Movie rating: **

Khatta Meetha sees the return of the awesome twosome, Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan. The duo have to their credit the rib cracking Hera Pheri. Akshay Kumar seems to be a hot favourite with Priyadarshan. The director has cast Kumar in many of his films like De Dana Dan, Bhool Bhulaiya and Garam Masala.

This time round Priyadarshan presents another satirical comedy. Akshay Kumar plays Sachin Tichkule, a roadside contractor who is perpetually begging people for money to complete his projects. Though he tries to innovate ways to cut through the corrupt system, his ex-girlfriend who is a municipal commisioner makes life very difficult for him.

The problem with Khatta Meetha is that it looks like a poor amalgamation of all of Priyadarshan's earlier films. Whether it is the gags or the performances, we find no novelties whatsoever.

The movie shuttles from the comic to the serious with abruptness, resultantly not letting us enjoy either. Neither the didactic nature of the film nor its comedy are completely and justifiably revealed. The mixing up of genres makes Khatta Meetha a rather distasteful combination.

Akshay Kumar is beginning to look extremely repetitive in both his performances and his dialogue delivery. The dialogues too are funny only in bits and pieces.

Overall, there are screams and shouts struggling to evoke humour in the film. The songs are irritating and out of place and break the flow. The only winner of Khatta Meetha is Rajpal Yadav, who plays a sleazy helper to Akshay Kumar.