Expectations are high .. Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost is a film which shows promise with interesting promos and good songs and that too from a director though debutant has had enough experience with assisting some big names in Hollywood as well as our own Oscar nominated 'Lagaan'.

The story revolves around Kanji who comes back to his village after working in the city for ten long years. His remote village has just received electricity for the first time in its existence, with his grandfather's effort (Snehal Kalhia). Kanji brings a television set as a gift to his award winner grandfather. The villagers who have never been exposed to such a thing goes berserk. While some of them are extremely happy and try to imitate what they see in the TV, there are others who hate their lives being taken over by the modern world. This sparks off a rift between the villagers and powerful men like the Pandit (Akhilendr a Mishra) and the Thakur (Yashpal Sharma) who feels threatened by the influence that the TV may have on the common villagers. Thakur gives a warning to Kanchi.

Meanwhile Kanchi meets Kesar alias KC ( Lara Dutta) and falls for her not knowing she is the sister of the Thakur. He has some reservations when he gets to know of it, but love overcomes everything.. There ensues a clash between Thakur and Kanchi. Kanchi has the villagers and his best friend Surya (Aditya Lakhia) on his side .. the rest of the story is about who wins in the ensuing battle.. the hero or the villain?

The movie is technically perfect and have some brilliantly executed scenes. But the screenplay is no good. It deviates from the main track and gives importance to many aspects which are not at all relevant. The love angle between Kanchi and Lara should have been developed well. The role of the various characters are not well defined and although certain sequences which are meant to evoke laugher are effective but most of them fall flat. Cinematography showing off the Rajasthan sand dunes, is excellent. The film has a Lagaan feel to it.

Performance wise Abhishek Bachtan shows promise but unfortunately this film is not going to help him in his career. Lara Dutt looks good but she would have been better off in a more urban role. Aditya Lakhia who showed real promise in Lagaan is not up to the mark in the film. Other supporting cast, Yashpal Sharma as the Thakur has done his part extremely well. Akhilendra Mishra is effective. The rest are just okay.

Overall the movie is a disappointment except for some sequences and the expectations are apt to fall flat.