Director: Sagar Ballary
Producer: Sunil Doshi
Starring: Sarika, Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Milind Soman, Ranvir Shorey, Bhairavi Goswami, Tom Alter, Harsh Chhaya, Iklaq Khan

There are few egoistic and arrogant people who take pleasure in making fun of others and if we look within us, we might find that person (mentality) is somewhere in ourselves, too. We all are human beings, have our problems and need "laughter therapy" to face them. Besides, we have our complexes. Debutante director Sagar Ballary experiments with such scurry of thoughts and ideas in making a worthy laugh riot 'Bheja Fry'.

Alas! Year 2007 experiences its first successful entertainer in the cadre of low budget films that comes with loads of hilarious gags and brilliant performances. The film will best be suited for theatrically literate persons for its performance based exhibit. And, its spicy humor and chirpy one-liners will positively bring good worth of mouth appreciation from a large section of multiplex audiences. Lately, the new genre of filmmkers has been experimenting with different plots but there are few who have hit the bull's eye. 'Bheja Fry' proves to be one of the chosen one's and surprisingly it glorifies the uninhibited talents of versatile actors in a big way. Like we have said before that good comedies need good actors and not big actors, the statement is proving itself true in all senses with this fun-loving laughathon of twelve reels.

'Bheja Fry' works as a satirical spoof on bigheaded "rich and famous" who make their dinners special by inviting an "idiot" to their party. The so-called "idiot" is being made "bakra" as he is crowned with the title of being unique "talent" of its kind. The dinner nights are then made flashy and entertaining by "idiot" and indifferent acts. The film tries to glorify the insensitivity of a haughty billionaire who feels delighted in making others fool for their self-interest and amusement. Director Sagar Ballary showed his modesty by disclosing his inspiration for the film and thereafter showed his potential in bringing the concept to perfection in traditional Indian values and sensibilities.

The film takes big inspiration to the ever popular but unsuccessful talent show "Indian Idol" where "talents" are mostly mistaken as "idiots" and the show has proven itself to be mockery of music world. 'Bheja Fry' builds on this plot where a music buff Bharat Bhushan (Vinay Pathak) germinates the dream of being a big singer and narrates his nostalgic moments of a presumed successful music career to those he meets. One fine day this cranky music buff meets a car showroom owner (Ikhlaq Khan) in a bus. Their meeting builds into a relationship of unending affair.

The film shifts on to rich music baron Ranjeet Thadani (Rajat Kapoor) who has a habit of inviting a silly "idiot" to his dinner parties. Luckily, he gets the whereabouts of Bharat Bhushan from his car entrepreneur friend and invites him to his Friday night dinner. Ranjeet has a considerate singer wife Sheetal (Sarika) and a caring doctor friend (Tom Alter) at his behest. The dinner night turn berserk when Ranjeet crumples his back and all plans go kaput. The night turns murkier when he had a tiff with Sheetal over his proposed "idiot" show. Bharat Bhushan (Vinay Pathak), an Income Tax officer and music buff enters Ranjeet's residence and shows his keen interest in Bollywood music by singing some of his favorite songs.

Initially, Ranjeet gets amused by his tomfoolery acts but later he feels irritated when he confronts Seema (Bhairavi Goswami) on the phone. Seema, a "nymphomaniac" by nature has a huge crush on Ranjeet but he resents all her overtures. Thereafter, the film is filled up with finely packed fun loving jokes, satires and gags that build up a tempo of a perfect comical flick. Bharat Bhushan helps Ranjeet in bringing back his wife by seeking the help of his compatriot Asif Merchant (Ranvir Shorey). Ranjeet is further aided by his friend-turned-foe Anant Ghoshal (Milind Soman), the music director who once befriended Sheetal in his heydays.

The film never bores with intense or serious moments but provides laughter and healthy humor in all frames. It brings out humor even during serious moments where the infidelity of Asif Merchant's wife is disclosed and finally when Sheetal is consoled by Bharat Bhushan. The film may have minor blemishes but they can be discounted by its powerful comical quotient that rules the show.

'Bheja Fry' works on a shoe-string budget as the film has the plotline of one night affair where the events change everybody's life and attitude. The rich man remorses his ugly faults, patches up with his rivals and gives space to his better half as a wealthy and a wise life are the major features that make it stylishly innovative and entertaining for multiplex audiences.

Kudos to theatrically sound method actor Vinay Pathak for his brilliantly delivered performance of Bollywood music aficionado-turned-"idiot" for dinner night. It is he who keeps the flags flying during all the twelve reels and makes viewers believe that good sense of comical timing is essential for a good comedy film. The humorous sequence between him and Milind Soman on the phone about the musical rights is the major highlight of this comical show. There is another sequence when he confronts Bhairavi Goswami in front of Rajat Kapoor and explains her about the meaning of "nymphomaniac". Besides these, the film has many hilarious moments that make it an amusing show all the way.

Story and Screenplay writers (Arpita Chatterjee and Sagar Ballary) need special mention as they are the biggest anchors in making this fun loving entertainer possible with spooky and cranky one-liners.

Rajat Kapoor makes himself prominent in the role of an arrogant and stylish entrepreneur. The character actor may be a recognized face in filmdom but this performance stands out as one of his finest works. Sarika delivers another brilliant performance after her author-backed role in critically acclaimed 'Parzania'. Her comeback is proving fruitful for her and the industry as her work is getting critical acclaim. Ranvir Shorey fails to get major spotlight and is back-seated to second lead. It would have been better if his comical talent was utilized. Debutante Bhairavi Goswami lives up to her performance while veteran Tom Alter is well fitted into his character.

Ironically, the film fares well in those departments (acting, scripting and taut screenplay) where many of the recently released flashy entertainers have miserably failed. 'Bheja Fry' brings out a message for all half-baked directorial talents to be honest, sincere and conceptually innovative in plagiarizing foreign concept in Indian sensibilities. Director Sagar Ballary should be complimented for delivering a cerebral comedy without sexual innuendos and double meaning dialogues. The film should draw applause from multiplex audiences but suffers from average promotion and poor face value. 'Bheja Fry' is expected to be a lone crusader who has the potential to swim against the tide. If the good "word of mouth" is translated into cash registers, then it might be the first major surprise hit of the year. The film puts itself into the cadre of films like 'Khosla Ka Ghosla' and 'Pyar Ke Side Effects' and probably be the first major hit among low budget releases.

In nutshell, 'Bheja Fry' is a fun loving satirical presentation about the lifestyles of "rich" and "idiots" that should bring smiles to many faces. It hardly gives any moment to tax your brains but ends with socially relevant message with finely crafted performances. So feel different, beat the heat and make yourself hale and hearty in this  prize worthy comedy show!