Tu Hai Mera Sunday (2016)

[***1/2 stars / *****] 

Five football playing friends in their late twenties and late thirties get together at Juhu beach every Sunday to play their favourite game. In the process, they temporarily forget the stress and repression of living in overpopulated Mumbai.  

When an incident causes all types of sports to be banned at Juhu Beach, the five struggle to find another venue - open spaces are a luxury to find in Mumbai anyway. Meanwhile, the five have new things kicking into their lives. 

Five strands, one story  
Arjun (Barun Sobti), a subdued consultant who lives with his married sister's family is getting to know Kavya (Shahana Goswami) due to a chance encounter with her Alzheimer-ridden father (Shiv Kumar Subramaniam). 

Rashid (Avinash Tiwary) has a breezy girls-filled bachelor's life until a rat appears in his messy room, changing his life unexpectedly. 

Dominic (Vishal Malhotra) is a short-tempered, doing-odd-jobs son, still living with his widowed mom (Rama Joshi) when his elder brother (Suhaas Ahuja) arrives with a fiance (Maanvi Gagroo) to make things worse. 

Mehernosh (Nakul Bhalla) is a loner who has a thing for a girl at work, while secretly hating his demonic boss to whom he writes anonymous abuse-ridden letters. 

Jayesh (Jay Upadhyay) is a city man on the verge of a breakdown, frustrated with the responsibility and chaos of marriage, children and family. 

Delightful sunshine of a movie
Writer and director Milind Dhaimade skillfully binds the various strands of these five lives, interlocks with it the bittersweet sadness and joy of living in a congested city to give us an entertaining, beautiful, life-affirming movie. 

Spirited performances
The performances by the entire cast are surprisingly candid and heartfelt. 

Nakul Bhalla is especially superb as the sharp, on-the-edge Mehernosh. 

The talented Vishal Malhotra, formerly a popular TV host, deserves more movie roles - he nails Dominic in spontaneous dialogue rushes. Rasika Duggal is lovely as Rashid's neighbour. 

For me, Rama Joshi is the standout actor, portraying a vulnerable, pained, delicate mother, catch her tired despair at her constantly quarreling sons. When she cries, it feels as real as a wound.    

Tu Hai Mera Sunday review 
Tu Hai Mera Sunday (You Are My Sunday) is immediately relatable and immensely watchable as a realistic, sunny picture postcard of the many lives that fight to make memorable moments in congested, joyless cities.