It happened one rainy night. Review on Chameli

They are from the same city but belong to two entirely different worlds. Chameli (Kareena Kapoor) is a commercial sex worker (CSW) while Aman (Rahul Bose) is an investment consultant. They hardly have anything in common. Except that every night, it is time for Chameli to face life and for Aman, to run away from life.

Chameli is not like ‘Pakeeza’, ‘Umrao Jaan’, or ‘Chandramukhi’. Life is not bed of roses for her. She is bold, beautiful and real. She masters slang and misses no opportunity to use it. At times she is also blatherskite and cheap. On the other hand, Aman is intelligent, suave, sober and sophisticated. He uses his words sparingly and sensibly.

They are as different as chalk and cheese.

But fate has other designs for them whey they both get stranded near the flora fountain in a heavy downpour. Circumstances compel them to spend night together. Well, to the utter disappointment of many a audience, not in the regular sense. Chameli takes Aman, and us, through the reality lanes o life. And reality bites. It is nauseating and obnoxious. On this sojourn we meet Johnny, the foster brother, Usman the pimp, inspector Sing, etc. They all seem to be real and therefore shock Aman out of his cocoon. It is a treat to see how Chameli, and innocent seductress, deals with all these character, innocent with Johnny, tough with Usman, practical with the corrupt cop. As Aman sees her more and more, he understands that life does not end with a near and dear one’s death. It has to continue. And Aman’s makes Chameli understand that every man is not a ‘Customer’. Apropos to the director Sudhir Mishra, who was roped in after the untimely demise o Anant Balani, has dealt with the subject subtlety, deftly and with maturity.

It is a treat to watch the entire drama unfold, proceed and meet its logical end, just within a few hours. There are only two sets; the bench near Flora Fountain and a police station. It would not be wrong to say that the movie largely brings together unity of time, place and action. The rainy night seen through the camera of Aseem Bajaj lends a poetic touch to the movie.

The director has managed to eke out a sincere and genuine performance from Kareena. With Chameli, Kareena has tried to discard her ‘Poo-image’. In this endeavor, the wine read sari designed by Manish Malhotra and loud make-up come handy. Here her actions speak ‘louder’ than words. The way she carries herself, the manner in which she sits, speaks or walks point towards her ‘business’. But she may miss the ‘National Award’ bus by a whisker. In inevitable comparison with Shabana Aazmi and Sharmila Tagore, who have essayed such roles with finesse, Kareena has not been able to shed the glamour associated with her. But undoubtedly, for years to come, Chameli would remain one of the best performances of her career.

But the one who really steals the show is Rahul Bose with his superb matured portrayal of a right man caught in a wrong situation. Even in a women-oriented subject, he completely outshines Kareena. His performance shows nobody could have played Aman in a better way. Once again, hats off to Rahul for his performance.

The promos are hot enough to make the ‘naval-gazing’ cinephiles throng the theaters. If the reality of the subject goes a little tangential and they miss the expected sleaze, they have ‘Bhage re mann…’ and ‘Sajana Ve….’ To set their eyes on. Its astonishing to notice how Sunidhi Chouhan manages to mould her voice perfectly to suit Kareena in ‘Bhage re Mann….’ Shall we say, it is a ‘verbal feast’ instead of a visual one for the frontbenchers. The first half is riveting, enthralling, and captivating. Unfortunately the second half does not live upto the expectations. It is a major disappointment as it is moves towards mediocrity. It seems as if the entire cast and crew lost interest and grip over the subject. The climax too seems to suffer due to commercial compulsions. The director forgot that there are no happy endings to real life dramas. Chameli and Aman both return to their worlds; their problems. More or less, life remains the same for them. But with a renewed outlook.

So guys, what are you thinking about. Chameli is asking you: TO SAHAB, KYA IRADA HAI?