Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd. Reviews by Critics

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Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd. Review by Bollywood Hungama

Rating:

Right from the word go, the film’s screenplay (Asad Ajmeri – Akashdeep) fails to establish any kind of connect with the audience. And it is this disconnect that actually acts as a roadblock for the film at regular intervals, thus making the film into an extremely boring and lacklustre affair. It won’t be wrong to say that the film has (Asad Ajmeri – Pawan Soni) an apology of a script. And it is purely because of this reason, that even the film’s screenplay falls absolutely flat on the face. It seems that, with such a kind of screenplay, the audiences are either being tested for their patience levels or are being taken for a royal ride! One really wonders as to how (and under what unavoidable circumstances) the film’s script was approved in the first place. In addition to that, one also wonders about the reason as to how could some of the most seasoned actors of Bollywood gave their nod to be a part of this senseless film. Added to all of the aforementioned factors is the insipid direction (Akashdeep) that takes the film nowhere. The director has failed miserably in his task of creating a film that shares its name with the duo (Santa and Banta), who are best known for their senseless but funny jokes. But, with this film, Akashdeep seems to have made a mockery of not just the film, but also the laurels which the characters Santa and Banta enjoy. The film has got a vague first half as much as the senseless second half. The jokes in the film (which are supposed to invoke laughter) fall flat totally and end up irritating (to the core) the audience after a while. With the kind of proceedings that the film exhibits, one does really feel that, rather than taking resort to the jokes/one liners that the movie has, the film’s makers could have incorporated jokes/gags from the innumerable Santa-Banta joke bank that is freely available. In totality, SANTA BANTA PVT LTD could be easily termed as one of the worst film of 2016 so far.

Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd. Review by Rohit Vats on Hindustan Times

Rating:

Of course, Santa-Banta jokes pepper this narrative, but the mere compilation of them does not work; they restrict the situational humour from blossoming. The screenplay is so shoddy that even Irani and Das seemed bored.

Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd. Review by Manisha Lakhe on Nowrunning

Rating:

Half an hour into the movie you have been assaulted by not just bad jokes, but animation as well. The entire movie has been shot at the hotel the cast probably stayed in but the budget seems to be unlimited. There are helicopters and small airplane, and rides in a souped up motorbike.

Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd. Review by Suhani Singh on India Today

Rating:

Poor Lisa Hayden takes her part of a secret agent so seriously that she forgets that this is a comedy. But given that nothing about this film is even remotely funny, you can’t blame her. Irani and Das stick out as sore thumbs as two Sikh buddies, struggling to uplift the proceedings. It’s not entirely their fault for apart from bad casting, the film has a bad script with jokes that fall flat. But it does come with the odd warning sign. “Main toh pagal ho jaaoongaa,” says one frustrated character. It is akin to what the audiences will feel after watching this film.

Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd. Review by Jaidev Hemmady on Movietalkies

Rating:

The film is without doubt one of the worst movies ever seen by yours truly (and I have seen quite a few duds) for the simple reason that the writers got lazy with the plot and decided to fill the narrative with as many ‘Santa Banta’ jokes that they could gather from text messages that we send to each other when bored with whatever life has to offer. To give credit where it’s due, some of the gags do evoke chuckles, but only because we have heard them before and the ‘déjà vu’ effect works its magic. At times, it feels like the makers wanted to roam Fiji and decided to justify the trip by attempting a film. The film also stars Neha Dhupia and Lisa Haydon, who seem to have been brought on board just to display their curves and even that gets boring after a while.

Review by Vishal Verma on Glamsham

Rating:

Bollywood is used to objections in titles, content etc in the movie coming from various corners.. movies like SANTA BANTA PVT. LTD can trigger a revolution and provide a solution for such torture in future. A printed warning on its posters like we have in cigarettes and liquor. Something like this – Watching this movie may be injurious to your pocket, health and belief in laughter.

Review by Saibal Chatterjee on NDTVMovies

Rating:

Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd. runs for nearly two hours, but neither the pair of makeshift sleuths for whom videsh translates to Ca-nay-daa nor the nonplussed audience is anywhere nearer the truth by the end of it all. The film is liberally peppered with silly Santa Banta PJs but the joke is nearly always on this bizarre concoction.

Review by Mohar Basu on The Times Of India

Rating:

This film gives annoying a new meaning. It takes special kind of talent to make something as boring, ridiculous, vain and unfunny as this. It will be blasphemous to call it a comedy. And the fact that it stars the funny guy Vir Das and the witty Boman Irani, is a shame. The lethargic writing and amateurish humour doesn’t have a hint of vibrancy. It is as dull as dull gets and even triple strength Americano can’t help you stay awake while watching this muddled mess.

Review by Preeti Kulkarni on Bollywood Life

Rating:

For the most part of the film, you would look helplessly at the red EXIT sign in the theatre wanting to escape this boring film. Even the picturesque Fiji Islands won’t help spark your interest back to the film! The lead actors try really hard to make you laugh but in the end get utterly exhausted with their attempt!

Review by Bryan Durham on DNA India

Rating:

The fact that I watched this film expecting at least a few guffaws. There are none to be had. Akashdeep has a sturdy cast at his disposal and he squanders the opportunity to make it work to his benefit. Lever as the Nepali don is about the worst thing you’re going to see this year. The plot doesn’t have loopholes, it has black holes that suck your sanity in. And what forgettable songs! Who thought it was a good idea to make this film?

Review by Shubha Shetty-Saha on Mid-Day India

Rating:

112 minutes of this movie and not a single second that could justify why a movie of this kind was being made. In the beginning there is a longish disclaimer that painstakingly describes how the movie’s characters should not be taken seriously. Well, if half that effort were used in writing some genuinely funny dialogues, perhaps that disclaimer would be required. No one’s going to take this film seriously anyway.

Review by Kunal Guha on Mumbai Mirror

Rating:

Boman Irani will be answerable in his afterlife for being associated with this film. Considering the state of his film career, Vir Das is already paying for his terrible choices. Neha Dhupia is a bit too jaded to play the damsel in distress, but Lisa Haydon was well cast, if she was supposed to portray a desi Lara Croft that is. Utterly wasted in the film are Vijay Raaz, Sanjay Mishra, Johnny Lever and Ram Kapoor.

Review by Subhash K Jha on Bollyspice

Rating:

The comic world of Santa Banta Pvt Ltd is suffused in an exasperating chaos. You want to be amused. You wait for punchlines. There is not one gag here that would evoke even a mild laughter in the audience. But if you appreciate some very accomplished comic actors trying to make sense of a plot that couldn’t have made sense even to those who wrote it, this is your film.

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• The Jungle Book – 3.8 stars
• Airlift – 3.7 stars
• Kapoor & Sons – 3.7 stars
• Aligarh – 3.6 stars
• Fan – 3.5 stars
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• Saala Khadoos – 2.6 stars
• Ki & Ka – 2.5 stars
• Bollywood Diaries – 2.5 stars
• Ghayal Once Again – 2.4 stars
• Tere Bin Laden Dead Or Alive – 2.3 stars
• Jai Gangaajal – 2.3 stars
• Fitoor – 2.3 stars
• Rocky Handsome – 2.1 stars
• LoveShhuda – 2 stars
• Love Games – 1.7 stars
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• Sanam Re – 1.6 stars
• Sanam Teri Kasam – 1.6 stars