Basu Chatterjee has entertained us with his delightful brand of middle-class comedies with strong storylines and believable characters. But whether his idea of light entertainment jells with David Dhawan’s brand of comic twists, is something one needs to question. Hoccheta Ki (What’s Happening?) is a Bengali rehash/remix/ inspiration of/from Biwi No. 1 and Gharwalli Baharwalli albeit in Basu Chatterjee style, straightforward, without lavish mounting placed in a very simple, Bengali urban-middle-class setting.

So what’s wrong with the film? It simply does not carry the old Basu Chatterjee stamp of adorable quality films like Rajnigandha (1974), Chhoti Si Baat (1975), Chit Chor (1976) or Baaton Baaton Mein (1979), carried, going on to create the phrase ‘middle-of-the-road’ for a new genre of mainstream Hindi cinema. But taken within the ambience of contemporary Bengali mainstream, Hoccheta Ki is fresh and entertaining from beginning to end and never mind the David Dhawan ‘inspiration.’  The screenplay could have been a bit tight and the footage a bit shorter than it is because at times, the film seems to be repetitive. Chatterjee, who has penned the dialogue that is peppered with a lot of good-natured bonhomie and fun even though the theme is for adults only, has also scripted the film.

Chatterjee has structured the film interestingly with Madhu Sen telling the audience the story of his double life. It is not in flashback but more of a framing device because it ends the same way, after a short time leap, closing on Madhu winding up the story of his exciting experience with two women.  But the ending is too incredible to digest. No sane young woman in her right mind will agree to marry her boyfriend’s best friend just like that. This is stretching liberties with the script a bit too much for comfort. But then, one can only suppose that this is a comedy where everything must be taken with a cupful of salt. Another major drawback of the film is the scene showing Madhu’s crusading act because there is nothing before or after this event that in any way gives even the slightest hint about the ordinary and somewhat cowardly young man’s commitment to save young women from bag-snatchers on the streets. The scene is orchestrated, scripted, directed and edited so amateurishly that it is over before you can blink your eyes. The scene was necessary to introduce the ‘press’ and ‘media interest’ angle. But it should have had some foreshadowing in Madhu’s character that goes completely against the grain of what he is fleshed out to be.

Prosenjit, stripped completely of his starry screen image, fits into the character like a glove and does a good job. Rajatva Dutta as Ranjeet rises above the script and steals the show from stalwarts like Paran Bandopadhyay with his perfect sense of comic timing and creates magic on the screen whenever he is there. Paoli Dam is too conscious of the camera and needs to put her act together. Kalyan Chatterjee as the UNI photographer is a scream in a brief cameo and Arunima Ghosh as ‘biwi’ number two is good.

The film demands no arty camerawork, which is okay with Rana Dasgupta while Amitava Dasgupta’s editing is precisely timed to fit into the fun mode. One recalls the lovely music of Chit Chor, Chhoti si Baat and Rajnigandha and even of the Chit Chor remake in Bengali. Shedin Choitromaash. Sadly, Hoccheta Ki’s music is something you do not even notice. But then thankfully, there are hardly any songs in the film, which helps keep the pace of the film intact without interfering with the continuous flow of action and dialogue.

All said and done, however, even if better than most of the current crop of mainstream Bengali films, one still laments the fact that even after a considerable hiatus, Chatterjee’s return to Bangla films does not carry much to write home about.