silvan-desouza
I seriously am not a fan of Srk's films except someHis films mostly are too sugarcoated, larger then life.etcThis film is just a routine story and nothing great In fact SAATHIYA had a similar story which also had Rani in the same role but that is betterThis is just an ordinary film with ordinary stuffOf course Srk fans will find it greatIt has SRK doing his usual comedy, romance, dance everything he has done before Even an airport sceneDirection by Aziz Mirza is ordinary Music is goodSRK does his usual stuff, Rani is as usual but looks gorgeous Jas Arora is okay Satish Shah and rest are okay
Liakot Ali
Chalte chalte wasn't a Blockbuster Hit, but more of a Quite big Hit. It is a simple tale of a man who loves a girl about to get married to someone else. The main theme of the film is the second half where after marriage both couple have regular fights which lead to separation. Shahrukh Khan is One of the Best Actors of Bollywood, delivering a amazing role. Rani Mukherjee is the Best Actress of Bollywood. This movie is an example of the kind of superb actress she is. Originally Aishwarya Rai was suppose to play her part, Thank god she didn't. I don't think Aish has good acting skills enough to play a challenging role like Rani has played. Rani has given us Hit Movies with amazing acting in the past. Yuva, Hum Tum, Chori chori and Black are some of her Best work. Rani is a very charming, Beautiful Actress and looking at her interviews, she appears to be very Smart and Confident. I enjoyed this movie very much, Rani looked very sexy in the song Tauba. Recommended to all viewers.
Aparna Gangopadhyay
Story of a Truck & lorry owner (Shah Rukh Khan)– basically one who has a Transport Business.Since it is India my darlings, so the owner has to drive the truck sometimes in the absence of his driver ! Meets the heroine (Rani Mukherjee) who has come-a-visiting India just before she is going to tie the knot with a childhood family friend's son- good looking and tall – same cultural and educational and upbringing values – kinda heaven made match. She has been around with him since her childhood and adolescence and adulthood, both had spent enough time together during their growing age – must have shared comics, novels, shared jokes , discussed classmates, movies etc. fought over small things and then must have made up …like it happens when you are family friends.Anyways, she meets this truck driver …owner - and maybe the stars were not in her favour at that particular point of time, she falls in love with him! He impresses her by saying things like he will be like an obedient dog to her, he knows homeopathy so he can cure minor health ailments thus saving money etc.She rejects him and goes back to her foreign home – he follows her there – waiting to see her in her bridal dress at least – see the last of her ie. – she ultimately decides to marry him! For God only knows what reason – the movie tries to imply that she fell in love – FELL mind you …so apt is this word indeed! They come back to India and he opens his flat door – he is an orphan mind you – and because he had seen in movies and other families to take the impression of the newly wed bride's feet , he brings Talcum powder and asks her to step on it – thus making impression – Cool – making fun of age old rituals ! anyways they begin to pay for it soon. … She belonged to a high class, cultured and educated family whereas he was an orphan with no family or cultural background ! so started the fights – wet towel on dry bed much to her annoyance, shoes and smelly socks thrown all around the house, no civic sense in hubby – she tries her level best to adjust to his style – uncouth and coarse style ie.He understands her problems- starts to spend more time in office to earn more …all for her…come home late and watches TV – while she is cooking and washing the utensils …as they cannot afford to keep a maid for dearth of money…imagine a rich, high class girl washing utensils and cooking for husband !(Attention men: this does not happen in real life – an educated and balanced woman will always look for a match either of the same level or higher – definitely not lower – the body / mind / soul system does not accept it so easily – unless it's a natural calamity or some accident in the family/society that drastic change of life style takes place – eg. Tsunami hit children probably will have no choice)…they even plan to have children on top of dearth of money ! some stupidity it is really – why bring a baby when you cannot provide for its basic needs and necessities ? Such children, who grow up in financial crunch / dearth but at the same time see that his/her classmates bring cakes and patties for tiffin, they become jealous and greedy and later ask their parents what have they provided them with anyways ?- (refer son Samir soni's dialogue to father Amitabh Bachhan in Baagban).In one scene Rani calls the washer- man by his name to her rich Aunt's surprise ! she was amazed at the fact that Rani called him by his name ! whats so amazing about this is what I failed to understand !! with so many revolutions – green and white etc. where equality begets equanimity etc. has been talked about…still there are IDIOTS who think that knowing the name and addressing the helper by his/ her name is a shame !! such IDIOTS should better be kicked out of the country…rather the world.Anyways the inevitable happens – there is a calamity in office and they get under pressure of paying heavy debts. Wife seeks ex-flame's help financially and hubby truck driver becomes jealous ! – he insults both wife and ex-flame – teases him for being Brand conscious – wearing branded shirts – basically showing his true color – a looser in all respect - unsuccessful husband and business man ! Wife decides to leave him for good – he runs to the airport to get her back – after all he had also got the taste of ready food, washed clothes, dry bed sheets etc. Wife comes and start to live together again.Lesson : Look before you leap. The heroine leapt for a more or less "total stranger"- that was the wrong move. She should have married the family friend's son.NB: the truck drivers and other subordinates did not look the kinds to go to …you know what na? that – which the Truck drivers are famous for- going to the brothel ! they all looked pretty decent to me in fact….anyways that is a movie – and a Hindi movie on top of that !
