Chhapaak

CHHAPAAK REVIEW :-

Chhapaak says so many things from it's title itself if you see deep into it. If not then the trailer atleast gave so much idea about how the film is going to be. An untold and unnoticed story of Acid Attack victim Laxmi (Real Name) is told in Brilliant way by Director Meghna Gulzar and it's a safe bet to shatter your heart (if you have one for the sake of huminity).

The first question comes on this story is why did this strong story remained unnoticed and untouched before? Ultimately that was good because it got into the safe hands of a genius storyteller like Meghna Gulzar otherwise someone else might have spoiled something here. Chhapaak tells a journey of a young Beautiful Malti (Laxmi's character name in the film) who gets attacked by a relative with the Acid thrown on her face and then turning into Fighter Malti. The film also focuses on some judicial system problems in our country that how difficult is it to get the Justice and why we need to make some strict changes in our law.

Deepika Padukone as Malti delivers Best Performance of career till date. She is unstoppable from the first frame and remains unstoppable throughout the film. Many people had fear that Vikrant Massey's character might be sidelined in this woman centric film but wait... We are here for the One Man Show by Vikrant Massey as he gets the Best chance to shine as alone Male Lead Character in this Woman oriented drama. He gets to portray a big hearted guy Amol and connects us all quickly. Supporting cast is fantastic whether it is important scenes or the chorus ones.

The story of Laxmi (Malti) is very painful and you might feel offended at several occasions or might scream out watching her pain. The film makes you feel her pain and that's where the writer wins you over. The narrative looked brilliant, screenplay is highly engaging with almost no loo breaks and the scripting is fantastic too. Music is highly situational that makes every scene more exclusive and impactful. Especially "Chhapaak Title Song" is a slow poison that stays in mind even after leaving the theatre. Coming to the dialogues of the film, I mean one of the major winning aspect of the film for some valid reasons. Okay, this is a real story and you need some powerful hard hitting dialogues that will poke hard to the criminal minds & some other faulty systems of our country and Chhapaak does it with excellence.

How many women directors we have to name in Bollywood when it comes to Quality films? I guess hardly few. Meghna Gulzar should now top the list of best women directors in India. Why? Look at her filmography, especially when it comes to real events she has managed to shatter some myths and delusions about cinematic compromises. Talvar, Raazi and now Chhapaak.. Have to believe that Meghna Gulzar is doing quality work consistently.

Overall, Chhapaak is a lesson and inspiration to the two repulsive sides of our society respectively where one has humanity and the other one has cruelty. However the end of Malti's story is predictable but then there is one more heart wrenching scene in the last frame of the film which will force you to scream out. It's not for weak hearted people because one need to have strong guts to watch the film and feel it from the emotional quotient. Delivering perfect cinematic content Chhapaak might also change the life of Acid Attack victims and Normal people's perception about them.

RATING- 7/10*

This opening scene is small but uncomfortable. Some might say it presents a tragic truth, where victims are forced to measure their victim-ness against one another to earn the right of justice.

The movie reminds us of the heinous masculinity of a crime aimed solely at defacing a woman in an optical culture that equates societal worth with physical beauty. It's a calculated choice that the woman is played by a mainstream actress, from a film industry notorious for fetishizing her glamour over all else; this way, the transformation hits the average viewer harder.

We don't quite get to know Malti beyond the legacy of her life's events. The story doesn't pause to know her either. She exists - in a thinner texture of flesh and blood - mostly because Laxmi does.

A storyteller's rage is not a bad thing. The intent is right, but the execution feels awkward.

The timeline feels oddly cold-blooded. It leaps from one version of Malti to another. The screenplay overcompensates for the pace. The men in the background are either stereotypical idiots (male reporters ask insensitive questions) or unrealistic angels (the surgeon is annoyingly cheerful; the lawyer's husband serves tea and parathas to the "ladies of the house" so that she can save the world).

The little touches are nice: Malti laughs with pursed lips, thereby evoking a face that had to reconstruct its smile in a way that hurt the least. She speaks less, but places more gravity on her words (because maybe that's all she has) - a trait that allows the dialogue-ish nature of her lines sound organic.

Vikrant Massey and his idealism forces her to balance it out by being a tender, soft-spoken - and better - woman. She is the ice to his fire, even though she wears fire on her face.

This film does not live up to the expectations. The story was good but Deepika acting is so not up to the mark. There are flaws with continuity and depiction of real life situations. I would recommend to skip this flick.

Story is light, so is the acting. The characters are supposed to reflect real stories, but there is no effort put to show the real background of the culprit and the culture and thinking he grew up with. Real life character was much worse. If this is based on true events then it should be true to the characters.

The film Chhapaak is the milestone in the career of Deepika Padukone, which is trying to color the political atmosphere of the country.

Apart from Deepika, Vikrant Massey has made an impression in this film. In the movie Sanju, just like Vicky Kaushal had gathered all the applause, Vikrant has done something similar here. Nobody expected much from them in front of an artist like Deepika, but she is a surprise package of this film.

The rest of the actors in the film are newcomers; some real acid attack victims have also done fantastic work in it.

Meghna Gulzar's quality as a director is that she has kept the story realistic. The first half of the film is a little dull, but after the intermission, the events catch their pace.