Review: 'I M 24' is not the best entertainment money can buy

Film: I M 24
Director: Saurabh Shukla
Cast: Rajat Kapoor, Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Manjari Fadnis
Rating: *1/2

When it comes to Saurabh Shukla, all you expect is a light-hearted story with a few chuckles thrown in here and there. That's precisely what I M 24 is. Well, at least for the first half of the film. Contrary to expectations that a combination of small-budget and actors like Rajat Kapoor and Ranvir Shorey results in a laugh riot (what we've been waiting for since Bheja Fry), I M 24 is just a sincere take on the importance of truth. Art v/s real life – that’s the basic premise of every film presented by this team, only this time, Vinay Pathak (and for the best) has been left out.

The film starts with an animated depiction of Mumbai along with the main titles. From Marine Drive to the aunties walking on the road, every aspect of Mumbai is presented in a very different way than how movies based in and about the 'maximum city' usually start.

Shubendu (Kapoor) and Gagan (Shorey) are roommates and friends with very different personalities. While Gagan, a struggling actor, believes lying is the only way to progress in life, Shubendu, an unsuccessful writer, is a Gandhiwadi and refuses to compromise on his dignity and truth. Shubendu is forced to lie to a girl he meets through an internet chat room — Kanak (Manjari Phadnis) — only to realise how happy he is after cooking up a false image of himself. After that one night we see 'Raja Harishchandra' Shubendu transform into a pot of deception. As the story progresses, we see Gagan and Shubendu weaving stories after stories to impress their friends Sheila (Neha Dhupia) and Kanak. What happens when the truth comes out, forms the rest of the story.

The story is simple and has nothing new to offer. Whether it’s the struggle of an artist or the superficial relationships in the glamour industry, all of it is seen before. The dialogue, fits well at times, but tends to get corny, sprinkled with humour here and there. Kapoor is simple and apt. Shorey takes the cake with a great performance. Dhupia and Phadnis are good, while Shukla and Ira Dubey are entertaining.
 
Although the story progresses at a good pace, the climax kills the feel-good factor with an illogical stretched conclusion. The music is nothing spectacular.

Shukla combines a number of lessons in irrational settings. Struggling artists live in a huge house, which, they say is in Ghatkopar, but Shubendu goes for a jog to Marine Drive each morning!

Not the best entertainment money can buy, I M 24 is not completely unworthy of your time.