The trailer of Fatso had certainly raised some expectations. Moreover, with Rajat Kapoor at the helm and the talented Ranvir Shorey, Gul Panag, Purab Kohli and Neil Bhoopalam forming an ensemble cast, one would certainly head for a treat with Fatso.

Fatso is the story of Sudeep (Ranvir Shorey) but only after his best friend Navin (Purab Kohli) dies in an accident just before he is about to get married to his sweetheart Nandini (Gul Panag). The guys including Yash (Neil Bhoopalam) meet with an accident and Navin dies on spot. Navin is taken to an afterlife which is neither heaven nor hell and neither is it up in the skies nor is it underground. It is a simple building that has elevators and different floors and the main premise of the post death circumstances is like an old school government building. Navin learns that he has been mistakenly brought across while Sudeep was the one whose time was up. Navin gets furious but the guardians of afterlife suggest that his soul takes over Sudeep’s body, hence compensating for the error. The rest of the film follows Sudeep aka Fatso and his trials and errors to win over Nandini. There is some competition from Yash as he is eyeing for the heartbroken pretty lady as well. Fatso in a nutshell is a story that puts soul above body and tries to hammer the point home.

Rajat Kapoor possibly had an intriguing premise in his hand. Whether or not it is a remake of a certain movie is not important since the movies from which the reported inspirations have been drawn from had released when most of the present day generations were not even born and were probably in their last life’s afterlives.

Fatso is sweet. Gul Panag and Purab’s chemistry is infectious. It is short lived and possibly that is another reason why it makes an impact. The scenes at the gateway of heaven or hell are brilliant and this is only where you get to feel that Fatso is a comedy as well. The rest of the story is more about romance, spirituality and the art of trying to impress someone you had already impressed.

Ranvir Shorey is brilliant with his Fatso act and he behaves exactly the way an obese man would. The entire stress has been on his eating habits while other aspects of lifestyles have not been explored. Neil is fascinating as well with his Yash act and Purab makes an indelible impression with his short stint. Gul Panag looks pretty and she pulls off her role with ease.

Fatso is a feel good film with an intention of making people smile and fall in love, come what may.

All said and done! Fatso stumbles on various aspects. The music simply does not work. The film is too focused on the romance element to shed light on any other aspects. The afterlife is never explored again, Sudeep whose soul has been drawn out gets lost the moment Navin’s soul takes over Sudeep’s body and the truth about the soul exchange is never communicated to any of the living characters.

A lot could have happened comically and spiritually but Rajat Kapoor chooses not to venture into those elements. Although Ranvir and Gul deliver nice performances, their chemistry does not get an opportunity to blossom. The love that was evident in between Gul’s Nandini and Purab’s Navin gets lost once Fatso walks into the picture.

Another drawback of the film is that it never travels out of the crux of the story – Navin & Nandini’s love story via Fatso. The settings are real with real streets, real people, real apartments but the real lives of the reel characters are not explored to one bit. That could have offered some more authenticity to the setting.

Expectations were too high with Fatso which sadly is not satiated. Vinay Pathak’s cameo and other elements in the film do not make an impact. At the end of the day, Fatso may appear to be a little slow but it is sweet. It does not make a huge impact on the audience and one can only breeze by sitting in a cool multiplex away from the summer heat.