Cheeni Kum has been one of my favorite films. Not so much for AB but more for Tabu who I believe is the most under utilized talent in our industry.
Ever since R.Balki has been bringing to his audience unique subjects, mostly which filmmakers may neither want to risk making or one's which some filmmakers don't have the calibre to understand.
👉Cheeni Kum he experimented with a beautiful romance between a 64 year old man and 34 year old woman.
👉Pa he not only explored a rare condition Progeria, but also had the audacity to make Sr AB the son and Jr AB his father.
👉Shamitabh he introduced the masses with 'Live Voice Transfer Technology' and again did something not many would have the courage to do - Give AB's baritone voice to Dhanush's face.
👉Ki and Ka he treated us with contradictory gender roles.
👉Padman he touched upon a subject which the masses shy away to even speak about.
And now with
👉CHUP he makes an attempt to create a cult classic by making a killer look artistic or so to say make an artist a killer.
Story by R.Balki
Screenplay by R. Balki - Raja Sen - Rishi Virmani
The only issue with all these films is - after the initial impact of the unique and unusual subject, the film dies its own death.
Especially the climax of each of these films - rushed.
Coming back to his latest - Chup is definitely not an ode to Guru Dutt like some are claiming it to be.
For a die hard fan of Guru Dutt it actually appears like a disservice.
Guru Dutt and his art is used only as a crutch and in very bad taste.
Recreating Guru Dutt's iconic scene with back-light would have truly had an impact if the tone of the film was through and through dark.
Masterpieces are best left at the Altar.
The biggest issue with Chup is like most of R.Balki's creations -
It has a certain amount of elitist view and particularly in Chup it works completely to the films disadvantage as somewhere R.Balki tries to make a valid point that irrespective of critic's viewpoint the films success or failure lies in the audience's hand.
I love the cuts in the film though. They are not made at the editing table, they are thought of at the writing desk.
Mid way through the film, to be precise at the interval, as a viewer, one is left wondering should I come back to my seat after the pee break? or take my popcorn / samosa and eat at home while binging on OTT ?
I know who did it and I am not interested in why he did it.
The screenplay seems to be intentionally written as if there are two tracks simultaneously running, probably representing the protagonists state of mind. Or am I reading too much into it?
The dialogues try to be witty. Best line - "Ek sitara aur de deta to kaunsa aasmaan se ek sitara kam ho jaane wala tha."
Having reverence for AB is one thing and claiming that AB is the Film Industry is stretching that reverence too far.
I would have loved to know more about Sebastin Gomes. Particularly I am curious to know after his traumatic childhood how he managed to study film making at FTII and how he managed to make a film. So, was his mental instability triggered before or after he read the reviews or small little triggers led to it.
The trauma part is so loosely explained and neglected, one is left wondering- Is it lack of knowledge or simply lazy writing?
Or is it that #bollywood doesn't have the courage to delve deeper into Mental Health ?
Or is it that R.Balki expects his viewer to understand his sarcasm about Woody Allen but doesn't trust the same audience to take a little more gyan about #mentalhealth
The Tulip reference is surely the best part of the film.
The Climax is a climax of convenience, like the no-brainers of the 90's.
I so much want to like his films but after Cheeni Kum every film appears to simply get less sweeter.
On the scriptometer - CHUP is a half baked Cake with lot of icing but no taste.
I am sure this review matters nothing to R.Balki because ultimately the success of a film depends on the Box Office Collection and the verdict of the viewers.
And the aam janta has been giving its verdict for quite some time now - that is the reason this industry first competed with 100 - 200 -300 crore collections and now it competes with number of tickets sold.
My admiration for Cheeni Kum and for R.Balki's relentlessness in choosing unique subjects still stands intact.
I don't have his photo at the Altar, but I do admire brave storytellers.
I review only the script but here I am tempted to comment on the cast -
I love Sunny Deol's presence but his role could have been essayed by anyone else - Rajesh Tailang would have done a far superior job.
Sunny Deol is Sunny Deol!
Pooja Bhatt's presence is amazing on screen but her character is lazily written or later chopped, not trusting the viewer to be intelligent enough to understand what she is talking about.
Dulquer Salmaan and Shreya Dhanwanthary - cute.