1. CHHICHHORE (Ratings: 3/5)
Duration: 143 mins
Budget: 70 Cr
Banner: Fox Star Studios & Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment
Director: Nitesh Tiwari (earlier films as director are ‘Dangal’ [2016], ‘Bhootnath Returns’ [2014] & ‘Chillar Party’ [2011])
Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala
Writer: Nitesh Tiwari, Piyush Gupta & Nikhil Malhotra
Music: Pritam (Songs) & Sameer Uddin (Score)
Star Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput (few earlier films are ‘Sonchiriya’ [2019], ‘Kedarnath’ [2018], ‘Raabta’ [2017], ‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’ [2016], etc.), Shraddha Kapoor (few earlier films are ‘Saaho’ [2019], ‘Batti Gul Meter Chalu’ [2018], ‘Stree’ [2018], ‘Haseena Parkar’ [2017], ‘Half Girlfriend’ [2017], etc.), Varun Sharma, Prateik Babbar, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Naveen Polishetty & Others.
Story:
Chhichhore takes you on an exuberant and hilarious journey of college life where you meet a bunch of interesting `losers`: Anni, Maya, Sexa, Derek, Mummy, Acid, and Bevda. They as a group go through a seamless transition from past to present and end up at a reunion they could never have thought of.
Plus Points:
• Director Nitesh Tiwari is a great story teller and had full control over the film. Audience might compare the film with ‘3 Idiots’ but it’s entirely different & has conveyed a very strong message to the youth i.e. ‘Failure is not the end of life’.
• Sushant Singh Rajput & all other male actors performed very well. In fact, all are heroes. Most of the funny & emotional scenes belong to the entire group and none can take solo credit.
• Pratiek babbar is terrific. He should have been given more space.
• Story (Nitesh Tiwari, Piyush Gupta & Nikhil Malhotra) is well written. Screenplay is very interesting & full of light moments with plenty doses of emotions. Dialogues are simply outstanding & hilarious at places.
• Cinematography (Amalendu Chowdhary) is of high standards & captured the time span of 1992 to 2019 fantastically.
• It is a complete family film. College & hostel life is superbly portrayed which every youth would connect with.
• In the entire film, flash backs are beautifully rendered without any confusion.
• Film has all the ingredients for youth (hostel pranks, college romance, sports tournament & rivalry between two teams)
• ‘Chhichhore’ has a relevant message on the inherent attitude towards academic success and failure that will connect with many youngsters . It tells you that the journey is far more important than the destination and that losing is as critical a life lesson as winning.
• Film takes you on a nostalgic trip for sure !
• Song “Fikar Not” in the climax is beautifully picturized by mixing old & current make over of each character.
Minus Points:
• Elderly look of Shushant Singh Rajput is not convincing.
• Shraddha Kapoor is strictly ok with a relatively smaller role & didn’t have much to do. Her presence hardly matters in the drama. She carries a single expression throughout.
• Not a single song (Pritam) is a chart buster.
• The tittle ‘Chhichhore’ doesn’t have much youth appeal.
• Editing (Charu Shree Roy) should have been sharper. The length of the film (2 hours 30 mins) is a big issue, needed atleast 15 / 20 mins trimming.
• Characterizations of the friends are not well established.
• Entire second half belongs to sports without any thrill of “Lagaan” or “Dangal”.
• Doctor’s entry after every 15 mins is irritating and should have been avoided.
• Film is strictly one time watch & doesn’t have repeat value. It has no magic of 3 idiots.
BOX OFFICE:
Though film has not been promoted on a big scale & present market of lead pair (Sushant Singh Rajput & Shraddha Kapoor) is not very good, but strong word of mouth would ensure a good run at the box office. Also, as film ‘Saaho’ craze is over, ‘Chhichhore’ may get some benefit out of it. Opening in the morning shows were below average.
Business Ratings: (3 / 5)
Thanks & Regards,
Narendra Gupta