Complete Cinema (FilmTvIndia):
Neha Arts Presentation's CHAL MERE BHAI is a breezy, light hearted, rib-tickling comic caper, revolving around the strong bond shared between two brothers and their predictable, falling head over heels in love with the same stunning lass. So there is Mamaji (Shakti Kapoor) an over ambitious, over enthusiastic theatre artiste, Mamiji (Himani Shivpuri) a mad hater of her hubby's not-so-funny antics and in between them is their Pune returned Bhanji, Sapna (Karishma Kapoor) who has landed up in Mumbai in search of a job. She is a bumble bee to the core, who always ends up doing the wrong things, but unintentionally at the right time. Once on her way to give her interview she wrongfully bumps into Vicky Oberoi (Sanjay Dutt) a la Mere Mehboob style, only this time the dropped books have been replaced with the dropped files. Since Vicky happens to be the M.D. of the Oberoi group of companies, she dosen't get the job. But on her way out she mets Pa Oberoi (Dalip Tahil), chairman of the company, who gets carried away by her pools of tears and hires her. Next the damsel in distress Sapna forcibly grabs a lift from Vicky's younger brother Prem Oberoi (Salman Khan), the theatre buff of Mamaji's group, to reach on time on the first day of her job. Slowly and steadily Vicky gets drawn towards Sapna, not to be left behind, Vicky and his Dadimaa's (Sushma Seth) grandson Prem discovers that he too has fallen head over heels in love with Sapna, who reluctantly reciprocrates his love. Now Pa and Dadimaa wants Sapna as the bride of the Oberoi mansion, by marrying Vicky. Vicky says yes, Sapna is confused, Prem adds to the confusion confounded until...And then how the sacrificial jigsaw puzzle is abruptly solved, forms the substance of this 'savior de f aire '. Production values have substantial glitz and glamour. Technically apt. Cameraman Harmeet Singh seems to have been literally in a holidaying mood, so he has beautifully captured the new scenic locales of Cine Tirol region and Salisberg - Austria, where nothing else but only the songs have been canned. Editor A.Muthu has been hampered by the hackneyed story, screenplay, dialogues of Rumi Jaffery, Ikram Akhtar, Yunus Sajawal and even their constant take-off on senior actors like Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan was not in very good taste. Musically the Anand-Milind - Sameer combo leaves much to be desired, with only the title song sung by the principal actors,'Chori chori sapno mein aata hai koi' and 'Meri neend jaane lagi hai' that are worth humming.
Performancewise Sanjay Dutt excellent as usual and exudes a tremendous screen presence. Salman Khan too matches his senior co-star especially in the comic sequences. Karisma Kapoor successfully displays her comic forte, apart from portraying all the nuances of her well defined role. On the other hand Naghma, Sonali Bendre and Twinkle Khanna's gutsy, guest appearances are just about okay. Shakti Kapoor and Himani Shivpuri impress, and the rest of the cast pass muster.
Directorially David Dhawan has done a fair job, but he is handicapped by oft-rehashed subjects.
Super Cinema (FilmTvIndia):
Neha Arts' CHAL MERE BHAI is a comedy with a love triangle. Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan play two brothers. They are sons of industrialist Dalip Tahil. Sanjay is the elder brother and he manages the business. Salman is not interested in family business. He wants to be a great actor. He works on the stage with Shakti Kapoor as his director. Shakti's neice Karisma Kapoor comes to the city for a job. Dalip gives her the job as the secretary of Sanjay. Karisma is a blundering worker and Sanjay does not like her. Sanjay is injured in a fight. Karisma takes him to a hospital and Sanjay's life is saved. Sanjay's father Dalip and grandmother Sushma Seth are impressed with Karisma and they want Sanjay to marry Karisma They don't know that Salman and Karisma are in love. Sanjay also agrees to marry Karisma. Now one brother has to make the sacrifice.
Production values are good. Harmeet Singh's cinematography is pleasing. Technically okay. Ganesh Acharya's choreography is good. Anand-Milind's music sounds nice in the theatre, but there are too many songs. Two songs 'Meri neend jaane lagi hai' and 'Chori chori sapnon mein' are hummable.
The first half is a breezy comedy. Tempo slows down in the second half and the story runs on predictable line. A major drawback of the film is that the basic story has been repeated in many films, and recently in "Dillagi" and "Pyar Koi Khel Nahin."
Performance-wise, Sanjay Dutt impresses. Salman Khan is natural. Karisma Kapoor is lively. Shakti Kapoor, Sushma Seth, Dalip Tahil, Himani Shivpuri and Asrani provide able support.
As the director, David Dhawan again shows competence as a maker of light comedy. The drawback is that David and his team of writers are running out of ideas. They are only repeating situations seen in other films. Dialogue writer Rumi Jaffery is able to provide occasional punches.
