Jan 23, 2004 05:24 PM
3463 Views
(Updated Jan 23, 2004 05:27 PM)
Chalte Chalte is a yet another ‘feel good’ offering from Bollywood. Though I had seen this movie months ago, I am reviewing it now since the movie is due for its small screen release next Thursday.
If you haven’t watched it till now, you haven’t missed anything great.
There is a fixed pattern of such ‘Feel Good’ candyfloss movies- Make each frame look very beautiful, shoot extensively in beautiful foreign locales, add a few romantic songs, a few sentimental dialogues (the kind we would never speak in real life) and that’s it- the movie is ready!
Director Aziz Mirza has copied the movie-making style of Barjatyas and Chopras.
Viewers know that their movies are far from reality, and they look at such movies as an ‘escape zone.’ For 3 hours, viewers get transported to a Dream Land where petty problems of everyday life do not exst.
Chalte Chalte is entertaining, if you watch it without using your brains.
‘Chalte Chalte’ starts as a ‘feel good’ movie, and then it goes the ‘Saathiya’ way in its second half.
What we have is-
First half- Unrealistic but sometimes entertaining
Second Half- Melodramatic but more substantial than first half
So, Priya (Rani Mukharji) is a fashion designer from Greece. No, she doesn’t find any Greek God; she is all set to marry her childhood friend ‘Sameer’ (Jas Arora) - very smart, caring, sweet, successful, etc.
But she bumps into Raj (Shahrukh Khan). He is a middleclass guy who runs a truck company. Raj falls in love with her and tries his best to make her fall in love with him. He sings songs, jumps like a monkey and even follows her to Greece. Suddenly, Priya discovers that she loves Raj. They get married. But, their different backgrounds and attitudes induce conflict. Business problems, misunderstandings, jealousy result in separation. Will they be able to save the marriage?
The movie can be divided into 2 distinct parts- the first half is ridiculous. The love-story is not at all convincing. Throughout the first half, Priya seems bored and least interested in Raj. Then suddenly she declares her love for him. That was too much.
I found the second half better, though it looked like a poor copy of Saathiya. But it is nice to see that the director has tried to do something different, after the hackneyed first half.
The biggest flaw is- till the end, viewers wonder if Raj really deserves a sweet and kind wife like Priya. His character remains shallow and immature, and one keeps on feeling sorry for Priya.
Musicis nice, title song ‘chalte chalte’is superb, but its picturization could have been better.
Acting- Shahrukh Khan acts well in 2nd half. In spite of the mistakes his character commits, he still manages to get viewers’ sympathy and act like a ‘hero’. He is excellent in the scene where he works in the kitchen, or in the airport scene.
But he was a misfit in first half. He looks tired. He fails to give an energetic performance. He looks too old for the role and he looks much older than Rani. I think he should concentrate on mature roles and leave the romantic roles for the likes of Shaahid Kapoor. (He is the younger, much cuter version of SRK, in case you haven’t seen Ishq Vishk).
Rani Mukharjigives a stupendous performance. She is very natural and her acting is one thing that makes this movie tolerable.
Why should you watch it?
1.If you like candyfloss ‘feel good’ type movies
2.If you like SRK
3.If you like Rani
4.For the rather different and interesting 2nd half
5.If you are curious to find out why this movie became such a big hit (if you find out the answer, please let me know!)
Why should you avoid it?
1.If you can’t stand illogical, melodramatic, unrealistic movies
2.If you hate SRK and /or Rani
Well, I wouldn’t recommend watching Chalte Chalte in a theatre, but no harm in watching it on TV, because you can switch it off anytime!
