urvashi
Cast: Kirron Kher, Farooq Sheikh, Masumeh, Ankur Khanna, Tanushree Dutta
Rating:

downshowrating=1Saas Bahu aur Sensex upgrades your daily dose of soap opera and stock market from the idiot box to the big screen. And with its balanced blend you achieve the two without an indecisive state-of-mind, like when swapping channels on the small screen.

The simple feel-good film opens with a family of two shifting to a new housing society in Mumbai. The mother Binita Sen (Kirron Kher) is a divorcee and the daughter Nitya (Tanushree Dutta) seems to be lost in the new surroundings. Boy-next-door Ritesh (Ankur Khanna) comes to help and gets her a job in a call centre where almost the entire society seems to be recruited. Ritesh is in love with another society girl Kirti (Masumeh) but the self-centered middle-class girl aims to marry a millionaire though she has Ritesh on the standby.

Meanwhile Binita wishes to sell some erstwhile shares and meets a rude but sensitive stock broker Feroz Sethna (Farooq Sheikh) who guides her into proper investing. Subsequently Binita��s entire kitty party gang is encouraged to invest in stocks. As Ritesh��s romance proceeds in sync with a sensex backdrop, the film reaches an expected climax.
Thematically the film faintly reminds of Sai Paranjpe��s Katha (Naseeruddin Shah ��Farooq Sheikh �� Deepti Naval) with a gender reversal in the love triangle. The setting is upgraded from a suburban chawl to a high-class society. The ambitious money-minded Masumeh with an unapologetic attitude is symbolic of the manipulative Farooq Sheikh from the original (urban corruption in the antihero was an age-old approach). Thankfully the film doesn��t get overtly judgmental on her grey characterization.
Though the film opts for a novel backdrop of the share market, the director��s stance on sensex seems to be as ambiguous as a layman��s comprehension of the medium. While on one hand, the film encourages women and in general everyone to invest in stocks for the progress of the nation, it also disapproves of its monetary maneuvering on human mind in the climax. Also the single-scene portrayal of the television chat show Saas Bahu aur Sensex doesn��t hold much relevance to the plot other than a gimmick to justify the movie title.
The film also attempts to spoof daily soaps but only sporadically and doesn��t exploit the parody much to its merit. The chick-flick humour in initial reels is endearing and smile-inducing. But as the film invests itself in the arithmetic of shares and geometry of love-triangle, the narrative starts dragging. While you can clearly envisage the end, the film stretches itself through the contrived climax.
From the cast, Farooq Sheikh induces some unadulterated funny moments with his pristine Parsi performance. Kirron Kher puts in a compelling act while Masumeh shines as the practical-thinking urban girl seeking for that one right opportunity. Lilette Dubey sparkles from the kitty party gang and the ageing Sharon Prabhakar could have done with some better makeup.
Like the stock market, Saas Bahu aur Sensex keeps fluctuating intermittently. But for its optimistic outlook, the feel-good film has its own share of entertainment.
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