I saw 'Cheeni Kum' last night. It is a brilliantly crafted movie.
The casting is perfect. The acting outstanding. The dialogue witty. Just about everything in the film screams "This has not been attempted before in Bollywood". And the amazing thing is, it works.
Except maybe the last bit, where the precocious kid got irritating and Amitabh went berserk at the Ashoka pillar.It kind of spoils the overall understated effect of the film.
I won't attempt a review because it would just be a repeat of what my friend Apu has already said here.
Cinematic excellence apart, I found the character played by Tabu to be most refreshing.
Witness this scene, when her father goes on a 'satyagraha', hoping his 34 year old daughter will call off her plan to marry the 64 year old Amitabh.
"Papa, kuch kha lijiye.."
"Kya tu us buddhe ko chhod degi?"
"Nahin.."
"To phir main kuch nahin khaoonga".
"Jaisi aapki marzi", she says calmly and walks out of the room.
A hunger strike may be a bit extreme. But these kind of power struggles are commonly enacted in our homes and especially at this time of the year, when students make choices related to careers.
What Neena Varma shows you is that if you know what you want and are determined to have it, no one can 'force' you into a different direction. Yes, marrying a guy 30 years older than you is not common. But agar meri khushi isi main hai and I am prepared to bear the consequences, then so be it.
"I love you, you're my dad, but finally it's my life!"
The trouble is few of us stand up for ourselves because we are unsure. We hesitate. We vacillate. We bow down. And then tell others, "Yaar... mere parents yahi chahte the."
The moral of the story is: if you stand firm for what you believe in, the world will come around to accept it. Let your passion burn bright - be it for a person, profession or philosophy of life. Fuel it with conviction. Only a candle in the wind is snuffed out by the slightest drizzle of disapproval.
If there is fire in your belly, it will burn on!
i think the movie was little bit slow ,had it been fast paced wud have been better :)
ReplyDeleteabsolutely right. it made me actually look at love in a whole different way.
ReplyDeleteits cliche', but yes, its a ''hat ke '' movie!
Gonna see teh movie today...........I hope you turn out to be right :)
ReplyDeleteLoved the movie... though I guess the story meandered to lacklustreness in the second half.
ReplyDeleteThe first half was awesome!!!
I haven't seen the movie, but i am sure it must very good. I definately agree with you," WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY"
ReplyDeleteIf you decide you want to do certain thing , you should do it provided you are sure you actually want to do it and are just not rebelling against it. You should be able to stand by your conviction, and not bow under pressure. Or you may regret later in life.
Haven't seen the movie yet. But am sure its gonna be fun. Btw i would disagree a bit when u say everyone comes around to accept your decision. You should stand firm on ur decision but not at the expense of hurting your parents.
ReplyDeleteI saw the movie and quite liked it but found it slow post interval and melodramatic towards the end.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I liked the fact that you're highlighting the fact of standing up for oneself. I see many choosing their career/spouse for the happiness of a parent who will never bear the consequences of the decision... The whole "elders know best" isn't always true and hopefully more families will learn to accept this fact...
I hated the movie -- my review http://nandz.blogspot.com/2007/05/cheeni-kum-review.html
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved the movie...surely hat ke & AB, Tabu, Zohra ROCK full ON!!! I am pretty pretty High on Sugar rgt now...highly recommended movie..
ReplyDeletehi
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ReplyDeletea redact's indite!!!
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched the movie, but from the promos caught on to a dialogue between Tabu and Paresh Rawal:
ReplyDeletePR: Mere marne kay baad hi karna [you are going to marry that man over my dead body]
Tabu: Kab jaa rahe hain aap? [So when are you planning to depart!]
great scriptwriting
Great post with a nice wrap up comment,, havent seen the picture, but expect it to be a good watch.
ReplyDeleteYES, ITS THE WAY OF LIVING THE LIFE OF OWN. DO WAHT YOU THINK AND NOT OTHER - THEN WE WILL GET THE LESSON WAHT IS RIGHT AND WRONG, WHY SHOULD WE DEPEND ON OTHER THINKING AND OTHER ADVICE IT IS RIGHT MOVIE NOT AN INJUSTICE
ReplyDeletedint see the movie yet, but I totally agree with what you said, standing up for yourself, I think we espeically Indians...jsut find excuses and want to blame things on others and I hate that.
