Zee's Bhagmati- The Queen Of Fortunes (Director- Ashok Kaul) was an attempt at having live action and animated characters together. The results were pathetic. The sorry state of affairs continues with My Friend Ganesha.
 
Ashu (Ahsaas Channa), is a lonely eight year old boy. He has no friends to play with and workaholic parents, (father - Kiran Janjani & mother - Sheetal Shah) who don't have enough time for him. His only solace is his motor-mouth maid, Gangutai (Upasana Singh)!

One rainy day he saves a mouse from drowning. Gangutai tells him that he has in reality saved Mushakraj, Lord Ganesha's ride and goes on to narrate the story of Lord Ganesha And Mushakraj (depicted in animation). Inspired, he convinces his parents to bring home Ganpati's idol during the oncoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

Soon Ashu strikes a rapport with a younger Lord Ganesha (computer animated character) and they become close friends. Things get better on his family front and also Ashu is bailed out of his spate of troubles. A bond develops between the two.

The events are predictable and the screenplay is below average.

The idea of lonely imaginative children making imaginary friends has been broached upon in the recently released Oscar winning film, Pan's Labyrinth. But that is all there is in the similarity between the two. My Friend Ganesha is a classic example of a good plot being plunged into the depths of mediocrity.

The animation is absolute juvenile stuff. At a time when children today are exposed to world-class animation via channels like Animax, Pogo, Cartoon Network, Disney and also through video games, this film is a sorry excuse in the name of animation!
 
The lesser said about the other technical aspects, the better.

Music by Sameer Phatepekar is average.
 
Anil Nagrath, Mushtaq Khan and Aroon Bakshi form rest of the supporting cast. The performance of the entire star cast varies from average to below average.

The only saving grace of the film is the spontaneous performance by adorable, Ehsaas who essays the role of Ashu.

Rajiv S Ruia, Director of forgettable films such as 'Mission Mumbai', Jalwa - Fun In Love, Koi Hai, has  just made one more film to add to that list!

Rating - *1/2 (one & half star)