REVIEW: Jhootha Hi Sahi (2)

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You expected better from Abbas Tyrewala than lifting plot elements from You've Got Mail and Notting Hill to make his wife Paakhi's acting debut, Jhootha Hi Sahi. After all the man wrote some of the best films of the decade -- Main Hoon Na, Munnabhai MBBS and Maqbool. Then again, his directorial debut, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na wasn't particularly awe-inspiring. He played it safe then, and he does so again, with a formulaic story and exposition, peppered with a few good dialogues.

The setting is reminiscent of Notting Hill and Friends -- a group of Indian and Pakistani friends who live close to each other, eat together, share in each other's joys and sorrows and, even run an Indian bookshop together (called Kaagaz Ke Phool and displaying a sign, 'We don't do Deepak Chopra'). The basic seed of the plot comes from You've Got Mail -- Siddharth Arya (John Abraham) ends up counselling suicidal Indians living in London when his telephone number is mistakenly printed on the leaflets of a helpline. One of his unknown callers turns out to be Mishka (Paakhi) on the verge of ending her life because her parents got divorced, her mother died and her boyfriend dumped her.

Siddharth falls for her and starts leading a double life talking to her on the phone at night as her faceless counsellor, and wooing her by day as stuttering, geeky Siddharth (who reads from sage Vashishta and Charvak, believe you me). His friends help him out in every possible way; the girl is stupid enough to suspect that he's conning her but never see through his act, even when there are many slips in his story. 

On the other hand, the camaraderie between the friends, although unoriginal, is still refreshingly played out. The setting of regular homes and streets of London, rather than exotic mansions and picture-postcard locations is also interesting. What isn't, is the character of the heroine and the cutesy, flaky screenplay.