Saurabh Shukla is a great actor, a good script writer but a mediocre director all the same. Precisely till date, his only claim to fame is the character ‘Kallu Mama’ from the milestone movie ‘Satya’. His “Pappu can’t...” is another wayward tale of a hackneyed romance between a struggling dancer and a simpleton medical representative. The tale could have been endearing, had Shukla checked his obsession with absurd situations. And the film’s laden with them. Here’s a handful:

The abrupt “vigilance wale” visits in a sales tax colony (where the couple are illegal occupants) remind you of Chambal Daku ANY TIME INVASIONS of village Ramgad. The hero suffers the wrath of the world around him only because he’s away from home, in the big, bad world of Mumbai. “Banaras hota to...”

The excessively rowdy (to the point of being wicked) Heroine suddenly shows her emotional side, bursting into the “Mere Papa, meri Maa” ordeal. Our blunt heroine can brave any storm in life, anything but her monthly periods, and it takes a gift pack of sanitary pads to bring her back to life.

A music video director, a well-bred thorough professional otherwise, wants all aspirants to trust him... so only those who can ‘bare it all’ will pass his litmus test.  Hello, he’s only looking for girls who’re proud of their bodies...nothing else! Shukla sir needs some serious introspection to find out what’s wrong with him...who knows this effort can be good material for a decent film.

The film does have few inspiring moments. Naseeruddin Shah’s guest appearance is all grace personified. This must be his best cameo in recent films, second only to ‘Zindagi Na Mile Dobara’. The Banaras scenes look authentic, vaguely reminding us of Ray’s Aparajita from the Apu trilogy. Thanks to Shukla for that.

Vinay Pathak is outstanding in parts - especially in the poetry rendition ‘kad badakad bakkad’ and his outburst post the uneasy sojourn to Banaras. Neha Dhupia looks extremely believable as Mehak, but her so-called Kolhapur roots don’t show up, they only throw up. Rajat Kapoor manages to lend some meaning to his nonsensical character. The cinematography is top-class, music decent.