Cheeni Kum (2007)

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Cheeni Kum is a film written and directed by R. Balki. I had this film in the back-burner for quite some time. So since I had to see something light, I decided to pick up this film. And I am much satisfied with this film.Plot; Buddhadev, a 64 year old Chef in London falls in love with 34 year old, Neena Verma.Story and direction: This is what I would call a love story with a twist. And I would say, although I had my doubts, but I was highly entertained by this twist. The film has quite the beautiful setting. The character of Buddha is quite a one. We see various shades of him which I liked a lot. And the characters we have surrounded around Buddha was also good. A special mention to Colgate and the way he pronounced 'Zafrani Pulao'. Then we have a mother who nags Buddha a lot and his blood cancer suffering neighbor, who is called 'Sexy' (we never get her real name in the entire film, quite an interesting thing). Then we are introduced to Neena which was a well shaped up character. Then we have Neena's father (who also doesn't have a name), which was an OK kind of character to me. Balki did a lot of hard-work on the characterization which is clearly visible in the film. I was hooked to the film in its entire duration which was due to the story. And Balki deserves a lot of credit for that. The structure of the film has been replicated in Ki and Ka (which was quite a poor film, considering Balki's caliber). But the main fault I would say for this film, that if you take off the characters there is nothing unique in the film.Music: Ilaiyaraaja scores the film. Now considering the talent of this maestro, I would say that he did a pretty average job here. Most of the tunes have been of his previous ventures. The title track is OK but not a standout. That also can be said for the other songs in the film too.Performances: Assembling some of the powerhouses of Bollywood, is a thing that highly paid off in this film. Amitabh Bachchan was fantabulous as Buddha. He played all the different shades of his character with ease. He always reminds me why he is considered a legend. Tabu was also great in her role of Neena. Paresh Rawal was also good as Neena's Gandhian father. Zohra Sehgal proved that age is just a number. Same goes for Swini Khara who delivered a fine performance.Favorite Scene: It would be the scene just before the ending of the film where Buddha goes to a pole near Qutab Minar to fulfill one of his wishes and his mother helps him in doing so. After fulfilling a wish something quite bad happens and he goes again to the pole, but in vain. Amitabh Bachchan displayed varied emotions in this scene and the switch was fantastic.Verdict: Although not the best film of Amitabh Bachchan, I would say it's a decent watch. I was highly entertained throughout the film.I am going with an 8/10.

For some reasons, Amitabh played a role where he falls for younger girls, it started with KANK, then NISHABD and then Cheeni Kum. while in Nishabd there was more of late Jiah Khan's legs here this is a more mature love story. The film starts off well, Amitabh's character is well established, the hotel scenes are funny also the romance blossoms well but some scenes are sort of too slapstick like the condom scene but yet the film is well handled. The second half starts well but the entire fast part seems odd but the emotional scenes and last 10 minutes are awesomeDirection by R Balki is good Music is decent though Illayaraja used most of his tamil, kannada songsAmitabh is a natural and handles his role perfectly, he is simply awesome Tabu compliments him beautifully and adds realism to the part Paresh Rawal is fantastic in a clichéd role Zohra Sehgal is a delight, the lady was 94 when the film released but her energy is simply awesome, Swini Kara is delightful too rest are adequate

Buddhadev Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan) is a restaurateur/super chef in London and rules his empire with an iron fist. Neena Verma (Tabu) walks into this domain and sends some Pulao back into the kitchen as it has sugar. A confrontation between the ponytail wearing super chef and the troublesome and winsome woman ensues. It culminates in a fall-summer romance - he is 64 and she is 34 and they fall in love. His 90+ mum (Zohra Sehgal) is easily won over but her 58 year old dad (Paresh Rawal) is another Khichdi all together. Into this mix is added in a neighbor's kid, Sexy (Swini Khera), who is dying of "blood cancer".Amitabh plays the early and later Buddha with a heavy hand - shades of Zanjeer and Deewar are evident right off the bat and in the final scenes when he is trying to break down Paresh Rawal by storming around his bed. Only in the middle does he have a modicum of restraint and shades of the charm we saw in Abhimaan. He manages to make the romance almost believable. That pony tail sticking out in the back was supposed to be pretentious but was annoying as hell. Tabu was very good, she made the romance come alive. She delivered her lines with panache and with a natural mischievousness that made her character believable. Zohra Sehgal was great as the mum, Paresh Rawal broke no new ground and basically played the same role he has played in almost every film. The little kid was forced into the story - given the weird name of Sexy and she was quite flat in her dialogs - but I'll take that over the hyperactive snotty kids in most films.The film had nice music and the songs never jarred or took over the story. But there was too much drama in the beginning and the film derailed for the last 20 minutes. The dialogs were crisp for the most part and sometimes laugh-out funny - specially in the moments of repartee between the lead couple. Why was he called Buddha - just so it could rhyme with budha? Was there only one chemist shop in the entire neighborhood? The buck toothed waiter and the Colgate jokes got so old after about three repeats. Was the goal to show that autumn summer romances can happen and there is nothing wrong with that? If that was the case then the director never took us below the surface that was composed of several wry moments. We never really saw a real romance between the lead pair - now that would have been edgy and may not have been as palatable as this skimming over the surface was.My summation - Tabu was the real thing with cheeni, Amitabh was the Diet Cola, and this was an average repast.

When you have two tower house of performers pitched against each other, the least you can expect is the superb camaraderie and that is the case in this film where we have a 64 yrs old Amitabh Bachchan romances a 34-yr old Tabu. Wait! In fact that is all there in the name of plot therefore instead of "cheeni" it is the content that is "Kum" in this Adman turned Writer-Director R. Balki's maiden effort..Trust the two senior actors to bring the house down with their wise-cracks and bitter-sweet moments when love happened in this unconventional pair, and that is all you find in slow but refreshing first half. The locales of London as captured in rainy season are captivating. By the end of first half, romance completed and mission accomplished. There is not much left to be said. Therefore in the second half a strange opposition comes in the form of girl's father to the extent that he goes for a Satyagrah is really a test of patience. There is an equally strange climax about how he gives in. The result, second half is dry, flat with no energy. There is a subplot with a girl child dying of cancer, not making much impact. Nonetheless, the film is recommended for its fresh approach and the performances.