Chup Chup Ke (2006)

Chup Chup Ke: Directed by Priyadarshan, Kookie Gulati. With Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Neha Dhupia. A debt-ridden young man attempts suicide, but is rescued only to find that his luck is finally turning.

“The good news is that Kareena Kapoor doesnu0026#39;t talk in this film The bad news is that everyone else does… the problem is that they donu0026#39;t just talk but shout, scream, shriek, screech and yell. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eChup Chup Ke continues Priyadarshanu0026#39;s stint with loud comedies. The good news is that this Priyadarshani film has a story to narrate (unlike Garam Masala). The bad news is that this time again the story is a Hindi adaptation of a Malayalam film named Punjabi House (unlike Malamaal Weekly that was his only original Hindi attempt) u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHowever the story is interesting enough. Jeetu (Shahid Kapoor) is drenched in debts that he is unable to payback. So he attempts suicide by jumping in the sea only to be caught in the net of fisherman Bandya (Rajpal Yadav). Bandyau0026#39;s master Gundya (Paresh Rawal) in turn has taken heavy loans from Prabhat Singh Chauhan (Om Puri). As a loan security, Gundya keeps Jeetu as a deposit at Chauhanu0026#39;s house, who fakes to be a mute and deaf guy. Chauhanu0026#39;s niece Shruti (Kareena Kapoor) who is actually mute falls for Jeetu. Confusion seeps in the story when Jeetuu0026#39;s ex-fiancé Pooja (Sushma Reddy) comes into picture. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe good news is that Priyadarshanu0026#39;s brand of humor is not as bland or slapstick as David Dhawanu0026#39;s recent films. The bad news is that itu0026#39;s not as credible or tongue-in-cheek as a Hrishikesh Mukherjee or a Basu Chatterjee film, either. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie starts with a bang getting straight to the point. The director doesnu0026#39;t waste time in establishment of the characters. Right from the first scene, the story of the film keeps moving ahead, thereby keeping your interest alive. Priyadarshan doesnu0026#39;t experiment with the treatment of humor though, going on with his trademark style of comedy. The characters play out loud and to the gallery. Another problem with the Priyadarshan brand of comedy is that he stretches the humor in a scene a bit too much and doesnu0026#39;t know where to stop, thereby making it repetitive and monotonous at times. However thanks to some well-written scenes and Neeraj Vorau0026#39;s dependable funny one-liners that range from the witty to the corny ones, the film does succeed in making you laugh. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne more bone of contention is that the genre of the film is not just focused at being a comedy. That lasts for the first two hours after which the genre shifts towards drama. After a good dose of laughter in the first half, you donu0026#39;t feel like changing moods with the subsequent on screen emotional outbursts. And while Priyadarshan handles the comic portions of the film in a larger-than-life manner, his treatment of emotions is very much natural. (Not many might remember Priyadarshan as the director of touching emotional films like Gardish, Virasat and Sazae Kala Paani much before he molded himself as a comedy specialist). Conversely, how one wishes it were just the opposite in this film i.e. the comedy to be more natural while one could overlook the heavier side with some passable artificial emotions. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe fluctuating genres very much remind of Priyadarshanu0026#39;s Hulchul that too turned intense in the last one hour. Moreover the family setting and characterizations of Suniel Shetty and Kareena Kapoor seems to be directly derived from Hulchul. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePriyadarshan has a standard team of actors like Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Om Puri, Asrani, Manoj Joshi and Suniel Shetty with whom he extracts fine work. Paresh Rawal is getting repetitive though you love to see him repeat the act. From being a serious actor, Om Puri has already made a transition into the comedy arena with élan. Rajpal Yadav yet again goes over the top, but somehow in this film, this actor steals the show amongst others thanks to the best scenes and lines that he gets. His timing and expressions add to the effect.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLike his team of actors, Priyadarshan also has a standard team of technicians in his film like cinematographer Tirru and art director Sabu Cyril. Sabu repeats the typical pillars-in-the-garden set design for the song sequences. The white color in costume designs is consistently maintained throughout the film to impart a pure look to the frames. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe good news is that Himesh Reshammiya composes the music of this film. The bad news (for some) is that he even sings some of the tracks here. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAmongst other actors, Shahid is quite efficient. Kareena looks gorgeous and since she doesnu0026#39;t have to mouth a single line in the entire film (not even in a dream sequence), you are saved by her otherwise over-expressive dialogue delivery skills. In fact Neha Dhupia gets more scope and she makes the best use of it. Sushma Reddy is restricted only to some 4-5 scenes. Suniel Shetty is getting typecast in these kinds of roles playing the aggressive and protective brother. Soon he might become a substitute for Jackie Shroff. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, Chup Chup Ke isnu0026#39;t as silent as the title suggests. However despite itu0026#39;s loose (or loud) ends, it still manages to be a good family entertainer.”