That Four letter Word feels like a home video experiment by independent filmmaker Sudhish Kamath reminiscent of Hyderabad Blues, except that it isn't even mildly entertaining. Another drawback of this low-budget metrosexual male story (also originating from the south) is that nobody has heard or read about it. Undoubtedly the good word won't be spreading any further.

The title credits are a comic strip with talk bubbles. Apparently, Kamath thinks it's a great way to build characters but only ends up confusing you. But in due course, you discover that the four guys are the boys-next-door.

There is Sunil (the narrator) who has pledged his eternal love to Ashika, and hasn't been able to translate feelings into words. Vishal is the quintessential Casanova moving from one mate to another and his antithesis is Prashant, the studious chartered accountant involved in his work. Then comes the sex-maniac Zebra, who walk, talks and sleeps sex but doesn't get any.

The four friends are caught in their own dilemmas at one point or another. Sunil evokes enough disappointment in his self to make a movie on his story and is busy searching for a producer.

Vishal is seeing another year of not getting through medical school and between that meets a sweet little girl, Sara, who falls in love with Vishal but soon realizes that she doesn't have a future with him. There she finds a friend (and maybe more) in Prashant.

As for Zebra, the shallow chap feels his life is empty and in an unexpected stroke of fate he turns into a millionaire after winning a game show.

And then there is bold Isha, best friend to Sara and a friend of the group who eventually develops feelings for Vishal. Perhaps most of us have been in this situation and been around Sunils and Vishals of our world.

The entire narration is happening in tacky camera angles, but it's an amateur attempt so you have to excuse the bad production value. Most times you can't tell Sunil apart from Prashant. The lighting at most occasions is almost zilch, perhaps shot in natural light making difficult to figure what's going on.

The sound syncing skips at most places. The entire experience is a digital camera tour into the lives of these men, holding only around the first fifteen minutes of your attention.

Some scenes like the introspection scene between the four on a drunken late night beach sit-out drags too much after a point. Even Zebra's sorrowful monologue, Sunil's speech at the premiere sets you looking for better meaning in your popcorn.

The last half hour responsible for unfolding each one's fate, also gets boring. South superstar, Madhavan [Images] makes a cameo in the final scene but it doesn't make it worth the wait.

Some of the dialogues are funny and especially Vishal's one-liners manage to entertain. Vishal's performance stands out from among the gang. There is even some hip-hop background score to keep the young vibe buzzing.

The male bonding feels real though not very touching. Apparently, Sudhish Kamath has made a film about his life giving it a happy ending in Rs 2.5 lakh.

They also mention 'in case we win the Oscars we would like to thank�', please guys the Academy doesn't have such low standards. To cut a long story short, That Four letter Word is a badly compiled predictable English movie. Use the DVD version as a sleeping pill.

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