Comedy is hard, satire is harder. To make a film that not only tickles your funny bone but also makes you take a long look at the state of Bharat is a rarity. Kudos to director Chandra Prakash Dwivedi for attempting that. I said Bharat and not India because we actually have two countries residing in one. India - exemplified by the shiny glass and metal towers sprouting in the metros and Bharat -- the small town and villages that have yet to receive the trickledown effect of the so-called vibrant economy. Where the common man speaks in a language that is far different from the Oxbridge accents heard in the corridors of power.

Zed Plus here begins with the pressure arising on the current Prime Minister (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) whose government is about fall. Left with no option the PM is advised to visit the 'Peepal Wale Peer Ki Dargah' in Fatehpur, Rajasthan to pay respect there, which may end up all of his problems. Luckily Aslam Puncturewala (Adil Hussain) gets an opportunity to be the Khadim of the Prime Minister on the day of his arrival.

Right in the beginning of Zed Plus, director Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi reads out a cheeky disclaimer that claims what we're about to witness is a work of fiction because it's impossible such incidents would occur within a democracy. His political parody pokes fun of the government's absurd distribution of security privileges while facetiously criticising its self-serving ethos wherein, as always, it's the indigent aam aadmi at disadvantage.

A film which has a fictional head of state who looks alarmingly like our current real-life PM? With Adil Hussain in the lead? And which promises to slam communalism and corruption in a humorous but sharp vein? What's not to like? Zed Plus turns out to be a mildly engaging but overall patchy attempt at political satire from the man who gave us the memorable Doordarshan serial Chanakya. Chandra Prakash Dwivedi still has the touch, but is not consistent, and a lot of the story-telling gets drowned in obviousness.