Comparisons to Hrishkesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee’s style of filmmaking are inevitable. In recent times, Rituparno Ghosh’s Raincoat (Ajay Devgan & Aishwarya Rai) also followed a similar style of storytelling which involves a simple story, minimal characters so well etched with realism that your heart literally feels for them and a film which is simple, but feels like something which could be a part of anyone’s life. Such films always face a major risk of being too slow paced and testing the patience of the audience, a trap which unfortunately Ahista Ahista succumbs to.

Set in Delhi (which has been exquisitely shot, unveiling the city’s realistic yet stunning beauty), the story is woven around an aimless youth Ankush (Abhay Deol), who scrapes a living by acting as a witness in Delhi’s marriage registrar’s bureau, and a girl Megha (Soha Ali Khan) who has run away from her home in Nainital to get married to her love Dheeraj (Shayan Munshi).

Fate intervenes and Dheeraj does not show up at the Marriage Registrars Office. Dejected, Megha is forced to rely on Ankush’s generosity, albeit suspiciously.

Ankush on the other hand, helps Megha by getting her a job at the local old age home so that she has the security of a roof over her head. As time passes, Megha begins to realize her potential as an educated girl who had earlier dedicated her life to her boyfriend and that relationship, thinking that there was nothing more to her. She realizes that she was wrong, and finally there comes a day when she tells Ankush that she is glad Dheeraj stood her up at the Marriage Bureau. Else, she would never have known who she really was. Overtime, a relationship of sorts develops between the two and Megha takes a decision of leaving her past and Dheeraj behind and embracing the future. Everything seems to be falling in place for Ankush…when Dheeraj returns.

Director Shivam Nair proves his capability as an apt storyteller although he takes his own sweet time and one questions the necessity and the placement of the songs which only further slow down the pace of an already slow narrative. He handles the sensitive scenes between Abhay and Soha with the perfect combination of sensitivity and subtly which deserves to be applauded, especially considering it is his first film. Imtiaz Ali, who made his directorial debut with the sweet and simple Socha Na Tha, has this time written the story of Ahista Ahista, once again proving his ability to find the simplest of issues which the audiences can relate to and translate it into an enjoyable story which somewhere pulls at your heartstrings and has you rooting for the lead characters.

Ahista Ahista has characters which are as real as they get and hence the audience is able to identify with them to a certain extent, creating an emotional connect. However, Ahista Ahista is not without more than its fair share of flaws. First and foremost is the film’s lethargic pace which has the viewer wondering if anything is actually going to happen in the film. The film does not start on a strong note in terms of the dialogues, which however do improve substantially as the film progresses. The climax of the film will be tough to accept for the Indian audiences who will be unable to fathom Soha’s sudden decision and the prospect of the hero being left as a loser. Furthermore the relationship between Abhay and Soha although well established, is still left extremely unclear which only makes the climax even more difficult to understand.

Although this may only be Abhay Deol’s second film, his performance of the fun loving Ankush will definitely win appreciation from the audiences and critics alike, although his dialogue delivery and body language, especially in the initial portions of the film are far from perfect. Soha Ali Khan has been consistently improving with each passing film and not only does the simple, saans make-up look bring out her natural beauty, her often silent (one wonders why her dialogues are so limited) portrayal of Megha through her expressions and body language is superb.

Considering that the director was able to extract such strong performances, how one wishes he could have made a tighter, crisper film which would have left the audiences yearning for more, rather than wondering when the film would end. A great filmmaker once said that there is a huge difference between the length and the pace of the film. A lesson which could do wonders for Shivam