The movie set in the small town of Ranchi tells the story of a group of friends, Pinku, Monu, and Gudiya each of whom has a dream that they want to achieve. Enter the local corrupt politician Thakur Bhaiya and the friends are made to run away from their home. The story takes a bizarre turn when the friends decide to rob a bank. What follows is totally unexpected with Naxals and an honest police officer joining the fray. A story, that if rightly executed, would have resulted in a much better movie than what is at hand now. Poor screenplay and acting let us down on this one.

The film’s narrative is so confused and chaotic that even the filmmakers appear to be lost regarding the direction and purpose of their work. The film lacks coherence and there is no method behind its madness. You would expect seasoned actors like Jimmy Shergill and Anupam Kher, who have proved their acting abilities many times over, to get something as basic as their diction right. Alas, they don’t. In fact, Ranchi Diaries shows people speaking ‘Bihari Hindi’ in an English accent. Only two young actors in the entire movie get it right. In terms of performances too, everyone seems to be sleepwalking through the film. From ‘naxali gang’ to corrupt politicians, lazy cops to street-smart local goons and even ‘jihadi farishtey’, there are several moments when we wait, and hope, that the film will yet redeem itself. It does not even try. This is a film which when called to dive headlong into action, prefers to chew paan in a corner. Jimmy Shergil’s character perfectly describes the listlessness that ails Ranchi Diaries. He plays a police officer who is supposed to catch robbers holed up inside a bank. Instead of doing something, anything, to catch them, he prefers to sit in a jeep all night outside the bank.

What can you say about a film which starts and ends this badly? Ranchi Diaries leaves you trying to define pointlessness. We know the film is set in Ranchi not just because of its name, but because every single character from veteran Anupam Kher to Satish Kaushik to Jimmy Shergill to a bunch of younger actors is made to speak in the supposed local lingo. And they all sound like they are in elocution class. You get the feeling that this was meant to be a quirky hinterland heist saga, taking off from Ocean’s 11, to which there’s a clunky reference. But this comes off as a random assemblage of scenes– in forests (that’s where the ‘Naxals’ live), a large mansion (that’s where the bad guy stays), police chowkis, and a crumbling building which is meant to house a bank—trying to pass off as a film.

As far as comic capers are concerned, 'Ranchi Diaries' is all over the place. While it does have an interesting premise and a few funny characters, it fails to translate into a fun watch because the story wanders aimlessly. Even that could have been excused, if the wandering segments were executed well. You see some promise in the first half, where the filmmaker sets the stage for a big-ticket robbery. But the second half deflates any hope you may have of getting laughs. Absurd sequences, where the getaway men start to learn driving as the bank is being looted, and the bit with the police turning up fashionably late, are hilarious. Still, the bank-heist sequence is way long and not always entertaining. Himansh Kohli with his forced Bihari accent is painful to watch. Anupam Kher and Jimmy Sheirgill have small roles and don't contribute much. However, the rest of the younger cast does a credible job especially Tahaa Shah and Soundarya Sharma. There's a very interesting and topical twist at the end, but you have to endure a lot until you reach there, which is a poor bargain.