There is a good message lying somewhere underneath this comedy drama that went without noticed in the cinemas.
An aspiring writer (Pathak) moves out of his house due to frustration from his constantly nagging and gloriously miscast wife (Godse) and ends up in the arms of a hot call girl (Sen). The message that the film tries to convey is about the publishing industry, which is heavily characterized by pulp and porn fiction rather than pure literature. And our protagonist is out here to change that. The terrible cast performance, even from cinema thespians like Saurabh Shukla and Pathak, wreaks havoc with the whole film. Godse, however, wins the competition of being the worst actor.
There are jokes here and there if you notice, but most of the narration, which is told in a non-linear fashion, is plain monotonous with random songs. I am often enthralled by the sheer craftiness of low- budget films, but in here the inferior production setup comes out like a sore thumb and manages to sabotage the whole broth, which is under-cooked in the first place.
BOTTOM LINE: Other than Pathak's interesting character, Chaudhary's Kaagaz Ke Fools is a below average show. Can skip.
GRADE: D-
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES
