REVIEW: Vinay Pathak's Straight

There is a scene in Dostana where for a split second John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan think of the moment they French kissed. They look at each other and brush off the very idea that perhaps, just perhaps they might have been attracted to each other.

This week's release Straight starring Vinay Pathak takes that very idea forward.

The Story:

Pinu Patel (Vinay Pathak) is a 30-something virgin living in London running a fairly successful restaurant. He is all set to visit India to marry the girl of his aunt's (Ketaki Dave) choice. But the girl dumps him at the altar leaving Pinu rather upset and lonely.

Back in London, he goes back to work with vengeance vowing never to think of the embarrassing moment. It's where he meets Kamles (Anuj Chaudari) and Renu (Gul Panag), two Indians looking for a job.

WATCH: The exclusive web promo of Straight

Pinu hires them on an impulse. The fun-loving and jovial twosome – he is a chef/stand-up comedian and she, a cashier – turn around his restaurant and his life. Slowly the smile returns to his face as Kamles and Pinu become good friends. But one fine day the two men accidentally share a lip lock and all hell breaks loose.

Rankled, Pinu finds himself brooding over it and with each passing day he begins to get convinced he's gay. But it doesn't end there. The smart and sexy Renu comes in his line of vision and adds to his bucket of woes.

So our bumbling hero decides to do what any Indian man worth his salt would do – he goes out to prove his masculinity to himself and ends up getting even more convinced about his sexuality. Frustrated and angry he keeps visiting his cousin Rajat (Siddhartha Makkar) for advice and help. But in the end, like in all cases, it takes a woman to sort out the mess in the man's head.

Great concept but...

Straight draws upon a very interesting concept. And though the movie for some reason is set in London, Pinu Patel could well be a dude from Mumbai or Chandigarh. However the treatment of the story and the lack of acting talent make you cringe.

Besides Vinay Pathak and to some extent Gul Panag, the whole film is filled with men who could do with some lessons in acting. Siddhartha Makkar does such a terrible job with his accent you begin to wonder if the chap has landed in the wrong continent.

ALSO READ: The music review of Straight