Most of us eat chocolates as a part of our routine desserts. Some of us like particular chocolates. Why is that so? That is because particular chocolates have a particular taste to satisfy our taste buds. Similarly, a movie like CHOCOLATE requires a particular taste to absorb it and yet appreciate the art of it.
With the 54% recommendation and minimal good reviews on this movie, I have realized that a heavy majority of people has refused to agree with CHOCOLATE. Yet the movie picked up its business against all odds and made at least an average amount of revenue at the Box Office.
CHOCOLATE is set in 21st century London. A thriller based on terrorism, CHOCOLATE was promoted as a very slick product. And no doubt that it is throughout. But many people have called it body beautiful minus soul. I refuse. Given, CHOCOLATE isn’t our conventional entertaining movie. As I said, a strong, solid stomach is needed to go through the movie, absorb it, and yet be able to appreciate the way it is made. A lot of effort has been put into the movie to make things look contemporary.
For instance, Anil’s mannerism and lifestyle has been explicitly researched on. His character of a stylish Indian lawyer Krish is very well developed and looks straight out of life when a movie is based in a city like London. Secondly, Sunil’s wardrobe and mannerisms too are well projected as he looks every bit the sparky character he is playing after a long time. Similarly, every minute detail in terms of technique has been taken good care of, therefore making CHOCOLATE technically a very sound movie. Adding the outstanding cinematography to the list of good techniques, as well as decent music, makes CHOCOLATE technically a very strong package indeed.
However, the storyline, one has to admit is waferthin. The movie starts of nicely with a slick introduction to all the characters. However, slowly, when the investigation begins in London, the movie becomes monotonous. Irfan’s narration of each even looks similar, monotonous, and boring after a while. No doubt it takes a toll on the viewer to even go till the intermission. But then after the interval point, as soon as the culmination begins and Irfan starts telling Anil the core of his gang’s past, the movie becomes quite interesting taking an all new turn for the good. The twists and turns keep on coming as director Vivek Agnihotri seems to come into his own.
The climax is the highpoint of the movie. As soon as it has arrived, the people know that it has to be worth their patience. And it is! The climax makes one understand whatever had happened throughout all those abstract reels. All of a sudden everything becomes absolutely comprehendable and the viewer wants to have more of it. But alas, every good thing has to come to an end, so CHOCOLATE’s good climax is no different. It ends, as does the movie. Thus, regardless of how the movie has made the viewer feel throughout, once it has concluded, the impact of the climax is hammer-strong positive!
Music plays a huge part in making CHOCOLATE what it is. While ’’Halka Halka’’ is a popular romantic number, ’’Khalish si’’ is the best track as it has western jazz and rock music to it that is extremely loveable. Also, the background score is electrifying!
A lot of CHOCOLATE’s impact also has to be attributed to the performances of the entire lead cast. It is the performances that continue to generate the interest of the viewer even when the screenplay slacks off into its worst mode. The actors, all, have done a great job making the dialogues sound very authentic, and making the situations seem very real, even when the execution of some scenes isn’t really up to the mark. So the heroes of the movie here really are the heroes.
CHOCOLATE predictably belongs to Anil Kapoor. There is no doubt that the actor has left many of his ’’supposed contemporaries’’ far behind. It was thought by some that Anil would end up without any good offers like his fellow aging actors Jackie Shroff and Govinda. But Anil has proven all his critics wrong. After bouncing back last year with Sanjay Gupta’s hard-hitting thriller MUSAFIR, Anil once again proves why he’s dependable in such terror-based thrillers. After giving a comic hit (NO ENTRY) and a serious flop (MWM, still a throughly acclaimed performance), Anil demonstrates the relaxation and ease with which he can carry any part using his experience. The actor does full justice to his part and to summarize, his performance makes the character of Krish a long lasting one! Hats off!
Second in line is no doubt Irfan Khan, which again may be predictable to a lot. Although Irfan has a very strongly terror-related character in this movie, he manages to click with all audiences with his natural timing and ability to act. He doesn’t overdo his part even one bit. His authentic expressions, awesome dialogue delivery, as well as an all new get up makes for a quite interesting performance on the whole. Bravo! Sunil Shetty impresses too. After KHEL, this is his first commendable performance where the guy has a worthy role. Movies like EK SE BADHKAR EK, AAN, PAHELI, etc. didn’t give his career any hope at all and he even failed to make his presence felt in the multi-starrer DUS. Here in CHOCOLATE though he gets ample footage to impress as Rocker, and that he does in an admirable way. He looks slick and different with his new hair style too. Arshad Warsi has only one scene to create histrionics, and that he does. The rest, it can be a forgettable performance in a forgettable character for him. Emraan Hashmi hams as he overdoes his part of a musical gangster. Not impressive!
Amongst the girls, Sushma Reddy edges Tanushree. That, however, can be attributed to only one reason---the dubbing. While Sushma speaks behind herself, it is a tragedy that Tanushree’s voice is dubbed apparently by Pallavi Joshi. Sad, but true. Nevertheless, both girls demonstrate the confidence to carry of such challenging roles in a male-dominated movie and do justice with their parts.
Overall, CHOCOLATE is an abstract thriller with an abstract theme and execution. While it will be liked by some, it is already hated by many. In my personal opinion, its climax is the lifeline that gives the movie an all new dimension that has never been witnessed in Bollywood before. For the sake of that, the movie is a 3-star recommendation. If not for anything else, go for Anil and Irfan!