STORY: When the timid and naive Nirma (Mithila Palkar) sets out on a quest to find her stolen car, she’s driven from one conman to another. What unfolds is a series of misadventures that eventually make her shed all her inhibitions.

REVIEW: She’s too unsophisticated for her job as a Maderine translator-cum-tour guide, repeatedly mocked and bashed to no end. But Nirma (Mithila Palkar) has big-city dreams, despite all of her anxieties. And that motivates her to reluctantly question the status quo, sometimes. It’s not like she doesn’t try hard enough — she confronts her boss, follows self-help audiobooks, and even buys a car… but that’s when things spin out of control.

This brand-new car gets stolen on the very first day. Soon, the troubled Nirma finds herself amid eccentric ruffians. Among them all, it’s the suave and nonchalant con-man called Artist (Abhay Deol), who stands out with his performance. His layered, half-baked character shines through in most of the scenes, but the script goes awry and leaves a lot unanswered. Right from the beginning, Artist has an air of mystery around him, but his rather intriguing journey is barely explored in the film. Similar is the case with the rest of the cast, which mostly includes actors portraying their usual characters, like Achint Kaur (Zacharia) playing a snooty boss, and Vijay Raaz (Faiyaz Bhai), the quirky gangster, who impresses with his compelling act.

Director Sachin Yardi had a quirky premise at hand, and even though the narrative does offer several high moments, it struggles to connect the dots. The engaging screenplay boasts of apt background tunes. He even uses intricate elements like sign boards on the streets to complement the scenes — for example: ‘Game over’ when her car gets stolen, ‘speed breaker ahead’ and ‘caution’ when there are obstacles, and more.

Overall, the film throws a decent dose of surprises along the way. And when the chaos simmers down, you’re left with a few things to learn from ‘Chopsticks’ — empathy, camaraderie, and moving ahead despite all the adversities that come along the way in life.