After a long dry spell in Bollywood, a movie of this caliber has come out that might just be the first, this year, to become a commercial and critical hit. It does not let itself get lost in trying to bring social awareness. The parental guidance tag on the certificate is a must, to keep in mind, because the Lota Party does not hold back. The Music is just in the right proportions and does not take away from the smooth storytelling. Songs are short and add the right amount of Bollywood feel for the hardcore Bollywood fans. The direction is seamless, and the story does not digress. A true laugh riot, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is a close to reality, Modi preaching movie with a ‘tadka’ of Bollywood.

It is no surprise, then, that some of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha's dialogues sound like something straight out of a public service announcement - "Biwi paas chahiye, toh ghar mein sandaas chahiye," "problem shauch ki nahi, soch ki hai." Some parts of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha could very well be an election campaign for the ruling party. Sample this: Who is responsible for the toilet scams worth thousands of crores? The people, of course! The film tells us that the government is doing its best to install toilets, but the people just won't change their mindset and let that happen. There is also a dialogue along the lines of, "Jab humare pradhan mantri desh ke bhalayi ke liye notebandi karwa sake hai, toh hum itna sa nahi kar sakte?" What works for the film is the hinterland humour. In an elaborate sequence, Akshay Kumar's character gets married to a buffalo to get rid of his "manglik dosh". It is the laughs which take away your unease about the length of the two-and-a-half-hour-long film. If you can manage to overlook its preachiness at times, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is worth the price of your ticket, GST included.

It’s fitting that Akshay Kumar has greenlit and played the lead in this film, which is more a primer of How To Break Social Taboos and Make Toilets rather than a powerful social drama. The moment a film succumbs to being the carrier of a Message as opposed to a message, it becomes burdened. The noblest ideas are very often derailed by clunky execution. This is the problem with Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, which had the potential to become a deep, dark satirical take on one of the biggest problems that still shamefully plagues India: defecation in the open. But the film is after something larger. It is after society. It is after culture. It is so busy pointing fingers at the Indians, good people but blinded by tradition of ‘jis aangan mein tulsi hai, usi mein shauchalaya kaise ban sakta hai’, who will still go out into the open, that it forgets that polemics make good academic papers. They do not necessarily make good films. This kind of film, where the s**t literally hits the fan, where you can see real turd droppings, and the dialogue is filled with such ‘sanskaari-sarkaari’ words like ‘soch’, ‘shauchalaya’ and ‘sandaas’, needs a light touch. You need the ‘khadi boli’ of Mathura, where the film is set, spoken with a great deal more authenticity. And above all, if you are going to give me a feisty heroine who is happy to throw off her ‘ghoonghat’, and rail against patriarchy, you should not make her touch anyone’s feet. If you are making a film that hoists a flag for a strong feminist ideal, then don’t waver, and confuse it with stuffing the film with too many issues. Otherwise, you dilute and confuse things, especially because your lead actors have stayed the smelly course.

For most of us who take the toilets in our homes for granted, the burning issue of 58% Indians practising open defecation could be a flush-worthy concept. But, director Shree Narayan Singh holds up a mirror to society, showing us how our superstitious villagers, lazy administration and corrupt politicians have actually converted India into the world’s largest shit-pond. Women especially, are treated more insensitively than cattle! This film is a satirical take on the age-old ‘tradition’ of seeking fields to relieve ourselves. Mercifully it steers clear of being a documentary on sanitisation. Instead TEPK is a robust love-story striking a balance between entertaining and educating. The second-half borrows the template for films that address causes and allows for some lecturebaazi. A 10-minute snip here would’ve helped the focus stay sharper. Akshay is the backbone of this satire. His inner journey as an actor pays dividends and he delivers yet another topnotch performance. Half a star in the rating is rightfully his. Bhumi is perfect in her rendition of the feisty Jaya and Divyendu is a terrific comic. The presence of veterans, Pandey and Kher, is unmissable. The screenplay is peppered with loads of LOL moments balanced correctly with emotional outbursts. As bonus, you get a hummable soundtrack with Hans Mat Pagli, Bakheda and Gori Tu Lath Maar. So whether you have pressing matters to attend to or not, please take a detour to this toilet. Each of us needs to raise a stink about what our countrymen do in the open.