Here's
the
thing.
Crime
doesn't
pay
...
right?
It's
not
meant
to
...
right?
So
how
come
it's
shown
to
be
so
much
fun
in
the
movies?
In
Tamanchey,
the
underrated
Nikhil
Dwivedi
and
the
spunky
bundle
of
contradictory
emotions
Richa
Chadha
seem
like
dropout
students
of
the
cool
school.
He
is
a
hardcore
Bihari
named
Munna
and
she's
Babu,
a
wannabe
Lady
Gaga
masquerading
as
a
borderline
sociopath
from
the
Delhi-Haryanvi
belt.
Her
make-up
never
falters.
She
is
a
'behenji'
masquerading
as
a
style
icon
in
a
crime-infested
countryside.
Film:
Tamanchey
Cast:
Nikhil
Dwivedi,
Richa
Chadha,
Damandeep
Singh
Siddhu
Director:
Navneet
Behal
Together
Munna
and
Babu
don't
quite
add
up
to
an
updated
version
of
Robert
Redford-Faye
Dunaway
pair
in
the
mother
of
heist
capers
"Bonnie
&
Clyde".
But
there
is
something
about
Munna
and
Babu.
He
wears
his
heart
on
his
dirty
sleeve.
She
wears
her
cleavage
with
the
surety
of
woman
who
knows
she
can
cash
it
for
a
life
of
luxury
whenever
she
wants.
Such
adventurous
women
are
often
very
uncertain
in
their
innerscape.
Richa
brings
out
the
demoniacal
uncertainties
of
Babu
(we
have
to
wait
till
the
final
moments
to
know
her
real
name)
in
scenes
where
her
made-up
face
crumbles
to
expose
a
childlike
vulnerability.
Both
Richa
and
Nikhil
are
effectively
tragic
in
the
finale
when
they
play
a
game
of
domestic
normalcy
in
a
run-down
building
as
the
cops
close
in
on
them.
What
I
liked
about
Richa's
chemistry
with
Nikhil
is
that
there
is
no
chemistry.
Nikhil's
Munna
falls
in
love
with
these
women
of
laughable
affectations.
Babu
is
full
of
'angrezi'
innuendos
and
make-up
borrowed
from
Lady
Gaga's
backstage
booty.
It's
easy
for
the
Munnas
of
the
world
to
fall
for
this
kind
of
a
woman
who
knows
how
to
use
her
sexuality
to
make
her
way
in
a
callous
world.
Babu
is
the
bed
partner
of
a
drug
dealer
Tau
(newcomer
Damandeep
Singh
Siddhu).
The
narrative's
mid-section
shows
Munna
and
Babu
outwitting
the
drug
baron,
stealing
kisses
and
a
lot
more
right
under
his
hawk-like
eyes.
Stretching
the
precincts
of
believability,
Tamanchey
yet
manages
to
remain
grittier
than
other
recent
crime
capers.
The
writing
is
fluent
when
it
wants
to
be.
Tamanchey
shows
that
the
nozzle
of
the
gun
is
not
the
best
place
to
place
your
dreams.
There
are
sharply
written
lines
by
Shailesh
Pratap
Singh,
specially
the
ones
that
Nikhil's
character
speaks.
Nikhil
in
fact
delivers
a
heartbreaking
performance
as
a
simpleton
who
flips
for
the
siren
and
is
willing
to
go
to
any
lengths
to
get
her.
At
times
his
baba-in-the-woods
act
reminded
one
of
Raj
Kapoor
in
"Sri
420".
Here
is
an
actor,
who
has
repeatedly
proved
himself
to
be
better
than
many
so-called
stars
in
Bollywood.
Wonder
what
keeps
him
from
getting
there.
Tamanchey
gives
Nikhil
and
the
rest
of
the
cast
the
kind
of
unvarnished
crime
canvas,
which
actors
crave
to
get
when
they
are
in
the
mood
to
impress
the
awards
jury.
Tragically,
the
sharp
dialogues
are
often
unsupported
by
the
screenplay
that
gets
borderline
implausible
towards
the
end
before
veering
sharply
away
from
disaster
with
a
well-staged
climactic
shootout.
So
yes,
crime
doesn't
pay
finally.
But
it
sure
as
hell
provides
ample
room
for
filmmakers
to
explore
the
grey
region
without
bothering
about
remaining
rooted
to
a
moral
ground.
Verdict:
Wild
and
wacky
Tamanchey
is
an
enjoyable
roller
coaster
ride
about
two
mismatched
criminals
on
the
run
who
fall
hopelessly
in
love.
You
know
where
this
reckless
couple
is
hurtling
to.
But
that
doesn't
stop
this
bang-bang
affair
from
being
a
fun
ride.