'Dharam Sankat Mein' Review: Paresh Rawal shines, Naseeruddin Shah disappoints

Director: Fuwad Khan
Cast: Paresh Rawal, Annu Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah
Rating: **1/2

What it's about: Dharampal Trivedi (Paresh Rawal) likes his nightcap, his early-morning playback of Manjeet Manchala's hits, his casual indulgences and making usual taunts directed at his Muslim neighbour. He's Ahmedabad's self-confessed number-one caterer. A visit to his mother's bank locker leads to a discovery that he's Muslim by birth. Dazed by the discovery, he seeks solace at the local temple. When that doesn't put his mind at ease, he comes home and shares his confusion with aforementioned neighbour Nawab Mehmood Nazeem Ali Shah Khan Bahadur (Annu Kapoor). When he tries to meet his biological father who's staying at a local sanatorium, he is rebuffed by the imam running the place and is told he will only be allowed to meet him if he meets him as a proper man of the faith.Trivedi is also under mounting pressure from his son to get more dharmik, so he can marry his love, Shraddha, who's a devout follower of Neelanand Baba (Naseeruddin Shah), a motorcycle-riding godman whom Shraddha's dad venerates. He tried to fulfill his son's wish at the same time as trying to convince the imam to allow him to meet his biological father. Eventually his family finds out leading to even more uncomfortable situations. Does Dharampal meet his father and does he reconcile with his son in time?

What's hot: Rawal rides solo on this one for the most part, driving each scene, despite Annu coming in as a competent foil and the back-and-forth between the two makes for some of the most emotional as well as hilarious moments of the film. The biggest triumph of this film is that it has its heart in the right place and that shows.  

What's not: You can't help but find Shah not just boring, but a little too overdone. If this film has uncomfortable moments, it's the preachy parts. The film gets lost somewhere in the middle around some unwanted melodrama. The revelation of Neelanand's real identity is slightly unexpected but not as impactful as one would have liked. One of the weakest climaxes ever. And don't get me started about the music!

What to do: The satire works at its best when Rawal is at the forefront of things. Thankfully, that's for almost all of the film. Without him, it would've been an also-ran.