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Do interpersonal relationships exactly look like what they do from the surface? Are all marriages happy marriages? Are all friendships based on a solid foundation of trust and selflessness? What happens when you unravel phony lies about your confidants who you realise have been masked strangers all this while? Mudassar Aziz’s Khel Khel Mein explores relationships’ complexities, nuances and messiness under the garb of being a comic caper.

Reportedly, it is based on the 2016 Italian comedy-drama Perfect Strangers, a film that holds the record of being remade 28 times, but Mudassar deserves brownie points for adapting it keeping desi sensibilities in mind where adultery alone isn’t the only reason for relationships to fall apart. Often, it’s families, money and other external factors that lead to trouble in paradise.

Khel Khel Mein begins with rishabh, a plastic surgeon rushing to catch a flight to Jaipur. At the airport, he meets a beautiful woman named Kadambari. On learning that there are no seats left in the flight that’s about to take him to his destination, he lies to a staff member that his dog is breathing his last and so, it’s his wish to see him one last time

The staff member, overwhelmed, gives both him and Kadambari the tickets. While on the plane, the duo strikes up a conversation where he reveals that he’s actually going to jaipur to attend his sister-in-law’s wedding. This sequence featuring akshay kumar and Chitrangda Singh not only washes you over with nostalgia (yes, the theme music of Desi Boyz plays in the background) but also establishes the theme of Khel Khel Mein. rishabh is a borderline pathological liar and seems rather proud of being able to come up with credible lies whenever he has to.

We’re then introduced to his wife Vartika, an author, and two other couples – samar and naina and Harpreet and Harpreet. rishabh and Vartika have a rocky marriage where his daughter from his first marriage doesn’t share a smooth relationship with her stepmother. And this bothers Vartika. To add to that, rishabh and Vartika are currently in that three-month phase of reconciliation and are trying to give their marriage another shot. samar is an employee at Naina’s father’s firm while the hoity-toity Naina, who’s battling depression spends most of her time indulging in luxury and splurging on expensive vintage ware.