Of course, the theme of friends having fun together is hardly new or “different”. But if the gags are intentionally funny, fresh or presented with freshness, devoid of toilet humor, and fairly non-adult, I’m in.

Doesn’t mean that De Taali doesn’t have such quips or has a water-tight script. Hardly! Its just that there are “other” really funny situations and jokes too. Also, at most times, the humor is situation driven rather than a situation being forced in to accommodate the lines. Another round of applause for the writer because he actually made the girls relevant and funny in the comedy genre. If only they could have sewn it together into a coherent plot.

Anyway, the thing about laughing out loud and so hard-n-long that the neighbor gives you a long stare is that you begin to let go your requirements of “good cinema”. First you suspend your disbelief, then you put your brain to the proverbial rest for a couple of hours, then you give in.

Give in to the silliness of it all. Give in to the eccentric side characters and their comic relief sub-plots. It doesn’t happen to me too often, but when it does even a couple of those hearty laughs make the movie worth it. However the completely haywire last half hour and the abrupt, casual and ridiculous climax is absolutely unforgivable. Also references to a particular support group are in bad taste and don’t go with the otherwise sensitive tone of the movie.

Ritesh Deshmukh who plays a-new-plan-a-minute Paresh Gurudev is as good with his comic timing as ever. He actually looks slimmer and sleeker than Ayesha Takia playing the loving, caring Amrita. But being on the “chubby” side with almost constantly braided hair makes her character more adorable, more girl-next-door, more “identifiable with” type. Its nice to see a female lead not oozing her sexuality on us.

Aftab Shivdasani is a pleasant surprise. He is the affluent Abhishek who falls in true love with every other girl he meets. The man actually has the potential to make you smile! In order to bring out contrast between Amrita and Kartika’s mysterious character, Rimi Sen is given a tanned, sexy look. She is a revelation too. It is amazing how the women in De Taali show that all they need is a reasonably well written character.

I actually liked the fact that we were not entertained to a whole lot of back-story of all the characters. Only that much was revealed about their background as was necessary to move the plot forward. But, this has its own drawbacks. Whenever a particular plot point is disclosed, your mind travels back to when the relevant piece of information was told to you first, and in a way you feel manipulated.

I know, it sounds like I’m asking for just the right amount of information that “I” want. But doesn’t the art lie in making the movie so engaging that these thoughts do not come to my mind while I’m watching it? Overall though, I enjoyed being with the here-and-now of the characters. Especially considering that a possible alternative would be a voiceover reading out each character’s resume to acquaint us with them.

Yet, I’m sure the movie could’ve been liked by many more if it had been a good 30 minutes shorter. And though the foot-tapping numbers have decent lyrics and are set to some cool choreography, they are still out of place. Any day, I would prefer fewer songs to a 2 hour+ movie.