Sugarless Cheeni Kum

During my visit to Pune this week-end, I went with my cousins for this movie ‘Cheeni Kum’ why this movie is called ‘cheeni kum’, I fail to understand, (some recipe for odd couples) but the film was sugar-coated and entertaining during the first half of the film because of the arrogance and humor of Amitabh and fine acting of Tabu. But it gets boring after the interval, a sip of coffee and munching of popcorn was the only reason why I decided to sit and watch it till the end of the show. During the first half of the movie, umbrella plays an important role in the film, in building up the romance between 34 year old Tabu (nicknamed as ‘Ghas phoos), and 64 year old Amitabh (nicknamed and ‘Tangri kabab’). The borrowing, returning and borrowing back are the escuses for meeting and building up of affection between the egoist chef and a London tourist. The context of mismatched-bigger-than-father-age is the hinge where the story hangs and when the couple fall in love, it is as entertaining to the couple as it is to the audience. Post interval, Paresh Rawal as Tabu’s father is wasted. His humor and his acting skills are wasted by his stubborn satyagraha style fast and his refusal to co-operate to his daughter’s wishes of marrying an elderly man. Amitabh bears a buddy bond with his impish mother Zohra who is constantly nagging him about joining a gym and he shares a unique relationship with a nine-year-old-cancer-patient neighbor who acts as love counselor offering him advice in exchange for adult CD’s. No fighting scenes, but few lyrical songs to entertain yourself and a tangy romance could be the good reason for you to escape from this scorching heat and enjoy this sugarless film in an air-conditioned auditorium.