A few weeks ago, I wrote about the impact that the Miss World contest has had on Bollywood.
At the time, I quoted Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai as the two examples of the title opening the door of movie stardom.
I'd forgotten film star Sushmita Sen, a former Miss Universe and Miss Worlds Diana Hayden and Yukta Mookhey who both, fleetingly, appeared on the big screen.
And, of course, I had omitted to mention Lara Dutta, 2000's Miss Universe, who plays a lead role here in Chalo Dilli (Let's Go The Delhi).
Dutta plays the uptight but beautiful banker who is the straight foil on what is basically a Bollywood version of Planes Trains and Automobiles.
Vinay Pathak is the comic turn who, through, a series of unfortunate events, becomes her travelling pal from Mumbai to Delhi.
Of course, pal is stretching it more than a bit because every journey along the way is a mini adventure which is marked by something going wrong, it reminded me of that John Cleese movie Clockwise.
These include missing a flight, the plane being diverted, taking a taxi which brakes down and on and on and on.
One journey even involves a camel.
Naturally, it is not just the wrecked travel arrangements which cause hilarity. Dutta is splendidly pompous and haughty while Pathak is the unrefined talkaholic with a bad case of wind when he eats.
He angers his fellow traveller by asking: "What's the big deal?'' whenever the hapless duo are met by another mishap.
A huge moral message at the end of the movie shows just why he has such an easygoing attitude.
Chalo Dilli pinches too much from other movies to make it a classic in its own right.
However, it's finale does pull its strands together in a most unexpected way.
I'd forgotten to mention the Akshay Kumar cameo because he is in the movie for such a short time he is barely worth comment let alone top billing.
But, on the whole, Chalo Dilli does a pretty good job, with the two leads in good form. I'll give it 6/10.
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