It's scary and hilarious, with a magical, nonrealist tone, and it emphasizes physical comedy as much as disturbing, beautifully integrated metaphors.

So rich in atmosphere it makes Western films look pale and underpopulated.

Gunnarsson masterfully weaves these strands into a bold, multilayered tapestry surrounding a powerful story.

The entire cast is right on the money, a special word must be said about Seth.

There's a refreshingly unusual spirit at work.

True to its source material, this is a movie with the dense, rich texture of a good novel.

A cinematic treat, thanks to the well-defined supporting characters, the flawless attention to detail and a performance by the great Roshan Seth - one of the most underrated actors of his generation - which is just about perfect.

An unusually well-written and satisfying multilayered drama that conveys the feel of urban India with more vivid accuracy than anything made in the subcontinent in recent years.

While no individual plot strand is vividly compelling, their interplay makes for a hearty and humanistic mix, carried by the performances.

Gunnarsson crams his movie with subplots from the novel and then abandons them for lack of room but Seth calibrates the stages of Gustad's journey with infallible judgement and conviction.

The dialogue and acting are stagy at times, especially in the early scenes, but the characters are compelling and the Indian atmosphere is vividly sketched.

A film that immerses its audience in the Indian culture while telling a universally appealing story of grace under pressure.

Seth, who played Nehru in the Oscar-winning "Gandhi," gives a subtly layered performance as a complex, tormented and very decent man in crisis.

A deftly layered drama.