In the times of 100 million dollar Hollywood films and cheesy jingoistic pro-violence movies, few things are as thrilling as watching a well-crafted low budget effort. Mixed Doubles may never make the cut as a cult classic and it may not even recover it’s measly production cost of 45 lacs, but it holds your attention and the performances and writing keep you mostly engrossed through it’s 90 minute roller coaster dramedy.

Rajat Kapoor, who seems to have learnt from his mistakes of Raghu Romeo and has evolved considerably as a director, can continue to deny it in all the interviews till kingdom come, but the film is about partner-swapping. The setup is a marriage getting tedious, the conflict consists of whether a conservative couple should or shouldn’t (indulge), and the climax and resolution to do with what happens when they do.

It is not a flawless script to be sure. Randomly inserted Santa Banta jokes, Saurabh Shukla’s mysterious character Sammy, and some scenes (like the dinner) that go on for too long take away from otherwise elegant, funny, situational, and contemporary writing. For example, the scenes in their home with Malti and Sunil are very real and easy to empathize with. But contrived situations like his faking his sickness go against the grain of the film. Even the climax, when Sunil is in the bedroom with Kalpana, the writing seems restrained and on the fence, unable to choose between slapstick or being cheerlessly funny in a genuine depiction.

What the film lacks in say, the production design department (a lot of the film is shot in Kapoor’s own home), it makes up with good performances and astute direction (see the economy in the last shot of the film.) Remarkable sound design (entirely in post: the film is not shot sync) by Resul Pookutty and no-nonsense camera work by Rafey Mahmood captures the mood of the film effectively. Perhaps the editing could’ve been sharper from the story’s point of view.

As for the actors, Ranvir Shorey is rather good as a man with a mid-life crisis. His comic timing, honed on television, is in good stead. Konkona Sen Sharma is her usual self, bringing a supple, underplayed vivaciousness to the screen. Rajat Kapoor plays it straight, which he is best at, for it comes with natural ease. Naseeruddin Shah’s three line cameo is magic. How an actor can lift a film just with three improvised lines of dialogue delivery is even beyond conjecture. Disappointing is Koël Purie. She seems to be getting stereotyped in her roles and portrays her weakest character yet.

If nothing else, one should watch this film in support of independent films made in India. After all, it’s not the production value; rather, it’s good scripts, performances and direction that make a film watch-able. Mixed Doubles is that sort of film. Not outstanding, but very watch-able.