Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Shahid Kapur, and Amrita Rao
Director: Mahesh Manjrekar
Music: Himmesh Reshammiya
Producer:

Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi


Aditya [Shahid Kapoor] lives with his grandmother [Suhasini Mulay], brother [Mohnish Bahl], sister-in-law [Ekta Bahl], sister and his brothers' children. Neha [Amrita Rao] is the children's tutor who lives in the same neighborhood. Both Aditya and Neha are in love and plan to get married. Aditya gets his sister engaged to a person whose father demands Rs. 50 lacs as dowry. Aditya is left with no choice but mortgage his mansion since he is confident that a business deal will make him rich enough to repay the loan. But disaster strikes and Aditya meets with an accident. He dies in the operation theatre and finds himself in front of a well-dressed man who introduces himself as Yamraj [Sanjay Dutt].

Aditya pleads with Yamraj to let him return to earth to complete the pending jobs. But Yamraj sets two conditions: One, he can't be seen or heard by anyone; two, Aditya has to sort all pending matters in one week itself. A deadline is set! Aditya and a kid, Shakti [also dead on the same day as Aditya], return to earth and minutes after setting foot on the soil realize that a person called Fakira BPCM [Arshad Warsi] can see and listen to them. Fakira helps Aditya get super powers from Lord Hanuman and how Aditya goes about completing the unfinished task forms the crux of the story.

The film loses pace in the second half as the plot unfolds too predictably. Still, deft use of special effects and the effects they have on the cast produce systematic outbursts of laughter. The cinematography looks slick. Music director Himesh Reshammiya should have cut down on the number of songs. Mahesh Manjrekar proves his versatility in a fantasy film with VAAH! LIFE HO TOH AISI. It may not rank amongst Manjrekar's finest attempts, but the storyteller travels a path not many film-makers in Bollywood have dared to charter in the past. Shahid Kapoor is sincere, enacting his part with utmost conviction. Arshad Warsi is outstanding as the desi Whoopi Goldberg. Amrita Rao does a decent job. Prem Chopra is first-rate, Sharat Saxena leaves a mark in a small role. Suhasini Mulay is proficient. Sagar is efficient. Rajat Bedi is okay. Amongst kids, Adil [Shahid's companion in the film], Darshil [the youngest kid who loves to eat], Parth and Ishaan stand out. Well-known child artists Shweta [MAKDEE, IQBAL] and Tanvi [PITAAH] are relegated to the backseat.

On the whole, Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi is a masala film.