TigersDave
Note there are some spoilers in this review. I have tried to highlight these where applicable.It's not like I hadn't been interested but I still didn't really know what to expect when I was 'challenged' by a friend to go and see for myself why she was so crazy about all things Bollywood. Ok, so I expected colour and dancing and spectacular music, but what else? Would I miss the subtleties? Undoubtedly. But if that were the case, would it still be possible to enjoy the film as an 'outsider'? Well, I'm here to tell you that indeed you can. Indeed we did!Like I said, I have little to compare the film with in respect of other Bollywood films - not being part of the hindiscenti, so to speak - but let's just say that if the film had ended after its upbeat first hour and a half, its innocence and its charm and some halfway decent marketing would surely have made it a serious - well, in truth, more a cheeky and chirpy - contender for the sort of mantle that has in the past been too easily wrapped around the likes of the entirely average "Bridget Jones' Diary" - that is to say, the "feelgood movie of the year". Imagine that if you can, a Bollywood film as the mainstream movie hit of the year! But it could have been so. Instead, the film continued for another seventy or so minutes, getting progressively darker and deeper. But don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy the rest of the film - I did, it's just that that wasn't what I was describing before. No, snipping the film at the hour and a half mark would have cost us the brilliantly acted (and scripted) argument scenes.***spoiler*** It would have robbed us of the pathos of the scene where the impressionable young girl accidentally uncovers the fact that all is not rosy in the Raj-Priya home. But most of all it would have deprived us of the incredibly touching face-off at the airport and the final denouement. ***end spoiler***Overall then, as a first foray into the filmi fraternity, it was an overwhelmingly positive and encouraging experience. In short, we both loved it.Ok, so my wife had the added attraction of the staggeringly smooth Mr Shah Rukh Khan - about whom my BollyDolly friend regularly, and expansively salivates, but then, truth be told, Rani Mukherjee wasn't exactly lacking in attractive powers either. - a very handsome couple indeed. But I have to admit that it's Shah Rukh Khan who steals the show. Hell, this bloke is blessed with a tongue crafted from the purest silver; a charm so potent it should be classified as a weapon of mass destruction and licensed for use against politicians, tabloid journalists, cynics and cold-hearted curmudgeons the world over to make the world a far, far better place. I mean, there was one scene ***spoiler coming...*** where Khan's Raj was telling Mukherjee's Priya all the things he would do for her and how much he wanted her to be happy - all the while flashing that cheeky crease of the face trick - where I think, even a red-blooded male such as myself, would have almost succumbed to marry the royally-larynxed Raj! He's THAT good! ***end-spoiler***So, as if that's not enough, what else was it that made me love this film? Well, it's the unpretentiousness. There's an innocence, a simplicity which made it seem fresh. No tricks. No flashiness. Just a simple but intriguing story, well told. Even though at times it seemed to veer wildly between the kitsch and the deadly, deadly serious, and was sometimes hammed up to the extreme, it still left you caring passionately about these characters to an extent that I for one, only usually experience when watching real classics like "Life Is Beautiful". But having already confessed how close I was to succumbing to Raj's charms, I see no reason to feel any shame in admitting that there were nearly tears in my (partner's!!) eyes on not one occasion, but several!It sounds corny I know - though not half as corny as some of the translated song lyrics, man what's that all about! - but this film will make you laugh, it'll make you cry, it'll make you smile and it'll make you grimace. Sometimes it'll even do it all in the same scene - watch that shoe Raj! I'm still smiling about the beauty and sheer joy of Raj and Priya's trip through the countryside - like a hip "Sound Of Music". I loved the whole "She's Missing" song (sorry don't know the correct title) and accompanying routine. Raj's tomfoolery - and although he played the buffoon, when it counted he sure knew how to snare that girl! Then there's the playfulness of the scenes when they are in Greece together. ***spoiler*** The bit where the girl in the bowling alley bursts into tears; the hilarious scene with the policeman (who played a great role, akin to a Shakespearian fool); Raj's telephone call with an irate customer - how could you NOT love this film? ***end-spoiler*** Then there were the fits of giggles from the blokes in the seats behind us, one even slapping the back of the seats in front of him, unable as he was to contain his glee at the sheer audacity of the script.I could go on for hours, and I probably will (as someone once said) but why not let "Chalte Chalte" put the joy back in for you?And if the moral of our tale (for although I'm told there often is one, who am I to say) is that the course of true love doesn't always run smoothly but that the rough parts of the trip perhaps serve to make you appreciate the smoother ones even more, then you could say that's just like "Chalte Chalte" and even life itself isn't it?
