Director: Rajat Kapoor
Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Gul Panag, Purab Kohli, Neil Bhoopalam, Gunjan Bakshi, Brijendra Kala

No fuss, no melodrama, no brouhaha about life, death and loss and you have got Fatso. The movie is neat, crisp and enjoyable in parts and pieces but could have been much better. Rajat Kapoor gives you two hours of light humour that never turns slapstick. The dialogues are witty and real life like. After Vicky Donor, we have one more movie where each character is there for a purpose and is sketched out extremely well.

Fatso is a simple love story. Naveen (Purab Kohli) and Nandini (Gul Panag) are about to get married but before they get to walk the aisle, Naveen and his buddies, Sudeep ( Ranvir Shorey) and Yash (Neil Bhoopalam) meet with a road accident. Naveen dies and reaches a transition place, somewhere between life and heaven, only to find out he was not supposed to die. It was his friend Sudeep, who was to die. Naveen’s soul comes back in the body of overweight Sudeep. The plot revolves around Naveen’s soul’s efforts to win the love of Nandini for Sudeep.

The first half is breezy even when it’s sprinkled with death and loss. Apart from the amazing chemistry between Purab Kohli and Gul Panag, it is the after-life experience which is portrayed as a government office full of queues, clerks and wait, that make it a delight to watch. This half of the movie completely belongs to Purab Kohli. His presence is strong. His boyish charm will floor you. His character is so nicely built that even in the second half you feel he is in the movie in the body of Sudeep.  Kudos to Ranvir Shorey for making the transition between the two ‘poles-apart'.

Fatso falls in the second half. What could have a brilliant extension of the first 50 minutes of the movie, the second half is dull and full of loose ends. The idea of awkwardness of Naveen’s adjustment with Sudeep’s body and his relationships is left unexplored. Also, the romance between Nandini and Sudeep is rushed. The viewer doesn’t understand why all of a sudden Nandini declares her love for Sudeep.

 An awesome beginning, a slow middle and an abrupt end yet, Fatso is passable as a one-time watch for the sake of commendable performances by its actors. Gul Panag gives a restrained and a poised performance. Brijendra Kala is exceptionally good as the modern day Yamraj. Neil Bhoopalam, in his second outing after Shaitaan, delivers well as Naveen’s friend-turned-foe.