When one hears the name of Priyadarshan, one almost immediately associates it with comedy films. Priyan is best known for directing comic capers. Chup Chup Ke is a laugh riot too. Chup Chup Ke has been produced by Ronnie Screwvala and stars the couple whose on-screen chemistry has finally worked, Kareena-Shahid and plenty of first rate character actors, there’s the fabulous comic actor Paresh Rawal, funnyman Rajpal Yadav, Sushma Reddy, Suniel Shetty, Neha Dhupia, Om Puri, Shakti Kapoor and Anupam Kher.
The plot involves Priyan’s usual hit formulas of using a horde of characters, a number of chaotic situations and plenty of misunderstandings amongst the characters. Sum all this up and you can view Priyadarshan’s hit comedy films. Chup Chup Ke has all these ingredients and this time something extra. A balanced dose of drama and emotion thrown in with comedy makes Chup Chup Ke a funfilled comedy that definitely tickles the audiences’ funny bone and gives them a bit of high drama too. The music has been done by the current popular hit singer Himesh Reshammiya who gives Chup Chup Ke a sizeable dose of good music.
Jeetu(Shahid) is a young lad who always seems to be getting himself into trouble. He is from a small town, his father(Anupam Kher) is a retired school teacher and he has a fiancée Pooja(Sushma Reddy). Unfortunately Jeetu is in debt to many moneylenders due to which his fiancée and father are forced to face embarrassing situations. Pooja’s father, Manoj Joshi also advises his daughter to leave Jeetu as he is a good for nothing lad. But she is extremely loyal to Jeetu and prefers to stand by him during his time of crisis.
But Jeetu himself is frustrated by all the embarrassment that he has caused his father, hence he comes up with a plan. He decides to commit suicide so that his father can then claim his insurance and repay all his debts. Jeetu jumps into the sea, but as usual even his attempt to kill himself does not go well. He gets entangled in two fishermen, Gundya(Paresh Rawal) and Bandya’s(Rajpal Yadav) net. Now begins the comedy of errors, Gundya and Bandya find Jeetu in the waters of Kolkatta and search his pockets for some kind of identity. But instead they discover a note which misleads them to believe that he is a millionaire.
Gundya himself is in debt to a Gujarati businessman Prabhat Singh(Om Puri). A plan takes shape in his head and he decides to keep Jeetu and Bandya in Prabhat Singh’s house as his repayment on the loans that he has taken. What follows is a comedy of errors with Shahid playing a mute-deaf guy and his stay at Singh’s huge home. Prabhat’s niece Shruti(Kareena) also turns out to be mute. Her cousin Meenakshi(Neha Dhupia) is like her voice and they are always together. One night the two girls Shruti and Meenakshi hear Jeetu singing a song and come to know of Jeetu’s secret.
Now Jeetu must help Shruti if he wants them to keep his little secret. Shruti’s elder brother Mangal(Suniel Shetty) loves his younger sis dearly and is always over protective about her. He has decided to get her married to a Gujarati businessman. But Shruti does not wish to be with this man who only seems to be greedy for money. So she enlists the help of Jeetu to play her boyfriend. When Mangal comes to know of the blossoming romance between his little sister and Jeetu, he wants them to get married. But now there’s a twist in the tale, Jeetu’s family finds out that he is alive and wants him to come back home. He is torn between his fiancée Pooja and the mute Shruti.
Chup Chup Ke is an outright comic caper; it’s a light and funny movie. But along with this the story too has a rational and more believable aspect, it is not just the usual senseless leave your logic at home kind of flick. Director Priyadarshan has interspersed his script with plenty of funny acts, some drama and a few emotional moments, which make it a balanced film that gives the audience a love story, plenty of laughs, song and dance and some nice music. Rajpal Yadav takes the comic quotient in the film to an all time high with his comic timing being perfect. The funny moments are highlighted especially when Jeetu and Bandya are given odd jobs to do in Prabhat Singh’s home.
The pre-interval period is full of fun and laughter, while the second half post-interval witnesses some emotion and drama. Even Shahid Kapoor manages to carry his part of the comic act quiet well and convincingly. Priyadarshan’s script and direction to a large extent is responsible for the film turning out so well. Cinematography uses a lot of white in the film and it works well as it gives the audiences a breather from the usual loud over the top scenes and sets. Dialogues by Neeraj Vora are witty and funny. Himesh’s music, the promotional song Shabbe Firaq, Dil Vich Lagya and even Ghoomar are pleasant enough. And even all the actors including the relatively newer ones to the comedy genre like Shahid, Kareena and Neha make their mark.
There are a few drawbacks, like the placement of songs in the film which tend to disrupt the narrative. The much anticipated romantic track between Kareena-Shahid has not been explored completely; the expected chemistry between the two did not create a spark. Priyadarshan has concentrated more on the comic timing, but has ignored the chemistry equation between Kareena and Shahid. Also the film seems a tad too long. But overall the film manages to do what it has set out to do, make audiences laugh and it does so brilliantly.
Shahid Kapoor has come a long way in the acting department. Comic timing is definitely not easy to get, but Shahid has put in a lot of effort and has finally managed to get his comic timing right. He does manage to elicit a few laughs from audiences and he seems to be improving with each new film. Kareena Kapoor is very pretty in her de-glam avatar and even though she has no dialogues as she is mute, she conveys various emotions, happiness, sadness and confusion through her eyes and actions. She does a good job. But the king of comedy in the film is funnyman Rajpal Yadav who makes the audiences roar with laughter right through the film. Paresh Rawal again dons a new look for this comic role, he has an unusual hairdo, as usual he is exceptional in his comic timing and plays the part perfectly. Om Puri who bellows mightily does a great job. Suniel Shetty too has managed to enact his role well.
Neha Dhupia is average in her portrayal of the character; she plays her role in a balanced manner, neither going over the top or below the mark. Sushma Reddy is average in her performance. Anupam Kher does justice to his role and Shakti Kapoor also manages to bring out a few smiles.