The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : A tribute to the lead pair

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Monday, May 28, 2007
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A tribute to the lead pair

RARE CHEMISTRY: A scene from `Cheeni Kum'.

Cheeni Kum (Hindi)

Director: Balkrishnan

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu

This one has to be the ultimate tribute to the lead actors. Director R. Balki's debut film is easy on the eye and ear: credit to Sreeram's cinematography and Ilaiyaraja's music. A gently evolving saga of a bitter chef in a sweet-and-sour relationship with a woman almost half his age, this has familiarity written all over it.

There is barely a moment when the viewer is left a step behind the director. That the viewers still stay on till the end is thanks, in no mean measure, to the magic and charisma of the lead pair. The hero and the heroine are the life, breath and soul of this film. You take them away and all that you are left with are some half-baked sequences going nowhere.

Just for a microsecond, no more, substitute Amitabh Bachchan with, say, Rajesh Khanna or Shatrughan Sinha, two of his contemporaries. And you would end up with a film that won't attract as many people to the hall.

Similarly, substitute Tabu with any of her contemporaries such as Raveena Tandon or Karisma Kapoor and you will have a film that would struggle to appeal even to the gentry. That "Cheeni Kum" arrives at the box office riding on certain expectations is itself a tribute to the duo. That the film holds interest despite the obvious lack of pace and scope in the story is again a compliment to them. Amitabh and Tabu share a rare chemistry on the screen: never does he flounder in a complicated role. He is in love all right, but he is not smitten. He is merely drawn. Like a moth to a candle's flame. Suffice it to say, he plays the waiting game like a veteran chess player who wants to leave his opponent guessing.

Nor is Tabu ever in awe of her seasoned co-star. She is carefree and confident, neither boisterous nor brash, just as a woman in her 30s would be. The camera never aims to capture her beauty. The dark circles, the young wrinkles are all there. Yet you are drawn to her eyes that convey enough melancholy to last an autumn. The glow is gentle, the sadness faint. And when it comes to dialogue, the repartee is natural, just as the body language is quite identifiable. The nuances are in place.

Beyond interchangeable praises and lovers' squabbles, what else is here? Well, it is a love story set in England that shifts to Delhi because the old lover boy has to seek the permission of the lady's father who is a few years younger to him!

There are a few hiccups along the way, some deftly handled situational humour, a few moments when things go overboard too. And there is fine company provided by Zohra Segal, making you wonder if there is something called a full-stop in an artiste's life. Paresh Rawal tries his best not to be left out of the show.

Minuses? The storyline is thinner than a wafer. The music, though good on the ear, is reminiscent of earlier works of Ilaiyaraja. Willing to ignore those shortcomings? Go ahead, take a helping of "Cheeni Kum". Served with a dash of class.

ZIYA US SALAM

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