I am about to take the first loan of my life next month. What with the

credit crisis and uncertainty all around, I am having second thoughts.

On the other hand, a newly married acquaintance celebrated Diwali by
buying her a pair of diamond earrings — bought on credit she
tells me, proudly showing off the studs.

I felt a bit old-fashioned. Here I was fretting about taking a loan and
this young girl is so much at ease buying a luxury item on credit.

That is why while watching “EMI”, I could ignore the bad script, even worse acting and rudderless direction to reach the crucial message the film is trying to project — the dangers of living life on credit.

Director Saurabh Kabra makes his debut with the stories of four characters — a housewife (Urmila Matondkar) seeking insurance, a father (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) taking a loan for his son’s education, a DJ (Arjun Rampal) who lives off credit cards and a young couple (Ashish Choudhary and Neha Uberoi) starting  married life under the burden of several loans, even taking one for their honeymoon.

They are all targeted by the Goodluck Recovery agency, which works for the bank they have taken loans from, and is run by a don named Sattar Bhai (Sanjay Dutt). Through the eyes of Sattar Bhai, we learn of their
problems and the folly of their ways.

Like I said, the premise of the film is extremely relevant, especially in today’s troubled times. But the packaging is not half as interesting as the message.

Even the actors are far from competent. Sanjay Dutt strolls through his role, almost as if he doesn’t care. The characters are half-baked and I wish the director had gone into their mentality and reasons for taking loans, rather than offering superficial explanations.

All said and done, sometimes a good thing is hidden beneath layers of trash. If you are willing to wade through all that rubbish, EMI does have a very relevant message to offer.