Just a while back, Setna (Farooq Sheikh) was considering putting up a board outside the office declaring "salesmen and women not allowed" Binita Sen (Kirron Kher), who came to him to sell her father’s old stocks, was the one who changed his opinion.

Just moved into Mumbai from Kolkata following a divorce, Binita and daughter Nitya (Tanushree Dutta) take up a place in the plush Modern Society. Binita befriends the women of the society through their monthly kitty party.

The mildly amusing, mostly-stereotypical characters include the Sindhi wife Anita (Lillette Dubey) whose son Ritesh (Ankur Khanna) is in love with the neighbourhood hottie Kirti (Masumeh).

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Others include the South Indian just-married bride whose husband is not interested in romance; the gorgeous Muslim mother-in-law forever competing with her bahu; the Punjabi gregarious woman, and so on. They welcome Binita into their fold but are quick to suspect her activities, even following her up to Setna’s office.

That's how they meet Setna and get into the share market territory. Once there, saas-bahu evening programs are quickly replaced by CNBC’s stock tracking and mornings are spent reading pink papers and finance magazines.

Their first loss at the market is met with glee from the husbands. But when the market reaches from 8k to an astronomical figure, there is joy all around. Emotions abound as Ritesh and Kirti are to be wed. Nitya who developed a crush on Ritesh discovers that Kirti is a gold-digger who is also seeing a rich tycoon's son.

Technically the film does not impress. The editing especially, that allows scenes like the call-centre training, to go and on.

The story-telling takes till after the interval to establish its premise, which is unforgivable. More than half of the film is spent just getting to know the characters and their lives.

Dialogue is ok, coming alive at times, like Ritesh’s mother cheering him up with the other-fish-in-the-sea adage. "Your father was my fish no.23," she says to her amused son.

Performance-wise the film is super-strong. The girl-gang all give superb performances. Tanushree Dutta looks pretty but her acting is damp and uninspired. Ankur Khanna suits the role. The film, in the end, belongs to Kirron Kher as the strong, intelligent and loving Binita and to Farooq Sheikh.

As the terrified-of-women eccentric Parsi broker, he’s wonderful and superbly comical. Special mention to Kher’s stunning sarees and tasteful jewellery that is bound to be of added interest to the women viewers.

One does appreciate the film written around a middle-aged woman, separated from her husband. This creates a lot of ripples in her relationship with her daughter who tends to blame her.

Still, the film feels it must exonerate Binita for being a divorcee and create sympathy for her by explaining that it was the husband who left her for a younger woman.

Had the film showcased a woman divorcee out of choice not compulsion, one would have genuinely applauded its nerve.

Of course, Saas Bahu Aur Sen Sex that started out as an encouragement to women, especially housewives, to take up an interest in the stock market, plummets to a relationships-are-more-important-than-money drone.

Through the film, the women explain that their efforts to make money on the market is not just a hobby; yet the ending suggests that its better if women keep it at that, else it might hamper precious relationships.

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The film’s attitude towards women is put through succinctly in a scene where Setna compliments Binita by saying, "You’re not like other women." And she replies with a smile and a 'thank you’. Really now.

Verdict: Two stars