Cheeni Kum

An awesome movie; Amitabh and Tabu were just fantastic. I laughed almost throughout the movie and I loved the flawlessly spiced dialogue between Amitabh and Tabu. Cheeni Kum is about the unadulterated but sweetened love-story of a 64 year old man (I'm pretty sure Amitabh Bachchan is at that age right now in his real life) and a 34 year old woman.

An arrogantly sarcastic Buddhadev Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan), who is still a bachelor at 64 meets a 34 years old spinster, simple and sweet Nina Verma (Tabu) at his restaurant, one of London's top authentic Indian Restaurant. The similarities in their difference brings them together which culminated into a romance of a funnier genre.

There were many ingredients of spices, little more than a typical romantic Hindi Movie; besides Amitabh and Tabu, the sizzler of curly straight dialogue from the 9 year old Sexy (Swini Khara) is refreshing to make you laugh all along. The kiddish delight of the 58 year old Omprakash Verma's (Paresh Rawal) Gandhism as Nina's father was the ultimate dessert to the main course romance. Of course, Amitabh's 85 year old mother (Zohra Sehgal) who loves TV shows with muscle man and "Sex and the City" added enough flavor to make you reach out for the side dish that she flaunts.

I watched this immediately after jhoom barabar jhoom, and was very glad I did. JBJ was an AWFUL pile of bakvaas, and Amitabh's appearances in that movie were pointless and embarrassing (why was he trying to look like Stevie Ray Vaughan?) Cheeni kum was a very good movie. A little slower than it could have been, and maybe Amitabh's character was a little bit TOO "cheeni kum", but overall it was an intelligent and well put together film. There were several things not done as well as they could have been, including the shameful underutilization of Paresh Rawal, but overall this was a good try. It was certainly one of Amitabh's better roles of the last couple of years. Zohra was outstanding as was Swini Kehra, and the film examined the central issue well. Almost as well as the outstanding Dil Chahta Hai. After KJo cr*p like KANK, SLB's bloated rubbish (Black, Devdas) and the David Dhawan conveyor belt of pathetically unfunny "comedies", films like Cheeni Kum restore my faith in Hindi cinema. The central jodi was very plausible, and Tabu's character gave as good as she got, except for the scene at the restaurant with the fish (where her capitulation seemed out of character). I just wish that was at least one Cheeni Kum for every Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Plus I want to see more of Zohra before she leaves us, and more of the excellent Swini.

Rarely do Bollywood movies live up to their hype. This one comes very close.

Amitabh Bachchan owns Spice6, the best Indian restaurant in London. To him, being a chef is more than a profession. It is an art, in fact, the greatest art of all. He personally ensures every dish that leaves his kitchen is up to his exacting standards. His employees respect him, but his angered outbursts send shivers down their spine. It is during one such outburst that he sees a dish, Hyderabadi Zafrani Pulao no less, returned by a customer (Tabu) because it's too sweet (and hence the recommendation to reduce sugar or Cheeni Kum). Enraged, he walks up to the table, and challenges Tabu to make it any better. She leaves without uttering a word, but brings in some Hyderabadi Zafrani Pulao the next day that even Amitabh finds delicious. He now owes her an apology, thus setting into motion a series of events that lead to attraction between the two, and finally love.

Although the age gap between Amitabh and Tabu is there to see, it is totally downplayed and doesn't even come into focus until later in the second half. Their exchanges are loaded with witty repartees and sarcastic remarks that leave the audience in splits. The tight script and screenplay make sure the movie progresses at a good pace although it was slow at times for my liking. I think the director fell for the Bollywood norm of making 2½ hour movies. Also, the movie loses its grip toward the end. The scenes are predictable and the melodrama avoidable. These are minor indiscretions of a first-time director, and in no way, reduce the overall appeal. If you ask me, it is certainly worth a second watch.

