MUMBAI: Making films on fugitives and terrorists from across the border has been attempted a few times but such films have never been able to convince the moviegoer because this is some fiction that seems totally implausible.
D Day, one of the better efforts at capturing the dreaded criminal Dawood, from across the border, despite its good script, face value and thrill failed to attract the audience. Coffee With D is meant to be a satire on the electronic media. This channel called Breaking News is losing TRPs and the management is on a two-month notice to either perform or perish.
The channel’s star anchor is Arnab Ghosh (Sunil Grover), a take on a real-life anchor that falls flat. His prime time slot is losing sheen and he is being shifted to a cookery show unless he thinks up of a miracle to save his place.
After much thinking and exchanging ideas with his wife played by Anjana Sukhani, herself a crime reporter, he gets this bright idea of interviewing D. But, it is not easy since nobody has seen his recent picture or knows his whereabouts. Grover’s ploy is to let D approach him rather than the other way round. The plan is to provoke D. Grover interviews various people from his old area, Dongri, in Mumbai, who all have only bad things to say about the don.
The vegetable vendor claims D (Zakir Hussain) never paid his dues while a gun vendor has the same thing to say. Also, a constable from the local police station has interesting stories to tell about how every time D was brought into the police station, he was clobbered black and blue! These interviews on daily basis are enough to provoke D who invites Grover to interview him.
Accompanying Grover are the channel’s news writer, played by Dipannita Sharma, as well as Vinod Ramani and Guru Singh, both of who posed as vegetable vendors, constable etc during the interviews earlier.
Once in Karachi, the interview with D proceeds on predictable lines till Grover gets a reminder from his boss, Rajesh Sharma, that the interview so far is not good enough. So, comes the last segment of rapid fire. Grover becomes aggressive and rather than ask questioning, calls D names, which unnerves him to the extent that he drops dead of a heart failure!
Coffee With D, to say the least, is scripted poorly, with no substance. The goings-on are insipid and lack humour. The last twist in the tale fails to make an impact. Mainly, because D is made to look and act like a buffoon!
Performances are routine even from talented artistes like Zakir Hussain and Rajesh Sharma. Sunil Grover sans his funny lines has no impact. Dipannita and Anjana are okay.
Coffee With D faces poor prospects.
Producer: VinodRamani.
Director: Vishal Mishra.
Cast: Sunil Grover, Zakir Hussain, Pankaj Tripathi, Rajesh Sharma, Dipannita Sharma, Anjana Sukhani, Vinod Ramani, Guru Singh.