ReplyDeletelast few words in the post are really inspiring
ReplyDeletebtw..i just saw lokhandwala; i found the movie good in parts but lacking technically especially the last action sequence when the large police unit zeroes-in on the suspects; a large group of cops rushing to ground zero spreading out randomly in the battle zone (without forming any kind of defensive formations), directly in the firing line of the suspects and pointing their manual rifles towards the window of the flat where the suspects are holed-in, aimlessly firing shots looked really amateurish unlike any real-life ATS operation. Some clever camera-work like zooming-in on spent ammo droping off hit squad rifles and hitting ground in slow motion in a chrome colored Kaante style visual background would've made the scene more absorbing. A more closer to the ground camera-work usually looks better in such scenes as a viewer actually gets a feel of being in the battlezone. Aerial shots arent half as effective. The biggest chink in the armor is the lame court case presented by bacchan. bacchan talks with the airs of the cheif justice of india while the submissive judge looks on like a sympathetic college pal. the question he asks the judge seemed a bit too naive to be considered a knock-out punch to the plaintiffs. my rating: 2.75/5
ReplyDeleteif you stand firm for what you believe in, the world will come around to accept it. Let your passion burn bright - be it for a person, profession or philosophy of life. Fuel it with conviction. Only a candle in the wind is snuffed out by the slightest drizzle of disapproval.
ReplyDeleteHear Hear!
Parents who try to emotionally blackmail their kids into doing what they (the parents) want need to be asked whether the only reason they have kids is for them to carry out every wish of theirs.
I did advise a friend a while away to marry the guy she wanted to, in spite of her parents saying they'll find someone "suitable" for her (i.e. their community). Took them a while, but they were good enough to realize that they were hurting their child by keeping her unhappy.
They're getting married in December :) And without needing to run away either!
I thoroughly enjoyed the film , brilliant performances by one and all , complete family entertainer..
ReplyDeletewonderful characterization of Neena Varma( tabu back with her magic). The conversation between Amitabh and tabu......... Tabu asks Big B to run down the park touch the tree n return......... she very calmly speaks up " touch karne ke baad kuch aur karne ke stamina hai bhi ki nahi, yehe dekhna tha"........ Bollywood hasnt given such strong roles to FEMALE actress in recent times.......
ReplyDeleteWife loved it ! i liked it !
ReplyDeletehey rashmi,
ReplyDeletehavent seen the movie yet, but the part abt standing up to your parents struck a poignant chord, with some compromises i have had in my life.
my take, at the risk of sounding old fashioned, is that if i were to just say "i love u dad, but its my life" just imagine what would have happened if they had said the same; instead of dropping career plans, instead of sacrificing those rare personal moments of intimacy in a crowded family to be with their child, instead of making us the center of their lives for so long.
it was their life too.
am not saying that love is not worth much, it is worth a million sacrifices. but this is also love, much purer than many others.
its abt how much modernity and change your parents can take, and how fast.
Great movie.But naming the lil gurl's character 'sexy' was quite unnecessary...in bad taste even.
ReplyDeleteConviction is fine but I think at a basic level the script could have been a little better. What was the point in having Mr. Bachchan's character justify his stance to the father? Zohra Sehgal’s mother, instead of sitting in the car, could have given Paresh Rawal a piece of her mind.
ReplyDeleteThe entire point of the story- zeal and zest to live a full life- would have made more sense and interesting viewing if a 90 year old mother convinces a 60 year man to let her 34 year old daughter marry her 64 year old son!
Having said that I thought it was an interestingly made film. You might agree with me at onepointmanyviews(dot)blogspot(dot)com
About "standing firm on what you believe in" bit, there's also the other side to it. Young people often take decisions based on emotions, and ignore basic things which often the family can see. Many times it turns in to an ego issue about "they don't think I am an adult / can take decisions myself, or they don't trust my abilities", and this results in them ignoring the flaws obvious to others.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, such movies encourage those people. But them I am complaining only because I can see something like that happen in someone very close. Otherwise, if the decision is built on sound foundations, I would completely agree. And that is something very subjective. Guess people must ensure they discuss and debate with parents / family before hardening their stance.
I disagree with AB's pillar scene. That was one the best and most riveting moments in the scene. It shows how he should have wished for sexy's health rather than his love life. Otherwise, funny and crisply taken. Soundtrack rocks!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteCheeni kum is a very low budget. Amitabh role is very light as to his age it is not so good
Its a good movie..But the basic script of this movie was copied from one of the Tamil movie,I guess that movie name is "Viduthali"(I'm not sure)..And yes Raghav soundtracks are good but its from 1980's Tamil film "Mouna Ragam"...
ReplyDeletemobile phone deals
The Chinese government is inducting this movie in their national population control programme!
ReplyDelete"Cheeni Kum" :D
Haven't seen it, though I've heard 'Cheeni Kum' is a good movie; although Tabu has always been a great actress. Good to know you picked a message from the movie, and the last line of your post is almost inspirational !!ram
ReplyDeleteLoved this film!
ReplyDeleteAnd so true about convictions! I wish I had the same when I was younger. Today I use the same excuse - parents wanted it this way. Sigh!
My review on the film here:
http://www.deepakjeswal.com/cheeni-kum/
Hey, i think you are right, and i know people who have stood by what they want and succeeded, and others who gave up and later regretted...both these stories motivate...one says what you should do and one what you shouldnt! A very good read, must say!
ReplyDelete