'Straight' is not a happy film

Straight
Cast: Vinay Pathak, Gul Panag, Anuj Chaudhary
Director: Parvati Balagopalan
Rating: *1/2*

Let’s get this straight — this is not a happy or gay film. It’s just an amateur piece of indulgence with limited appeal for Vinay Pathak fans. He plays Pinu Patel, a never-been-kissed, thirtysomething virgin who runs a moderately successful Indian restaurant called Gaylord. Insecure, shy, nerdy, and awkward, Pinu strikes out with women, which is just as well, as most of them are pretty scary prospective brides.

Pinu’s life begins to change with the arrival of two new staff members — Kamlesh (Anuj Chaudhary, nice looking, shame about the acting), a chef and stand-up comic, and Renu (Gul Panag, sweet but given little scope), his cashier. His attraction to both confuses Pinu and leads him to question his sexuality.

While his uncle and aunt feverishly try to arrange his marriage (which could have thrown up some hilarious situations but just does not), a one-off incident puts Pinu in a spin about his sexual preference. The only person he can turn to for advice is his musician cousin Rajat (Siddharth Makkar with the strangest British-Asian accent).

Set in London, there are plenty of British Asian stereotypes here and the writer takes huge liberties in terms of script. Straight is packed with problems. None of the supporting cast has a back story. There are no subtleties, nor are there any great laughs or sympathy for Mr Patel. Largely you can see the gag coming two minutes before the punchline is delivered. The relationship between the two men is better developed but suddenly abandoned, while the romance with Renu is unconvincing. And do you really want to see Vinay Pathak topless?

Washed out visuals, sporadic, gimmicky editing, and an overuse of song montages augment your impatience. You are left thinking: gay or straight — just get on with it.