A zany delight, this is the story of Aslam 'Puncturewala' (Adil Hussain of "English Vinglish" fame) who owns a puncture repair shop in a Rajasthani village, Fatehpur, in which there is the popular 'dargah' of 'Peepalwale Pir,' a Sufi saint. Aslam lives happily within his small means, with a dutiful wife (Mona Singh) and a son, who for some mysterious reason, springs up much later into the movie.
A meeting of the dargah committee leads to the decision that from the 400 people in it, one person will be the 'khaadim' or priest, daily, with the cycle repeating after 400 days! As it happens, Aslam is 'khaadim' on the very day when the prime minister (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) comes there with a prayer to save his coalition government. And again as it happens, friend-turned-foe and neighbor Habib (Mukesh Tiwari) and his wife Fauzia (Shivani Tanksale) are livid with them over Habib's shenanigans that lead to his arrest and Aslam is threatened by them.
The PM (impossibly) does not understand Hindi and misunderstands when Aslam pleads with him for his security from his neighbor. His wily secretary (K.K. Raina) translates and sensing a threat to the noble 'khaadim' from Pakistani terrorists, the PM - pronto! - sanctions Z-Plus (the highest in India) security for Aslam.
Life changes completely for Aslam and his family. Removal of the security now will mean trouble for the already troubled PM and his party. The state opposition smells a rat and begins its own games. A ramshackle Paki terrorist outfit chief (Sanjay Mishra) senses unknown competition and sends two dim-witted emissaries to finish Aslam, who is also slowly drawn into the dubious lure of politics, power and pelf. And affected the most is widow Sayeeda (Ekavali Khanna), the bone of contention between Aslam and ex-friend Habib.
What happens next?
The film draws its humor from small-town culture and political strategies and tries to be topical by showing communal, secular and similar angles. The funniest situations arise from the ironies of a common man trapped by political wiles and are depicted delightfully. The extramarital angle is amusing and the suddenly touching climactic confession by Aslam changes the mood.
Expertly lensed (H.M. Ramchandran) and with great production design (Muneesh Sappel), this film draws its strengths from the superb script and direction and the performances are of high order. Adil falters here and there, going unnecessary high-octave, but the scene-stealer is Mukesh Tiwari. From the rest, Sanjay Mishra and Ekavali are brilliant. The rest are very competent.
We just wish that this delightful movie had been better marketed - and one way of doing that would have been to have great music.
Rating: ****
Mukund Purohit Productions & Wisdom Tree Productions' “Zed Plus”
Produced by: MUKUND PUROHIT & MANDIRA KASHYAP
Directed by: DR CHANDRAPRAKASH DWIVEDI
Written by: RAMKUMAR SINGH & DR CHANDRAPRAKASH DWIVEDI
Music: SUKHWINDER SINGH & NAYAB
Starring: ADIL HUSSAIN, MONA SINGH, MUKESH TIWARI, SHIVANI TANKSALE, EKAVALI KHANNA, KULBHUSHAN KHARBANDA, K.K. RAINA, SANJAY MISHRA, DR ANIL RASTOGI, LILLIPUT & others