Hashvardhan Kulkarni's 'Hunterrr' is raunchy, dirty yet irresistible. This one's A Delicious Sex-Comedy, that offers laugh & also emotional depth. Its daringly different & Gulshan Devaiya is simply terrific in the central role.

'Hunterrr' Synopsis: A sex addict recalls his lustful past before he plans to marry a women, who offers him love, rather than lust.

'Hunterrr' works because the Writing is mostly strong. Kulkarni's Screenplay, which shifts back and forth, exploring the life of its extremely horny Protagonist, is enjoyable! The best bits come-up in the protagonist's past, be it his escapades with a feisty married women or with his college girlfriend. Yes, the romantic-track, which is the most prominent aspect of the story, also works, but at times, the humor falters. But overall, Kulkarni's Screenplay is unabashedly sleazy & some of the dialogue, are priceless!

Kulkarni's Direction is pretty good. Cinematography is picture-perfect. Editing is fine, although the film is a bit too lengthy (142-minutes). Some trimming was needed. Music by Khamosh Shah is in sync with the film's mood.

Performance-Wise: Gulshan Devaiya is the life of 'Hunterr'. The talented actor enacts the sex-addict with remarkable conviction. He makes a perverted character relatable rather than repulsive, all thanks to his superlative portrayal. This is a knock-out performance, in every level. Radhika Apte is wonderful, yet again! What a performer! Sai Tamhankar is extra-ordinary & despite limited screen-time, she brings a fabulous color to her character. Others lend excellent support.

On the whole, 'Hunterrr' is a joyride! Go, have fun!

Indians are wary about sex. And there's a great chance that some of you readers may have problems with me including the three letter word in the summary. Well, the film is basically a sex comedy which opens the topic and makes its audience dive into everything that comes with it (no pun intended).

It is the story of a man Mandar (Gulshan) seeking sexual liberation in a world (or country, shall I say?) where showing affection in public is forbidden. Since he reached puberty, Mandar has always been a curious lad who takes fancy in women and sex and masturbation. His flings switch ON and OFF as he seeks carnal knowledge every day like if it is a necessity like emptying one's bowels. He is just like an ordinary kid who wants to know things. But these escapades are not without its dangers as Mandar learns the hard way. The premise is brilliant and for Bollywood, a big step in the genre. It is in all ways superior to another film that comes to mind - Mastram (2014),a candid film about porn writing.

The non-linear screenplay is fun; chronicling the protagonist's life from his childhood days when a naughty Mandar starts responding to his "other basic needs" to the days when he visits the video parlor shops to the college days when flings and scoring are all the rage. These sequences are shot beautifully with montages that streamline the story marvelously. It throws light about the perils of two distinct features: one, the danger of indulging in an extra-marital affair, and two, the complexities of pre-matrimony when dealing with an eventful past becomes a problem amongst the to-be-bride-groom. It amazes one to learn that the writers have sampled original references in their fiction which makes it look like it is a real deal. One can easily relate to the character if he's being true to himself. Let me clarify, the film doesn't break the taboo; instead it tries to permit and attach it to a normal life. Of course, adults are not very present in this mission, otherwise the case would've been different. Sex will always be a taboo in India, but it is out of the scope of this review.

Although, there's a paradigm shift in the story when the joys of sex comedy turns into a drama about relationships. Maybe it was intended, but there is a chance that the audience, divided into two, may receive it rather critically. It will appeal the niche audience, the type that will be able to relate with the characters, but unfortunately even the drama may not entice the majority rest of the audience, for the screenplay doesn't offer what it may have promised. Nudity and actual sex are only suggestive and people expecting these may not be able to appreciate the psychology.

Retro music and songs, great camera work, and amazing dialogs are the highlights of this comic venture that is not as sleazy as it advocates to be. Gulshan Devaiah is excellent and totally into the character. I can hardly see anybody else portraying this role so purely as he does. Supporters Radhika Apte and Sai Tamhankar are very good. In fact, the whole cast do a very good job. Because they are directed well, the film will never bore you.

BOTTOM LINE: Hunterrr helps Bollywood transcend into a new level, and could even be called the pioneer of this genre which must be watched in order to be appreciated. 6/10 - Recommended!

