 Take a liberal part each of Mr India, Ghost and Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke... shake, rattle, roll and stir in some good special effects, and - Wah! Life Ho To Aisi!
Mahesh Manjrekar’s film starring Shahid Kapoor as Aditya, the last hope of literally a houseful of orphaned kids, doughty daadi, big brother n bhabhi, and a beautiful tuition teacher, goes about establishing the setup quickly, deftly.
Young, handsome lad Aditya is an automobile engineer working in partnership with friend Vikram, and struggles to juggle life between the demands of his garage and the dozen-odd kids at his huge ‘khaandaani’ house which, being prime property, is being coveted by a local estate agent turned builder. Before long, Aditya is forced to sign a mortgage deed on the house, coz he has to borrow 25 lakhs for his sister’s forthcoming marriage. Sleazy builder buys out the mortgage deed, and Adi’s days with his house are numbered! No problem, though, coz even though he’s mostly playing caring chacha to the kids and fantasizing about leggy women while test-driving clients’ cars, Adi can still find time to develop a solar-powered car that looks like a go-cart but for which a car company is all set to cough up a king’s ransom - or so he believes. OK, setup established. Deftly, quickly - as stated earlier.
 Only, so far, it’s all too predictable. And you think - hmmm, now our man’s uphill climb, his struggles and setbacks will begin, his problems will grow, but the dashing Adi will surely surmount them all, and win. What’s a few villalins to cope with after all? But alas, Adi has to face more than a bunch of sleazy villains – you see, he dies. Kicks the bucket doing the heroic deed of saving the life of one of his kids who crossed a road recklessly.
And we see this flashy dude in a gleaming vintage car a la Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sputter along with clouds, driving Adi – blissfully unaware that he’s dead - and a kid, Shakti, to the Pearly Gates. It’s Yamraj, played by Sanjay Dutt, who lifts the film ten notches with a wonderful, spontaneous comic performance. Dutt’s comic timing is just what the Director ordered for some very funny lines by writer Kiran Kotrial. Don’t be surprised if this is a frontrunner at all the Film Awards for Best Performance in a Comic Role, or Supporting Actor.
OK, so here we are at the Pearly Gates, and suddenly, Adi digs his heels in - please, Yam, he sobs, let me at least see how my family is coping without me! And the flashily dressed Yamraj with a windshield that doubles as the flattest computer screen, is online with the family. Their tears and sorrow moves Yamraj, who, deep down, is really an emotional guy, and agrees to let Adi and Shakti go back to earth coz his Big Boss, Chitragupt, has gone to the Bahamas with his wife for a 7-day holiday! Only, nobody will be able to see or hear them. And from here, ‘Ghost’ takes over.
The rest of the film is all about how Adi learns who his real friends and well wishers are, and that everyone is out to trap his family and gyp them out of the huge house and his share of the profitable business. And how he rallies round and fights back.
This is obviously a film made for children, and kids will definitely enjoy it. While the scenario is predictable, and you know which way the story will go, it’s the anticipation of how the bad guys will get their comeuppance, and the way that story is told, which makes WLHTA an entertaining film. The special effects and the various situations in which Adi comes to the rescue of his family and his sweetheart Priya, are just what the kids will lap up.
Shahid Kapoor is competent, but as for Amrita Rao, let’s not judge her coz she doesn’t have much of a noteworthy role anyways. Mohnish Behl as Shahid Kapoor’s elder brother who’s given up on life and taken to drink, just cannot look like a down and out guy; worse, his dialogues have been dubbed by someone who just doesn’t sound like him at all.
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