Kahani
kabhi
khatam
nahin
hoti...
That's
the
catchline
of
Chamku.
True,
certain
stories
are
timeless
and
ageless,
they
keep
getting
repeated
year
after
year,
with
new
faces
obviously.
Vendetta
--
one
theme
that's
beaten
to
death
in
Bollywood.
Chamku
tackles
the
age-old
theme
of
revenge,
although
director
Kabeer
Kaushik
throws
a
twist
at
the
outset,
when
a
Naxalite
is
picked
up
by
Raw
and
IB
to
work
for
them.
Otherwise,
Chamku
is
old
wine
presented
in
a
new
bottle.
The
only
saving
grace
is
Bobby
Deol,
who
delivers
his
career-best
performance
in
Chamku.
But
the
sad
part
is
that
the
script
succumbs
to
predictability
all
through.
Besides,
what's
with
a
title
like
Chamku?
Sure,
the
story
is
about
a
guy
called
Chandrama
Singh
aka
Chamku,
but
in
these
fast
changing
times,
when
the
multiplex
audience
holds
the
key,
a
title
like
Chamku
will
only
dissuade
them
from
buying
the
ticket.
Also,
a
title
like
Chamku
sends
out
signals
that
it's
a
comedy.
It's
not!
Another
factor
that
goes
against
it
is
the
violence/brutality
depicted
in
this
2-hour
film.
Blood,
gore,
crudity
and
brutality
is
out,
but
Kabeer
Kaushik
still
believes
in
the
cinema
of
1970s
and
seems
to
have
given
action
director
Tinu
Verma
a
free
hand
to
recreate
the
violence-laden
atmosphere
of
1970s.
Pistols,
guns,
knives,
swords,
blood-soaked
bodies,
spare
us
the
gore
please.
To
cut
a
long
story
short,
there's
hardly
any
chamak
in
Chamku.
Chamku
depicts
the
journey
of
a
male
Naxalite
from
the
interiors
of
Bihar,
tutored
under
a
covert
government
program
to
eliminate
the
anti-social
elements.
Chandrama
Singh
aka
Chamku
has
no
alternative.
Kill
them
or
we'll
kill
you,
he's
told
by
Kapoor
[Irrfan
Khan].
His
life
undergoes
a
dramatic
change
when
he
falls
in
love
with
Priyanka
Chopra.
He
wants
to
lead
a
normal
life,
but
is
it
so
easy?
Also,
he
comes
face
to
face
with
his
nightmarish
past
[Akhilendra
Mishra].
A
pertinent
question
that
crosses
your
mind
is,
what
did
the
Deols
see
in
a
script
like
this?
The
execution
is
fluid
at
places,
but
the
written
material
is
so
predictable
after
a
point
that
you
lose
interest
as
incident
after
incident
unravels.
The
first
half
does
boast
of
a
few
interesting
sequences.
The
transformation
from
a
ruthless
killer
to
a
romantic
is
depicted
beautifully.
Also,
a
number
of
sequences
are
filmed
with
flourish.
But
the
film
goes
downhill
in
the
second
hour,
courtesy
a
screenplay
of
convenience.
Monty
Sharma's
music
is
below
par.
'Aaja
Milke'
is
the
sole
decent
track.
The
item
song
[Rosa]
looks
like
a
hurried
job.
Gopal
Shah's
cinematography
captures
the
various
moods
of
the
film
well.
Tinu
Verma's
action
is
too
realistic.
The
blood
and
gore
could've
been
tapered.
Bobby
gets
it
right.
He
conveys
a
lot
even
when
silent.
This
performance
deserves
all
the
praise.
Priyanka
is
wasted.
There's
no
scope
for
her
actually.
Ditto
for
Riteish
Deshmukh
and
Danny
Denzongpa.
In
fact,
the
two
actors
are
hardly
there
in
the
movie.
Irrfan
Khan,
as
always,
is
competent.
Rajpal
Yadav
does
well
as
the
informer.
Akhilendra
Mishra
is
supposed
to
act
loud,
which
he
does
well.
Arya
Babbar
gets
no
scope,
not
even
a
line
to
deliver.
Ditto
for
Deepal
Shaw.
On
the
whole,
Chamku
rests
on
an
outdated
plot
and
given
the
blood-gore-brutality
in
the
film,
will
face
an
uphill
task.
Businesswise,
it
has
some
chances
in
the
U.P.-Bihar
region.