Can be watched with a typical family? NO

Sex: Medium | Vulgarity/Profanity: Strong | Smoking/Alcohol: Very Low

Clearing the doubts about the film's negative impact first, thankfully this is not any cheap, sleazy sex comedy as portrayed by its theatrical trailer, possibly designed with the only intention of grabbing some instant attention. Hence giving the project its deserving due, yes this is not any milestone kind of a film in this particular genre. But it still remains a mature take on the subject revolving around a character who has grown up thinking about sex alone instead of love and is now suffering due to the same in his later years heading towards the middle age.

HUNTERRR begins on an interesting note with a series of flashbacks coming repeatedly in the narration and its first 30-40 minutes realistically depicting the age of adolescence in an entertaining comic manner setting a fine premise. It beautifully takes you back in the 80s in those times of 'Adult Video Parlours' running illegally, tickets being sold in black and cinema being the only entertainment for the people from all age groups. As the main protagonist grows up to be a college going boy, he teaches you a new word "Vaasugiri" and turns into a hunter of girls/women looking for some casual sex. The only erotic scene is served just before the interval and overall the film makes a decent impact on the viewer mainly due to its unexpected mature take quite different from the cunningly compiled trailer having a completely different vision of a B grade movie.

Admitting the vulgarity, it does hurt you in a scene where the young boys are trying to touch the middle aged ladies in the market as their private game and the obscene suggestive gesture shown in its publicity poster. Yet as a whole, the honest biographical tone doesn't demean the women, who actually turn out to be an equal partner in the crime too representing their bold new-age avatar in its various sequences.

However, as usual the light-hearted feels gives away to a tiring repetitive run in the film's second half. And we get to see a quite slow, confusing and too long narrative towards the end that ideally should have been summed up within a two hour format. The last hour sadly puts it back into the category of just a well-intentioned attempt that shies away from trying anything experimental in its climax that could have been its highlight as a pleasant shock. Probably (debutant) writer-director Harshavardhan Kulkarni got caught in the dilemma of how to end the film, that doesn't put it in the category of a too mature or an artistic take on the subject finding fewer takers. He surely had got the opportunity of making an off-beat gem moving ahead of all those cheap sex comedies making 100 crores, but couldn't maintain the pace and the entertaining factor continuing in its over-lengthy & monotonous second half as required.

Having said that, I would still like to praise him for a fine effort made, not falling into the trap of using the sick tricks of the trade when it comes to such 'sex-based films'.

Following the 25 years life span of its key character, HUNTERRR gets its much needed lift from the script and dialogues that do not depend upon any cuss words at all. So there are no 'Censor beeps' heard in the film surprisingly which certainly needs to be counted as a rare appreciable merit in the current scenario. The minimally used songs are just fine (composed by Khamosh Shah) making it as an interesting soundtrack particularly due to the numbers sung by Bappi Lahiri and Amit Trivedi (penned by Swanand Kirkire). Plus the background score certainly provides a great support to the film along with its art-direction & cinematography. But on the other hand, a better editing could have helped a lot since moving 'back and forth in time' starts irritating after a while, putting it frankly.

In the performance section, HUNTERRR truly belongs to two people alone and they are Gulshan Deviah as Mandaar and Radhika Aapte as Tripti playing their respective roles brilliantly. Gulshan displays a fine sense of comic timing with an emotional sincerity too that doesn't let the viewer hate his 'negative' character of a 'sex- maniac' and Radhika delivers another lovable polished performance winning the hearts post BADLAPUR. So the film deserves to be seen for these two actors alone if not for anything else. In the supporting cast, Sai Tamhankar provides the erotica real-well, Veera Saxena makes a decent debut with a comfortable ease and Sagar Deshmukh truly does a noteworthy job in his few scenes coming after long gaps.

In short, though the subject is disturbing focusing on just sex alone, yet the film deserves to be rated as a contributing step in our progressive Hindi cinema that doesn't bow down to the usual cheapness planned for some quick box office returns. Its not a milestone alright but has it visible merits and a mature take on the subject too with some outstanding realistic performances forcing you to admit the harsh truths of our questionable real lives shamelessly.

Anyway, ending on a different note, HUNTERRR made me recall one of my favourites Hindi cult classics that also revolves around the different phases in a man's life and his loving relationships with three different women teaching him the meaning of love. The film was showman Raj Kapoor's most beloved child MERA NAAM JOKER released in 1970.

But perhaps due to the changing times & mindsets, where MERA NAAM JOKER focused merely on heartfelt emotions, love and trust, HUNTERRR solely emphasis on sex and one night stands alone representing the inevitable change around us in the 21st century. So forgetting its misguiding trailer, do give it a try as a mature adult comedy rising much above the films we have earlier seen in this controversial genre.