Dear Dad

There's only so much the actors can do with a script that started off boldly but blinked when it mattered most.

There are a few moments between father and son which feel as if something real is going on...but the rest of it is clunky and contrived, and the sudden switch between moods-from dad being foe to friend-feels too hurried.

The slow and steady passage from love to hatred and pride would have been a profound and poignant journey that the film doesn't quite embark on. It's in too much of a hurry to reach nowhere.

Dear Dad is pleasant, brave and fresh to begin with ... there is just not enough of anything in the film and only so much the endearing Arvind Swamy can do for it.