Taran Adarsh 

26th July at Barista

Directed by: Mohan Sharma

Starring: Simran Vaid, Rohini Hattangadi, Paramveer, Ashish Duggal, Rita Joshi, Kabier Sawhney, Seema Pandey.

Rating: *

26th July is one date Mumbaikars will never forget. The city came to a grinding halt as unprecedented rains stopped rail and bus traffic, silenced mobiles and tripped power lines. Life in Mumbai came to a standstill as torrential rains killed people and caused heavy financial losses. Everyone you met had a story to tell -- of horror, of humanity, of determination, of despair.

26th July at Barista is about an assorted mix of individuals who get stranded in a coffee shop on the fateful night. Unfortunately, the cinematic experience is an amateurish effort. It evokes no sorrow or compassion because the trauma and turmoil that lacs of people underwent on the fateful day is depicted least convincingly on celluloid. It’s a haphazardly put together story that devotes a major chunk of the footage on a robbery and a cop questioning everyone in the premises.

Frankly, nothing works!

A number of people get stranded in a coffee outlet on 26th July. These include a script writer, an aspiring actress, a bunch of youngsters, a couple whose kids have gone visiting Esselworld and two office-goers, who eventually get attracted to each other. As hours pass by, a cop drops in, also a woman who has been gang-raped, a kid in search of her father and a troubled woman searching for a kid.

A tacky product, the interiors are shot in the dark [since the lights went off] and a few shots of the exteriors hardly recreate the horrors of the fateful day. The screenplay is lifeless and the direction, listless. The cast mostly comprises of new faces. Kabir Sawhney is okay, while Simran Vaid is passable. Rohini Hattangadi is there for a scene. Raju Kher hams, while Amita Nangia is alright.

On the whole, 26th July at Barista is a poor show all the way.