Banner: MAD Entertainment Ltd
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Zohra Sehgal, Swini Khara
Producer: Sunil Manchanda
Director: R. Balakrishnan
Music Director: Illaiyaraja
Lyricist: Sameer, Manoj Tapadia
The difference is clear and visible. Cheeni Kum is certainly not similar to Ram Gopal Varma’s Nishabd. Unlike Nishabd, Cheeni Kum uses humour as its base to look at the relationship between a much older man and a young woman. The film is a light hearted attempt at visualizing the consequences of the relationship.
R. Balakrishnan makes his directorial debut with Cheeni Kum. The film is based in London and thereby, the humour will tickle the class audience and not the masses. Certainly, this cannot be adjudged as the flip side of the film. Broadly, the humour is on a more sarcastic side and may not go well with the global audience.
Cheeni Kum will witness some of the finest acting performances along with a storyline which tends to drag more than once. After Tabu’s fantastic performance in ‘The Namesake’ and Amitabh’s not so fantastic performance in ‘Nishabd’, both the actors come together to deliver a ‘sugar free romance’ in Cheeni Kum.
The plot of Cheeni Kum begins with Buddhadev Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan). Buddhadev is a 64-year old chef and the owner of an Indian restaurant in London. For company, he has Zohra Sehgal playing his mother and a 9-year old neighbour, Sexy (Swini Khara), as his only friend. Buddhadev is an arrogant person who thinks very high of himself and carries a ponytail to showcase his egoism.
One day Nina Verma (Tabu), a 34-year old woman, walks into his restaurant and Mr. Gupta falls for the lady. Nina is a refined character. She is a woman of substance and carries a smile which never fades from her glowing face.
Both of them eventually fall in love and decide to get married!! Now, the situation comes where Mr. Gupta goes to Nina’s father, Om Prakash Verma (Paresh Rawal), to ask her hand for marriage. The problem here for Nina’s father is that his son-in-law is 6 years elder to him.
Looking at the film from a viewer’s point of view, I felt many scenes, especially in the first hour, were redundant and stretched. Likewise, the chemistry between Zohra Sehgal and Amitabh Bachchan is a treat to watch and so are the scenes between Tabu and Amitabh at the restaurant. The film looks strategically paced as it shows its true colours only after the intermission.
Director Balakrishna successfully qualifies as a fine story teller and handles some of the sequences really well. The screenplay could have been better. The editing department lost out on a lot of scenes which drag, to say the least. Music director Illayairaja does well to compose tracks which gel with the theme of the movie.
Acting wise, Amitabh Bachchan is cool and looks authentic in most of the scenes. He shows his process in acting by delivering a monologue in the climax, which clearly stands out in his performance. Tabu is excellent. Paresh Rawal does well to add the spice in the ‘sugar free romance’. Zohra Sehgal is adorable. Swini Khara plays her part without any hiccups.
Overall, the film can watched for some good performances. The film is due to bore you in the first half but the second half manages to pace up things.
Radiosargam Movie Rating: 6/10
Hanumant Bhansali
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[...] Hanumant Bhansali, Radio Sargam Rating: So-So …Overall, the film can watched for some good performances. The film is due to bore you in the first half but the second half manages to pace up things…. See full review [...]