Amitabh is calm and composed. The role doesn't challenge him much, but he plays it with conviction. Tabu is brilliant. The last time I saw her was in Fanaa, and firmly believed she's insane. Not only did she pick the right movie here, she's ensured her character isn't sidelined. In fact, in several scenes, her character comes out on top of Amitabh's, and is credible thanks to her acting abilities. Zohra Sehgal, as Amitabh's mom, is on a roll. Swini Khara as Sexy, Amitabh's 7-year old neighbor is cute, and gets to deliver a few punch lines too. Paresh Rawal as Tabu's father is disappointing. His character is too clichéd and completely out of sync with the movie.

In sum, Cheeni Kum is no bitter pill. I rate it 4/5.

This movie is a novelty for India, a movie comprising mostly of intelligent, dialogue based humour rather than on situations (like Khosla ka Ghosla) or slapstick (most of the other Hindi movies that pretend to be comedies). Amitabh Bachchan is a crabby 64 year old chef / owner of an Indian restaurant in London. The first half depicts the growing relationship between himself and Tabu, a 34 year old woman from Delhi in London on a holiday. The second half primarily depicts Tabu's 58 year old father, Paresh Rawal's viewpoint on the relationship. There – that's it as far as the story goes…nothing more, nothing less… The true brilliance of the movie lies in the life / spark infused in even the simplest of situations or the simplest of characters. Whether it's the interaction amongst the chef's in the restaurant, the waiter hilariously nicknamed Colgate because of his protruding teeth and the jokes at their expense ('Iske Liye Dimaag Ki Zaroorat Hai, Daant Ki Nahin', he is gently admonished on one occasion), the Sardarji pharmacist and Amitabh's interactions with him, Amitabh's mom's fascination with the gym in the face of her sons obvious reluctance to go anywhere near it, his acerbic comments on his mom's cooking ('yeh Tihar Jail Waali Dal ?'), Paresh Rawal's love of cricket and Gandhism. I can go on and on. I was in near-hysterical splits on no less than 10 occasions. I'm still laughing as I remember some of the jokes….

And I haven't even mentioned Amitabh and Tabu – their running joke around the umbrella, the ruthless way she teases him the first time he tries to ask her out, their almost every conversation was beautifully constructed. The movie also captures amazingly well the highs and lows of falling in love. Will she come or wont she ? Will she say yes ? The mood swings, the heartache and the sheer exhilaration and joy when its all OK, when you're with your newfound love.

I think one of the casting coup's of the movie was Tabu. I watched this movie with a school friend of mine (Prashant) and we discussed her at length after the movie. The parts of the conversation I can print here involved her sheer beauty, her classic features (high cheekbones, eyes) and her subtleness…her understated yet enigmatic presence. She brings reality and a certain mystique to her character, makes acting seem so easy. I don't think there is another Bollywood actress who could have done justice to her role.

However, this doesn't detract in any way from any of the other performances in the movie. Everyone was excellent – from Amitabh to Paresh Rawal to each chef / waiter in the restaurant, Amitabh's neighbour and his daughter (a nice sub-plot here and at last we get a real child who talks like today's kids actually do, unlike the saccharine mumblings of the girl in TaraRumPum). The music, with the title song playing constantly in the background, the settings (even Qutab Minar looks beautiful in the movie), everything, like spices, enhance the brilliance of the dialogue.

Take a bow, Mr Balki (an ad maker and first time director). The entire audience gave a standing ovation when the movie ended. Is movie main kuch bhi kum nahin tha !

aaah! after a long time, here's a romance i could finally relate to. tabu and amitabh capture the long lost magic of romance that follows no reason or rhyme or logic or time, BANG ON! when you watch them both on screen, you realize how much a seasoned actor can do to a role. special mention to tabu, for playing her role at the right tempo - at just the right pace.

balki handles the film with finesse, in the first half. the lines are witty, delivered straight-facedly by amitabh, in what could be one of his most romantic roles. zohra sehgal is sooooo sweet, you wish she was your mom.paresh rawal is strictly okay.

watch this film without having too many expectations. its a nice, frothy romantic comedy and if you keep that in mind, you won't be disappointed. i give it a double thumbs-up