Khaali Peeli

The story is about two childhood sweethearts Pooja and Blackie who gets separated due to certain circumstances when they were kids. Pooja, who is now aprostitute, decides to escape the brothel on turning 18, with a bag full of stolen money. She bumps into Blackie who is now a very ‘chalu’ Bombay taxi driver. He agrees to ‘drive’ her to freedom, in exchange for a hefty amount.This leads to a series of chase and escape – with the goons on Pooja's trail and the cops on the goons’ trail.

Khaali Peeli (Black and Yellow Taxi; English: For No Reason) is a decent comic caper that works because of the fast-paced storyline, Ishaan Khatter's electric performance, Jaideep Ahlawat's presence, and the flipflop screenplay style that keeps you occupied. It has its fair share of ups and downs (mostly cringeworthy sequences involving Ananya Pandey's antiques) but it passes muster and I was able to satisfactorily finish it. The story is the usual, about runaways with money in the bag, but the Mumbaiya dialogues and the rusty settings makes it appealing and worthwhile. Give it a watch if you have a Zee5 subscription. **Grade C**.