Chandni Chowk To China
A film that works in fits and spurts but never manages to come together as a whole.
To look for a well-laid- out narrative was definitely not my intention. What one went looking for was not a great story but great fun. So my issue is not with the wildly improbable plot in which a cook, Siddhu (Akshay), becomes the saviour of a Chinese village or where an Indian girl Sakhi is shown to have a Chinese father, inspector Chang, and a Chinese twin to boot, called Miao Miao. All the three get separated, not in Kumbh Mela, but on the Great Wall of China and then the two sisters meet, of all places, in a cupboard. What seemed to hold promise was precisely this element of the absurd. Things like a Ganesh lookalike potato, an umbrella that doubles up as a parachute. Some set-pieces are deliciously corny, like Ms TSM’s (Deepika) telesales scenes. Or Miao Miao using her poisoned lips to wreak vengeance. The nods to films—from Sholay to Seeta Aur Geeta, from Kungfu Panda to James Bond to Akshay’s own Chura ke dil mera song are fun. My fave, however, is the Bhappi Lahiri song Bambai se aaya mera dost sung in Chinese and the Chinese equivalent of our own teleshopping networks. But in a bid to put in every masala available, the filmmaker prefers to gloss over these loony bits and moves from the cartoon-like energy to some elaborately choreographed action and then to some seriously dull melodrama. No wonder the film loses it all.
Akshay, a star known to save films by his mere presence, can’t be of much help either. His over-the-top, loud slapstick act is much too besura for comfort. Ranvir proves to be just as bad. As for Deepika, she just has to look pretty which she does more than adequately, specially as the fringed Miao Miao. As for baddie Gordon Liu, he is nothing more than a deadpan Gabbar.
High Fives
Bollywood
1. Chandni Chowk to China
2. Ghajini
3. Rab ne bana di Jodi
4. The President is Coming
5. Kaashh... Mere Hote!
Hollywood
1. Paul Blart: Mall Cop
2. Gran Torino
3. My Bloody Valentine 3-D
4. Notorious
5. Hotel for Dogs
Contemporary Jazz
1. Rhythm & Romance (Kenny G)
2. Energy (Fourplay)
3. River: The Joni Letters (Herbie Hancock)
4. Greatest Hits (Dave Koz)
5. Esperanza (Esperanza Spalding)
Courtesy: Film Information
Tags