Rajaatesh Nayyar's Sirf… has a very interesting premise, a very talented cast, but it fails to capitalize on its plus points. Even though the premise is not exactly very novel, it still has a lot of promise in it. But the film does not take off as one envisions and hence, leaves one feeling a little disappointed.

On the face of it, Sirf.. has an interesting storyline. Nayyar lays out his premise well enough. But having done that, he is unable to take it ahead. There is nothing fresh that he has to say, and the story goes awry midway. Without trying to pit it against Anurag Basu's Life In a Metro, which came last year, one has to admit that the earlier film was still a more effective take on urban relationships. Sirf suffers most from a lack of ideas. Having assembled a cast which can act fairly well, the director is unable to utilize their collective talent as the characters are not even properly fleshed out. It seems a sheer waste of talent when one sees the likes of Manisha Koirala, Kay Kay Menon, Ranvir Shorey and Sonali Kulkarni not having anything substantial to dig their teeth into. The film also seems to suffer from poor production values. In short, the film, comes across as too cliched, having nothing novel to say.

The story of the film is basically about the angst of living in a metro and the peculiar relationships that develop due to the nature of the city and its demands. One of couples, Gaurav (Kay Kay) and Devika (Koirala) are rich and happening but they have relationship issues as they have no time for each other. The second couple, Suchitra (Rituparna Sengupta) and Amit (Pravin Dabbas) also have relationship issues, though of different kind. Suchitra is from a small town and her insecurities lead her to think that her husband is being unfaithful to her. The third couple, Akash (Ranvir) and Amita (Kulkarni) are tied together by the bond they share with their child, who is suffering from a serious illness. The fourth, Rahul and Shalu (Ankur Khanna and Nauheed Cyrusi) are desperately looking for a house in Mumbai so that they can start their married life. All four plots get intertwined at some point in the film. While the problems of each couple are quite real, they have not been explored with any kind of depth and imagination. There is a lack of good ideas here and the film lacks any kind of zing or energy.

Among the actors, it is nice to see Manisha Koirala back and she turns in a fairly decent performance. Kay Kay is an actor who has the ability to make the dullest of characters come alive with his interpretation. Even though he stands head over shoulders above the rest of the cast, he does not have much room to play about with his character. Pravin Dabbas and Rituparna are competent enough but do not grip your attention. That is feat which Sonali Kulkarni and Ranvir manage to a degree. Their story still manages to strike an emotional chord at places. However, the same cannot be said for the rest of the stories. The actors can hardly be blamed for this creative vaccum.

The film's music is very creative and sounds wonderful, when heard on its own. The picturisations of the songs does not evoke much excitement. So while one appreciates the honesty and intention of the director, one cannot say the same about the film itself. It lacks polish and a sense of direction.