Printing press operator Nandan Kumar (Kunal Kemmu) lives in a chawl with his somewhat finicky wife Lata (Rasika Dugal) and son Aayush (Aryan Prajapati) in a one-room apartment. They're happy in their small world, despite belonging to the have-not class. Once, returning from a late-night shift Nandan stumbles upon a suitcase full of money -- 10 khokas -- ten crores to be exact.

I'll be honest; I had rather modest expectations from Lootcase. The trailer made me believe it's a re-run of Delhi Belly and in 2020, the same premise being revisited nine years later wasn't something I was very kicked about. But, in one stellar scene by Vijay Raaz, where he meticulously explains the crux of crocodilian behaviour, I was sold.

LOOTCASE is the story of a common man who gets rich overnight. Nandan Kumar (Kunal Kemmu) resides in a chawl in Mumbai with his wife Lata (Rasika Dugal) and son Aayush (Aryan Prajapati). He works in a printing press and has a hand-to-mouth existence despite working hard and being the next contender for the 'Kirori Mal Employee of The Year' in his office. Meanwhile, MLA Patil (Gajraj Rao) has got a goon eliminated who is associated with the gangster, Bala Rathore (Vijay Raaz).

Imagine walking out of a shady public toilet and a big bag full of money falls in front of you? That's exactly what happens with Nandan Kumar (Kunal Kemmu). As every common man, he is tired of not getting paid enough despite working hard every day. He decides to keep the suitcase, but he does ask, 'Last time puch raha hoon, kiska bag hai?' With no response from anyone around, he takes the suitcase with himself. However, his wife, Lata (Rasika Dugal), is not aware of the same.

A comedy of errors dependent on an abandoned bag full of cash outside a public toilet in Mumbai. That's probably the most interesting aspect of Lootcase, an utterly pointless and lackadaisical film, which drags on for more than two hours without much happening. The film starts off with a promising setup: an ordinary working-class man, Nandan Kumar (Kunal Khemu), discovers a bag abandoned during a crossfire between two rival goons.

The actors - we mean all the actors, including the tertiary ones - seem to be having a blast in Lootcase, helmed by debutant Rajesh Krishnan, but the film, despite showing early potential, turns out to be a missed opportunity. Streaming now on Disney Hotstar, the crime caper starts on an encouragingly firm footing, stays on course for about an hour or so, and then loses steam and careens off into an uneven, unexciting lane from where there is no escape.

It is unlikely that anyone has ever experienced such joy outside a Sulabh Sauchalaya as Nandan Kumar did that night - when a film kicks off with these words after its middle-class hero finds cash stashed away at the entrance of a public toilet, it holds out a promise of the sort of impertinent humour Hindi cinema rarely does. Black comedy is a genre Bollywood has not often visited or had much success with.

There are plenty of funny lines and gags in Rajesh Krishnan's Lootcase, but you have to wait for them. The Mumbai-set comedy, which is being streamed on Disney+ Hotstar, is about a printing press employee who chances upon a bag of Rs 10 crore belonging to a politician.

A worn out tiffin hanging from his shoulder, an ungrateful workplace, a nagging wife at home and a kid who wouldn't stop with his demands - Nandan Kumar is one of the many million faces drowning in the burden of his middle-class life. But a big, glossy red suitcase - or 'lootcase', as they would like to call it - comes as a glimmer of hope and he knows he would be foolish to let this one go.

First time director Rajesh Krishnan said that he wanted 'actors' for his film Lootcase, not just pretty faces. He said he was willing to wait to find the right fits for the characters, even if it took two years. To his good fortune, he scored every actor on his wish list immediately. However, not so fortunately for the actors, it may not have been the best decision they made.

A bag full of money seems to be the end of all troubles. Right? Well, that isn't the case for Nandan Kumar (Kunal Kemmu) of Disney+Hotstar's new release, Lootcase. When Nandan stumbles upon a bag full of Rs 10 crore in the middle of the night, his "sanskaar" tell him to return the bag to its original owner. So, he (in a hushed tone) says, "Last time pooch raha hoon, ye bag kiska hai?" But since nobody can hear him, he has no option but to take the bag home and spend all the money in it. Oh! What a task.

"Lootcase", directed by Rajesh Krishnan, is constructed around a scenario that most of us have only fantasized about - the hope of someday chancing upon unexpected wealth. The film plays out longer than it should, but it's mostly clever, and it benefits from a crackling cast that comes together to elevate even the saggy bits.

A suitcase full of loot, a regular joe on the loose, and a bunch of crafty hoods on the move: the elements that make up Lootcase are familiar ingredients in films which feature ill-gotten cash falling into the wrong hands causing murder and mayhem.