Chalo Dilli Review

Hindi film industry keeps on making films based on road journey from time to time and many of them become successful also. Some films which fall in this category can be mentioned as DIL HAI KE MANTA NAHIN, BOMBAY TO GOA (Amitabh Bachchan's old movie), JAB WE MET etc. However new film BOMBAY TO GOA flopped due to very poor presentation and poor script.

The film CHALO DILLI is also a road movie in which main characters meet during a journey from Mumbai to Delhi and meanwhile some incidents go on taking place which make the audience feel light and smile on some occasions.

CHALO DILLI is a film from which the actress Lara Dutta has turned to be a producer too. And the film's result proves that she had left no stone unturned to make a successful and good film. Though directly her husband Mahesh Bhupathi is given the credit of the produce of this film under the banner of Big Daddy productions

Story : Mihirika Mukherjee (Lara Dutta) works in Mumbai in a Multinational Bank on a high post. Lifestyle of Mihirka is balanced and is limited to herself; she doesn't like unnecessary chattering! She is enjoying her life in Mumbai but her husband lives in Delhi and this time she wants to celebrate her birthday with her husband (Akshay Kumar) hence she plans to go to Delhi.

On a book stall of Mumbai airport Mihirika meets Manu Gupta (Vinay Pathak). Manu is a fat and loud fellow and he has one small shop in Delhi. This fellow's nature is totally opposite from Mihirika. He is loud whereas she is silent and loves peace. Mihirika is sensible and knows etiquette whereas Manu is disgusting and rude. Manu is like any tapori person who has the bad habits of chewing paan (beetle) or gutka and spit on public places and who talks on mobile phones on very loud voices. But is he really what he pretends to be or is he smart enough!

Miharika doesn't like Manu but some circumstances compel her to be with Manu and even though she doesn't want, she has to travel from Jaipur to Delhi with Manu.

After passing some hours with Manu she realizes that Manu was a person who couldn't see anyone sad or unhappy so he used to make others smile or laugh.

Mihirika could have completed her journey from Mumbai to Delhi in less than 3 hours through flight but circumstances lead her to travel through various means such as train, riksha etc due to which it takes one and a half day to reach her destination. But during this period she learns such a lesson that changes her thinking and attitude towards life and people.

Akshay Kumar is another attraction of this film who has played the role of Lara's husband in a cameo role. Lara and Akshay are good friends and they have done many films together such as ANDAAJ, BLUE, BHAGAM BHAG, HOUSEFULL etc out of which ANDAAJ was a big hit and BHAGAM BHAG was an average. It would have been very difficult for any big actor to accept such a small role but due to their friendship Akshay did this role and appears good in this cameo. There was news that Akshay didn't take his fee for doing this cameo appearance.

Above all Akshay also helped out Lara in pulling off some difficult scenes and stunts in the movie CHALO DELLI.

Yana Gupta has made her appearance in an item song 'Laila Me Laila' which was once a very hit and popular song of the film QUARBANI of late producer director actor Feroz Khan.

Performance : After BHEJAY FRY this could be second film of Vinay Pathak for which he should be appreciated. It seems that after the success of BHEJA FRY he had become over confident and was not paying any attention on scripts.

Even Lara Dutta looks different in this film and has justified her character very well.

Music : Except the item song 'Laila Me Laia' no other song can be appreciated. Music given by Gaurav Das Gupta and Anand Raj Anand could have been better. However title track in the running train has been sung well as well has been filmed well.

Script : Script is good and the writer has succeeded in telling something new to the audience. Arshad Sayed has written the script in well manner and keeping family audience in his mind.

Direction : The director has done a good job and should get appreciation for it. Though the film lacks speed after sometime, the director has made a film for family and has narrated the message of the film clearly and in strong and convincing way. However, the film becomes slow after the interval and songs like 'Laila Me Laila' has been inserted without the demand of the script. But this song may attract masses.

Plus Points : This film is light and makes you smile or laugh at most of the times. Unlike some other films, this film has no vulgar dialogues or double meaning dialogues nor vulgar scenes. The scene to set Vinay Pathak and Lara Dutta free from police custody has been unnecessarily dragged and stretched. Besides the other characters that appear throughout their journey, some characters such as Brijendra Kala (ticket checker) and the Bengali couple impress you in another way. However climax is excellent.

Conclusion : The writer and director have made a good and decent film and for the family. There are many light moments in this film which you would enjoy.

Verdict : Go for it with your family even though there are no big stars in the film.