Time is constantly changing in Bollywood. Stories, which were generally avoided, are now being made into films. Cheeni Kum is a fine example of this. Though the storyline of Cheeni Kum is similar to that of Nishabd, the difference between the two is that Cheeni Kum describes the entire story in a light and in a funny manner.
The story of the movie: Buddhadev Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan) is a 64-year-old chef cum owner of the finest Indian restaurant of London, Spice 6. He is motivated, adamant, arrogant, selfish and….unmarried! He meets 34-year-old Neena (Tabu) and his life takes a turn. First they both become good friends, and later they both fall in love with each other. They decide to get married. Buddhadev then decided to go to Neena’s hometown Delhi and ask Neena’s father Omprakash Verma (Paresh Rawal), for her hand. But there is a problem-While Buddhadev is 64, Omprakash is 58, i.e. the father-in-law will be younger than his son-in-law!!
Cheeni Kum has an unusual story. The story is original and never before heard. Similarly, the characters are unusual too-there is 85-year-old Buddhadev’s mother (Zohra Sehgal) who likes to watch wrestling and ‘Sex and the City’ and urges Buddhadev to go to gym so that he stays fit; there is Buddhadev’s neighbour, a 9 year old girl Sexy (Swini Khara), who is Buddhadev’s close friend and confidante. She has a blood cancer, which can take her life anytime. Then there is Omprakash Verma, aged 58, who has retired, loves cricket and Gandhism and thinks that all joys of life are over and its time to say goodbye to earth. And there is Buddhadev, who works passionately at the age of 64, thinks that he is still young, and has fallen in love with a young woman!
Cheeni Kum works because everything in it is original and entertaining. Though the story is great, it is the execution and the script, which makes the movie watchable and makes it better. Also, there are no over-emotional sequences in the entire movie. There is only humour, laughter and entertainment.
There are several sequences in the movie worth mentioning. The first scene, where Amitabh scolds and lectures his workers in his restaurant’s kitchen was great. Then the Hyderbadi Zafarani Pulav sequence was nice too. The way Amitabh and Tabu fall in love also holds your attention. The conversations of Amitabh with Zohra Sehgal are funny. Also, the conversation of AB with Sexy is great. The entire second half was superb.
However, the film falls flat at several places. The story hardly moves in the first half. The director takes a little more time to describe Tabu and Amitabh’s falling in love. Also, one wished Paresh Rawal should have got more footage.
Amitabh Bachchan does a fabulous job, yet again! He went totally into the skin of the character and performed as his character demanded. He doesn’t disappoint even in a single scene. With this performance, he proves that he is still one of the superstars of Bollywood.
Tabu was excellent. This year, she gave a bravura performance in The Namesake, and in Cheeni Kum too, she does a great job. Looks like this year is going to be lucky for her!
Paresh Rawal was quite funny and as usual, he gives a great performance. He was amazing in the ending. Zohra Sehgal gives an outstanding performance. She succeeds in making the audiences laugh. She did a marvelous job in the scene where she tells Tabu about Amitabh’s failed relationship with a British girl! Swini Khara looks confident and does quite a nice job. Vinay Jain as Sexy’s dad was okay. Krishna Bhatt as Colgate was funny, especially in the Hyderabadi Zafarani Pulav sequence. Others did a fine job.
Illaiyaraja’s music was simple and good. Songs were also nice, especially the title track, ‘Jaane Do Na’ and title teack’s male version. P C Sreeram’s cinematography was breathtaking. Dialogues were quick-witted, sharp and funny.
R Balki has done a fabukous job as a storywriter and a director. He gives a splendid direction to the movie and makes the movie quite entertaining. Great work!
Some of the best scenes of the movie:
The first scene of the movie
The ‘Hyderabadi Zafarani Pulav’ sequence
The conversations of Amitabh with his mom and Sexy
The scene where Tabu asks Amitabh her name!
The scene where Paresh Rawal and Amitabh meet for the first time
The scene where Amitabh tells Paresh that he wants to marry Tabu
The last 20 minutes of the movie
On the whole, Cheeni Kum is a light, funny entertaining flick, with some sharp quick-witted dialogues. It is quite unusual and unique and should be definitely watched!
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