Kaagaz is the story of a common man from a humble background who has to prove that he is alive as opposed to that mentioned in official government papers. The story is so relevant, especially when you take into account that it is a true story on the life of Bharat Lal. The amount of hardships that the man would have had to undergo is mindboggling. The screenplay successfully manages to expose the hollowness of the system which makes for an engaging viewing. Also the tone here is that of a satire. This means that there is less of melodrama and more of black comedy which works in its favour. But the screenplay at times tries too hard to underline and highlight things. Probably the narrative style is a reflection of the early 2000s where you have the narrator actually narrating what the characters are going through instead of allowing the audience to comprehend the situation. This takes a bit of the steam away from the drama, not to mention a ridiculous item number that comes out of nowhere. The characters apart from its protagonist lack depth but the proceedings are fast and definitely engrossing that culminate into a decent climax.