The #HansalMehta #RajkummarRao combine has given us some gems in the past - #Shahid, #CityLights, #Omerta and #Aligarh. Expectations are therefore high from the duo and a Sports film made me sit up. This new one does have some endearing moments but shines only to settle down in some cliched mediocrity.
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews #Chhalaang just released on #AmazonPrime and featuring #RajkummarRao, #NusratBharuccha, #MohammedZeeshanAyub and #SatishKaushik. This is the story of a small-town PT instructor in a school, who comes up against a threat to his work and prestige and eventually finds the greater purpose in life.
The small-town milieu is built up very well with #SatishKaushik and #SaurabhShukla at their natural best. However, the writing and the dialogues seem to fumble with Hooda ji (#Kaushik) trying to grapple with why “randwa” would be an apt description for Shukla’s status as a widower and this for a good five minutes. All the characters get their Haryanvi accent just about right. And #RajkummarRao is brilliant but even he cannot save the laboured script from sinking.
#RajkummarRao shines as the well-meaning but bumbling PT Instructor Montu. The schools is helmed by Principal Usha (#IlaArun) who was mentored by Shuklaji (#SaurabhShukla). Monty is shown in the beginning as a right-wing activist who confronts romantic couples and seeks to dish out a lesson in morality. The daughter of one such couple signs up as the teacher at the same school and Monty is attracted to her. Enter Singh Sir (#MohammedZeeshanAyub) as the accomplished and qualified PT teacher and Monty finds himself challenged. In the ensuing encounter, Neelu (#NusratBharuccha) teaches him not to quit and stand up for what he believes in. A turn of events lead to a sporting competition between the two instructors and there is the standard face-off, tense moments, comic humour, training shots and under-dog victory at the end.
What doesn’t pass muster though is some very illogical and dubious sequences. Why would Monty put the children’s lives at risk in the sequence where they need to escape from the dogs? What do the children learn by kneading the dough? Why does the boy get slapped for saying that this is what girls should do? Also, why would the parents yield to the blackmailing effort by Neelu and Hooda Senior?
#Chhhalaang is a not a total write-off it has its delightful moments but is a let-down. I am a die-hard fan of #RajkummarRao and the élan with which he carries off the flawed character is a delight to watch. #ZeeshanAyub is the other reason this film breaks the surface. The highlight for me though was the manner in which Monty reels off the 23 Indian sports heroes beginning with #JaspreetBumrah! Now that’s a first for sure!
Bottom hu kalyan se