Written and directed by the late Anant Balani and produced by Pritish Nandy Communications, Mumbai Matinee is the latest addition to the world of crossover films.

Welcome to the world of fully faltoo timepass! The protagonist of Mumbai Matinee is ad executive, Debashish Chatterjee i.e. Debu who is shy, introverted, most importantly, still a virgin at 32 and at the same time, obsessed with the desire to lose his virginity.

The quest for his goal leads Debu to a fraud 'Baba Hindustani' (Vijay Raaz) and his secretary (Asrani). After a couple of funny takes on Bengal and Bollywood and a rather comic evocation of the tantrik's aura, the awesome twosome finally offer Debu a bottle of green pills complete with packaging "Let the force be with you!"

Debu also runs into small time hindi film producer Nitin Kapoor (Saurabh Shukla) and strikes an instant rapport with him. One more visit to Baba and Debu finds himself at a brothel. There is a police raid and Debu is arrested by true blue bengali cop (Prithvi Zutshi) who gives him the firing of his life, till Nitin Kapoor bails him out.

A few days later, Kapoor himself faces problems on his latest film and decides to meet Baba. Baba pulls off a machiavellian trick with the outcome that Nitin Kapoor's Sholay Mein Deewar becomes a runaway hit and Debu the nation's most wanted porn star!

Meanwhile Debu who is blissfully ignorant of his new-found celebrity status gets a rude shock when he sees himself in what looks like compromising positions in the film. He ends up losing both his job and his residence.

Enter journalist Sonali Verma (Perizaad Zorabian) who wants to interview Debu but to her bad luck, Debu gets arrested once again. Sonali comes to the rescue and offers Debu refuge in her home. Friendship transforms into love and finally the deed is done wherein both lose the lowest common factor i.e. their virginity.

Rahul Bose is excellent as the shy, awkward and naïve Debu. His acting is neither overstated nor understated. With a variety of roles in English August, Split Wide Open, Mr & Mrs Iyer, Jhankaar Beats and now Mumbai Matinee, he proves his versatility as an actor.

Vijay Raaz puts forth a brilliant portrayal of the quack Baba. He is outrageously funny in some of the scenes and draws quite a few laughs from the audience.

Saurabh Shukla is very convincing as the well meaning but frustrated producer given to occasional outbursts of rage.

Perizaad Zorabian provides the right look and feel to her role of single, independent journalist but her character is insufficiently developed and leaves her with little scope for acting.

From the rest of the cast, veteran actor Asrani enjoys a comic comeback with his role as Baba's secretary. Kaabir (of Shagun fame) delivers a good performance as the hero's buddy. Prithvi Zutshi makes his mark as firebrand bengali cop.

The music by Anand Raj Anand and Farhad Wadia is apt for the hinglish nature of the film. Loot Gaye as the item number is very catchy. Cinematography is okay.

The concept and treatment of Mumbai Matinee is akin to slapstick comedy. For starters, a 32-year-old, timid ad executive goes nuts trying to lose his virginity. The contradiction apart, what's all the fuss about? He keeps getting caught in situations ranging from the unbelievable to the bizarre. However, towards the end, there is an attempt to make the film look like a sincere love story which does not gel and appears forced.

On the whole, Mumbai Matinee is worth watching atleast for the sake of its performances.

-- Madhavi Gokhlay