Welcome to class comedy. Ashwni Dheer brings back the flavour of the middle of the road Hindi cinema of the seventies with his 'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge'. The film reminds one strongly of the realistic, humorous, family fare made famous by the likes of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee. Dheer's achievement lies in the fact that he not only brings the genre alive in his movie, but also proves that there is a definite place for these small films in today's times. His main claim to fame has so far been his satirical writing for television.

His first directorial venture, didn't exactly do well at the box office, but with this movie, he manages to blend the comedy into real life situations, much more skillfully. He is aided to a great extent by his cast of actors, Ajay Devgn, Paresh Rawal and Konkona Sen Sharma. Of course, the humour does tend to fall flat in certain places, specially the 'bathroom' variety, which is a little juvenile. But one is tempted not to quibble too much and enjoy the flavour of the film. It is light and easy and tends to work in most parts. And of course, there is the nostalgic value, as well. However, over and above, 'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge' is well made and an absorbing watch.

The film's story revolves around this nuclear family consisting of Puneet (Devgn) and Munmun (Konkana), who live a small flat in Mumbai with their child. Their ordered and structured lives are turned upside down when one of Puneet's distant relatives, Chachaji (Rawal), lands up unannounced at their house. At first, everything is hunky dory, but after a while, when Chachaji refuses to leave, Puneet and Munmun resort to all kinds of means to get rid of him. Chachaji very insidiously manages to make his way into their lives and manages to bring about an awareness of a lot of family values which have lost favour with today's generation, only because most have probably never lived in a joint family.

He brings with him a way of life, which can still be incorporated in our busy lives in the city, stuff which would actually take care of factors like alienation and loneliness, malaises of urban life, by the manner in which he manages to befriend people, his home grown remedies for just about everything, and of course his 'bhajans'.

What triggers the comedy is not so much the one liners, but also the situations, which are life like and would definitely strike a chord with most in the audience. This is not a comedy which will actually have you rolling in the aisles with laughter, but it will gently tickle your funny bone, in most instances.

The strength of any film rests on its writing, specially if it is a comedy. And Dheer, along with Robin Bhatt and Tushar Hiranandani manage to script a film which is enjoyable and a true family entertainer. It doesn't preach, but gently nudges one in places. But it is all done so warmly, that it proves to be quite an enjoyable experience. Of course, there are a couple of instances which seem a little far fetched, like the Bhai episode for instance.

But overall, the writers manage to get the balance right. Besides the comic flavour, the film also navigates into the area of emotion and devotion, which also seem well handled. The film's music by Pritam is not the chartbuster variety, but it seems to fit into the narrative structure well, specially the bhajans. The camerawork handled by Aseem Bajaj is competent.

The cast turns in an exemplary performance. All the actors perform very naturally and fit into their characters perfectly. Devgn and Konkona as the beleaguered couple never go over the top, but put in a restrained and spontaneous performance. Satish Kaushik and Sanjay Mishra provide very good support. But the cake is definitely taken by Paresh Rawal as the unwanted 'atithi'. The actor has played many comic characters in his career, and yet he manages to bring a certain freshness to his role of Chachaji. It is a loveable, and sometimes exasperating character, but Rawal manages to bring out all the shades superbly.

'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge' is definitely an entertainer with the correct dose of family values and comedy. Nothing over the top. It's like a slice of life, sweet and tangy, in turn. Be a three hour guest… at your nearest theatre.