Santa Banta jokes can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. From being absolutely hilarious to downright offensive, they do cover the entire range. Often accused of stereotyping Sikhs as unthinking buffoons, they can at times be lame and silly. But never have they come across as such potent weapons of viewer destruction.
This reviewer waited endlessly, alternated between yawning to fidgeting impatiently, but not one decent joke came knocking!
In an ideal universe, Santa Banta Pvt Ltd should have never been made. Sigh! Life is unfair and in this cruel world, director Akashdeep Sabir refuses to show any mercy to us. Santeshwar Singh Bolair and Banteshwar Singh Bolair, played by Boman Irani and Vir Das respectively, trudge along for 112 mins on a carcass of half-baked pathetic “jokes”. It’s painful, to say the least!
From what one can fathom, Santa and Banta are mistaken for RA agents and sent to Fiji to rescue the Indian High Commissioner (Ayyub Khan). Humor, even of the slapstick nature, remains elusive as new characters are introduced and sanity is pushed to the farthest corner.
Neha Dhupia, Lisa Haydon, Johnny Lever, Vijay Raaz, Ram Kapoor and Sanjay Mishra are some of the names totally wasted in what should honestly be called a torture machine.
Santa Banta Pvt Ltd goes nowhere and the only purpose it serves is to be a shining example of how NOT to make a film! For the sake of Boman Irani and Vir Das, let’s pretend that they were never a part of this misadventure. I will give Santa Banta Pvt Ltd only HALF A QUINT! Stay away from this one at any cost!