Cheeni Kum Hindi Movie

May 25, 2007 By Ashok Nayak

Cheeni Kum is a perfectly cooked and served dish. The theme is similar to that of Nishabd but its flavor is more delicious and colorful. Cheeni Kum brings out the relationship between an old man and a young women with humor and sagacity and makes it easy to comprehend and digest.

Cheeni Kum, directed by R Balakrishnan, is a romantic comedy that tells us about two strangers who fall in love with each other and wish to spend the rest of their lives together. The movie does not beat around the age factor but rather with hilariously well constructed sequence makes this sensitive issue a realistic and exciting tale.

Buddhadev Gupta [Amitabh Bachchan] is a 64yr old pompous, arrogant and egoistic old man. His only passion in life is cooking. He owns a restaurant which holds the title of being London's finest Indian restaurant. He lives with his 85yr old mother [Zohra Sehgal] and his only friend and confidante is his 9-year-old neighbor, Sexy [Swini Khara]. He never showed any interest in anything other than his restaurant and cooking. His life blooms after meeting Nina Verma.

Nina, is a 34yr old beautiful, mature, calm, charming, and understanding women. She visits Buddhadev's restaurant and there happens an incident which leads to a series of meeting. The two understand each other better and fall in love. Everything was fine so far until they decided to get married. The only obstacle was to get the approval of Nina's father Omprakash Verma [Paresh Rawal], living in Delhi, who has an ancient mindset. Will the old man win his young lady love?

Direction:

Director R Balakrishnan has done a splendid job. The sequences are well knit leading to a believable climax. Some portions of the movie prove his excellence in execution. The first part of the movie has repetition of moment and dragging of the story. Dialogues are well-written. Cinematography is wonderful. Ilaiyaraaja's music adds an extra score to the movie and the album would satisfy both connoisseurs as well as the lay listener.

Acting:

Amitabh Bachchan, the lead actor, is brilliant throughout. The man puts across the character with ease and the acting natural. From the beginning to the end, he holds on to your mind with his enchanting expressions and mind-blowing performance. He emerges as a true winner. Tabu matches up to Big b throughout the movie. She is the best suit for a 34yr old young and beautiful looking woman and she has done a splendid job. Paresh Rawal enters the screen only in the second half of the movie. He excels in his out-and-out comic role as usual. Zohra Sehgal is full of energy and charm throughout the movie. Swini Khara, who is called sexy in the movie, is adorable and it's through her that we learn about some realities of life and also get introduced to other personality of Buddhadev.

Overall:

Positives: The thoughtful construction of the plot makes the ending believable. Amitabh Bachchan and Tabu share a wonderful chemistry throughout the movie. Ilaiyaraaja's musical score is top-notch.

In the first part of the movie, the server at Budhha's restaurant with protruding teeth's makes a wonderful comic element. Paresh Rawal's expressions as his friends enjoy tea in front of him when he is following Satyagraha as a weapon to change his daughter's intention to marry an old man is matchless.

Negatives: The first half is stagnating. Some portions of the first part could be easily chopped to make it more appealing.

On the whole, Cheeni Kum is less of sweetness but definitely is a delicious dish. The concept is more likely to attract elite and modern class of audience and lovers of offbeat subjects would relish. Business will be best at Multiplexes, especially in the metros.

Rating: 3.0 / 5