Jun 10, 2007 12:32 PM
2130 Views
Quite a few reviews have been
written on this movie and its story line and I don’t want to repeat the same
here.
What was of interest to me is how
Cheeni Kum is yet another example of a rapidly changing India. The
first day, first show front row seeti crowd has now become a dying species. The
script is ‘zara hatke’ and possibly does not have this crowd in mind. The
director R.Balki in all probability has a sparse command over the Hindi
language and has been in the Indian (English) advertising industry for much of
his career. He has the upper middle class in mind and multiplexes are what he thinks
about when he imagines the average Indian movie goer. Move over Sapna cinema
hall in Bhagalpur.Bihar.This film is not meant for exhibition outside the
multiplexes mushrooming in various parts of the country. It is for the new India, the other India, for us not for them!
Only the main protagonist is a
crossover. Buddhadev Gupta(Amitabh Bacchan) is the same gentleman who has drawn
the crowds and seetis for half of his life, the same man who gave us
Dewar, Zanjeer and Amar Akbar Antony. Possibly he has also seen the writing in
the wall and wants to move up-market. The backdrop of the movie for the first
half is London
in all probability with overt and covert support from some local English tourism board. After all
everyone want to join that gravy train called the Indian Consumer.
What finally carries the movie
home are the main stars Amitabh and Tabu. It is pleasure to watch two masters
of the trade matching their best against each other- just what the professional
in both of them would have loved. Zora Sehgal and ‘Sexy’ the cancer afflicted kid also fit
in nicely into the script and adds a lot of punch to the movie.The treatment of
the subject is fresh, just what you would expect from a debutant director.
The disappointment is Paresh
Rawal. As the backdrop for all his scenes are in Delhi, possibly he is expected to behave just
like a father of 50 years ago. At times this looks like a half hearted attempt
to cling on to our Bharatiya values!
Will this movie be a super duper
hit?I don’t think it was ever meant to
be one. This movie just does not have that mass appeal. The crowd at this movie
will always be the ones flashing both their latest phone and some other fashion
accessory. Forget seetis from the front show, in the show that I went to, there
was no one in the front row while the platinum row seats were all occupied.
Is this the face of the new Hindi
cinema?Yes and No.Yes, because such movies will increasingly gain more
acceptance commercially and this will lead to more movies of this genre being
produced.
No, because 600 million Indians
still will not relate to this movie. Is it any wonder that even Bollywood stars
are lining up to act in Bhojpuri movies!!Afterall everyone is lured by the
power of mass appeal.
