An Honest Attempt. Review on Chaalis Chauraasi

Looks like the festival of heist films is in progress in Bollywood because this week we are offered another one called Chaalis Chaurasi on the same subject. DON2 and PLAYERS were the other two heist films released within the last one month. If comedy is considered to be a serious business then making thrillers is undoubtedly a tricky business because the writer and director has a lot to do that can keep the interest of the viewers alive throughout the film.

The film unfortunately was not marketed properly hence not many people know about it except the group who are more into watching films. Secondly, the film doesn't have the star cast that can propel people to go to the theaters to watch the film. Having said that I must admit that none of the above two reasons take away the positives of the film because it is a well made film with right intentions and has a well balanced ingredients to make it worth a watch.

The film revolves around the four crooked characters played by Nasir-ud-din Shah, Ravi Kisen, K. K. Menon and Atul Kulkarni. Nasir-ud-din Shah an ex professor in English has killed his wife and spent ten years in prison. Now works for Manoj Pahwa, who deals in fake currency. Ravi Kisen is a drug dealer. Atul Kulkarni is a pimp. K.K. Menon is a car thief.

Nasir along with other three plans to rob the twenty crore rupees from the party who sells fake currency. They steal a van with number plate 4084, hence the name of the film Chaalis Chaurasi. They want the van to be painted like a police van. Unfortunately the van is stolen by someone else. Now they need another van but they don't have time to paint it as police van. Therefore they steal a real police van by appearing as policemen.

As they are on their way, they are stopped by a policeman (Rajesh Sharma), who wants them to follow him to a hotel where the police has received a tip that an under world don (Zakir Hussain) is hiding. They have no option but to go with the real policeman.

What happens then? Will they get caught for stealing the police van? Will they steal the money? Who stole their van number 4084? All the answers lies in the film.

Hriday Shetty as a director has not made the mistakes that others have made while making their heist films. Shetty has kept the duration of the film under control, which assures no dull moments for which the credit from the writers cannot be taken away. The writers have done a wonderful job by excluding all the unwanted material from the script that would have acted as a barrier in the flow of the narration.

The story looks straight forward but the way Hriday Shetty has presented, it is a delight to watch. It is the execution of the material that raises the standards of the film from ordinary to watchable stuff. The viewers can't guess what is going to happen next. Even though the climax could have been written in a better manner but the viewers will still swallow it gleefully.

There was no need of songs in the film as they seem to be forced in but still the song Hawa Hawa gets full marks only for the energy level of the four actors involved in it. They rock would be an understatement.

Rajesh Sharma who plays the role of a cop is outstanding. He looks tough as a cop and this performance is surely going to win him few more roles.

Zakir Hussain as the don is good. So far he has never underplayed any role. Even though his role is short but he did full justice to it. He has to be a bit careful about his weight if he wants to stay in the industry.

Ravi Kisen is surprisingly not loud, which he normally is. Due to his loudness his performances at times go overboard but this time the director has kept his emotions under control and as a result he gave a fine performance.

K.K. Menon as usual delivers a fine performance. Atul Kulkarni finally gets a longer role and does a good job. He is superb.

Nasir-ud-din Shah is flawless. Top class performance from him yet again.

Hriday Shetty must be appreciated for his efforts. He knows the strength of a script lies in building of characters and he did that. There are twists and turns in the film but they are unexpected and increase the viewers curiosity. In fact the director knows how to build the interest of the viewers. For example, the scene when real cop stops the police van of four fake policemen. When real police arrives at the hotel to encounter the don and their conversation with cop Rajesh Sharma.

In short this is a well made film.

Rating 3.5 stars