A struggling filmmaker, Maanav (Arunoday Singh) is frustrated when his script is rejected by different producers. He decides on a different script inspired by a story from the Panchatantra that has sex and humour and shows how women can outsmart men even when caught red-handed. To make the sex comedy more saleable the producer asks Maanav to make two of these stories contemporary so that the audience can identify with the characters.
Konkona Sen Sharma and Raima Sen play the central characters in the four stories. Both of them do a commendable job - their portrayal of women as sensuous yet manipulative and shrewd is a treat to watch. Shukla deserves credit for creating such layered and complex characters as his women protagonists. They are strong individuals comfortable with their sexuality and vindictive when scorned. It's a lethal combination.
While the director manages to create such strong female characters, the treatment doesn't quite live up to the expectations. For starters, too much time is spent on the director's conflict, which is totally irrelevant to the main plot. While each story has an element of humour, sex and dramatic irony, it doesn't quite play out that way and kind of loses the fizz midway. Too much time is spent in between stories and the songs add nothing to the narrative.
There are definitely some commendable performances by the cast and Ila Arun is brilliant in her cameo. Despite choosing a topic which is completely focused on sex, the director manages to keep the film from becoming crass. The sexual encounters are in fact funny and good-humoured. A tighter script and a faster pace would have done wonders to the film.
