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Home > Bollywood Movie Reviews > Cheeni Kum

Sunita Chowdhary's Cinema Prapancham

Crisp Writing, Cool Performances

APK | May 26, 2007

Rating: ***.5 (***** Very Good, **** Good, *** Fair, ** Average, * Bad)

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Zohra Sehgal, Swini Khara and Others.
Cinematography: PC Sreeram.
Choreography: Bosco-Caesar.
Editing: Chandan Arora.
Lyricists: Sameer-Manoj Tapadia.
Music: Ilayaraja.
Writer & Direction: R. Balki.
Presenter: Goutam Kumar.
Producer: Sunil Manchanda.
Banner: Mad Entertainment Ltd.
Release Date: 25th May, 2007.

R. Balki's debut as a writer-director, Cheeni Kum has Amitabh-Tabu cast together for the first time. It is an interesting movie which has its niche audience. In the league of movies that have been defying time-tested formulae to create something new, Cheeni Kum has something to offer for the keen Cinegoer.

Amitabh Bachchan and TabuPlot Buddhadev Gupta (AB) is 64, runs what he calls the 'best Indian restaurant in London', and still has a zest for life. Nina Verma (Tabu) comes to London on a holiday, meets him and sparks fly for both even with an age gap of three decades. Nina goes home to Delhi and Buddhadev follows to ask her father, aged 58, (Paresh Rawal) his consent in their marriage. The confusion and comedy that follows is the rest of the plot.

Story, Screenplay and Direction All the characters in the movie have been used very well. 'Colgate' and his colleagues, i.e., all the junior chefs under Buddhadev create subtle comedy. Zohra Sehgal as his old mother is cast perfectly. The character of their little neighbor 'Sexy' (Swini Khara), suffering from cancer, has a purpose. Apart from her poker faced remarks and philosophies, it is to show that no one comes with a guarantee in life. This thread has been interwoven well into the main plot.

Now the main plot-if Tabu's character was written any differently, it would have fallen flat. But both the lead pair are well written roles, and fit them both to a T. Paresh Rawal's entry is much anticipated, but does not come till the second half. Even there, Rawal's role comes as a disappointment, as more could have been done with his role.

Overall, it is a good movie with something new to offer. The subject, the taking, the treatment and the writing all have a tinge of freshness in them. It is possible that it will not to be everyone's liking, but it is a good effort that makes for some refreshing viewing.

TabuPerformances AB rocks. Like vintage wine, he is getting better as he ages. This was a script written with him in mind, and no one else, no one else could have done justice to it. Tabu is perhaps the only actress who is a match for him, and performance wise this is a very good movie. Paresh Rawal did this before, so its not new for him, and he justifies his role. The little girl Swini Khara is simply fantastic. Zohra Sehgal has a tailor-made role.

Music The background music is an added asset to the movie. Cheeni Kum and Jaane Do Na are melodious numbers.

Last Word Good writing, a dash of humor on top of everything and performances make this movie worth a watch. Hindi cinema has been coming out with a variety of scripts in the recent past, and this is one of them. Way to go!