Film: Mirch (A)Director: Vinay ShuklaCast: Shreyas Talpade, Shahana Goswami, Konkona Sen Sharma, Raima Sen, Arunoday Singh, Rajpal Yadav, Boman Irani, Sushant SinghRating: **1/2

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Director Vinay Shukla weaves a bold, unconventional and unusual tale, unusual only because Indian society still considers any discussion of the sexual needs of women taboo.

Shukla unabashedly treads into dangerous territory, blatantly commenting on the gender bias and the need for equality without being preachy.

Shukla’s protagonist is writer and struggling filmmaker Manav (Arunoday Singh), who is at his wit's end as no producer is ready to help him bring to life a script he has spent two years writing.

Taking the help of his fairly successful film-editor lover Ruchi (Goswami), Manav fixes up a meeting with producer Nitin (Sushant Singh). Nitin doubts the commercial viability of the film. It is then that Manav suggests a tale from the Panchatantra in which a woman (Sen) manages to escape the ire of her husband Kashi (Yadav) even after she is caught in bed with another man (Arunoday Singh).

On demand, Manav comes up with three other stories, all connected by the single thread of adultery and the use of wit by the women involved to wriggle out of tricky situations. The first two stories set in ancient India are convincing, with the second one featuring Sen Sharma and Prem Chopra raising quite a few laughs. Ila Arun as Kesarbai gets to deliver clever and funny lines in a Rajasthani accent.

The third story (with Talpade and Sen again) and fourth (with Sharma and Irani), set in contemporary Mumbai, do not impress much. By the time the fourth story is narrated, logic starts creeping in, dialogues run out of steam, and wit comes under scrutiny.

Sen and Sen Sharma play horny wives with ease, something we are not accustomed to seeing in Hindi cinema. Shukla takes the chance of giving that kind of power to his female ensemble cast and they deliver. Arunoday Singh has worked hard to get into the skin of his character but sadly remains wooden (remember Aisha?). Goswami yet again proves her acting prowess as she confidently takes on Ruchi’s role. Talpade is good while Irani’s Sindhi act is over the top and stereotypical. Yadav’s minuscule role doesn’t allow him to serve up good humour.

Shukla deserves to be applauded for skilfully portraying so much 'hot' stuff without making it look vulgar. Watch this celebration of female sexuality if you are comfortable with on-screen erotica.