It is a little unfortunate that 99, a film which has been directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, has had to have such an unheralded release. The film definitely deserves better. Made in a lighter vein, the film explores the rich dreams of a bunch of gamblers and wannanbes, borrowing liberally from cricket and cricketing metaphors, as it plays out their journey towards the maiden century of their lives.

The most striking thing about this movie, is that it has been very well crafted and the actors have managed to execute their director's vision perfectly, specially Boman Irani, Mahesh Manjrekar and Amit Mistry, who are quite outstanding in the movie. Set in 1999, when match fixing was yet to become a major issue, cricket plays a major role in the climax of the film. The film keeps to its tone, mock serious and comic, all through, with no attempt at preaching and posturing. The screenplay has been very skillfully written, specially the manner in which all the characters have been linked to one another, and to the main action of the movie.

99 begins with the story of two small time crooks, Sachin (Kunal Khemu) and Zaramud (Cyrus Broacha), who are having the time of their lives making counterfeit SIM cards till there are busted by the cops. In their attempt to escape the clutches of the law, they fall into the hands of a bookie called AGM (Mahesh Manjrekar) and are forced to work for him. He sends them to Delhi on an assignment to get back his money from a gambler called Rahul (Boman Irani), who owes him Rs 20 lakh. The two land in Delhi but things go terribly wrong and they soon find themselves on the same side as Rahul. With a little help from the hotel employee Pooja (Soha Ali Khan), the trio manage to expose the match fixing bookie nexus. Sachin and Zaramund make their century and their dreams come true. Rahul manages to save his job and his marriage and all ends well for them.

The importance of timing can never be over emphasised in a comedy and the good thing about 99 is that its writers have got that right. There are many liberties that they do take, but they manage to pull it off quite cleanly. The film begins on a much quieter note but it picks up pace and interest with the arrival of Boman Irani on the scene. He is absolutely riveting as the unrepentant gambler who will try anything to get his wife (Simone Singh) back home and save his marriage. He just needs a little luck on his side. With Sachin and Zaramud on his side and lady luck finally deciding to join them, he manages to pull off the biggest gamble of his life. Amit Mistry as Kuber, a Delhi bookie, is a revelation in this movie. He is nothing short of brilliant. Manjrekar as the big bookie, AGM, delivers a flawless performance.

In fact, it would not be wrong to say that it is a fine ensemble performance which manages to lift this film. Everybody plays their parts well, beginning with Kunal Khemu, Cyrus Broacha, Soha, Simone, and even Vinod Khanna, seen here in a bit role.

Since the major portion of the film has been shot in Delhi, there is the mandatory Delhi darshan that the makers take us on, which has been shot very well. But the real heroes of 99 are definitely the writer cum directors Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, who have made such an entertaining film. Time will tell if they have managed to notch a century or not, but, it is definitely a very spirited show by them.