Chaalbaaz

Chaalbaaz was one of the best comedies of the late 80s with some landmark performances from Sridevi in a double role , Anupam Kher as the evil uncle Tribhuvan Das , Shakti Kapoor ,Rohini Hattangadi and Rajnikant.The movie also has Annu Kapoor in a special role and a young Aftab Shivdasani as Sridevis young brother.It also won Sridevi a Best Actress Award for 1989.The " Jaani ye Chaaku hai" scene is legendary and unforgettable.A typical bollywood formula film with Twin Sisters separated at birth and with strikingly different personalities .Sridevi was the real " Hero" of the film .I remember I had copied it on my VCR as a kid and used to watch it everyday ! A most memorable film .

I watched Seeta aur Geeta and Chaalbaaz but found the former had a better flow to the story, better calibre of acting, songs were melodious. Over and above that you have the classic beauty of Hema malini. Sunny Deol was decent, while Rajnikanth's comedy was good in parts. The fights especially Sridevi 's did evolve since the 70s. Sridevi's acting though was a bit exaggerated and over the top. If you watched this movie in the 80s you wouldn't mind it, but if you are watching it in this century you might not appreciate it as much. Anupam Kher and Shakti had their moments of laughter. There was a scene where Anu Kapoor's dark hair was clearly seen peeking from underneath his white wig. The shot changed but the director did not bother to correct the error. The authenticity of the scene was totally compromised. There were other scenes where the disparity in the quality of direction was apparent between Ramesh Sippy and Pankaj Parashar. There is some entertainment value but don't expect too much.

Sri Devi is at her best in this Hindi comedy/action movie. She plays a dual role and as usual is perfect in both parts ,great supporting actors and a corny but lovable story. Well worth watching.

Who so ever is giving less than 10 for this film , can they quote any other comedy acting which is better and more suited to the environment as created in the film? In this film , a comical situation is created more and appropriately comical by the "The Sridevi". This film further enhances the status of her as similar film "Seeta and Geeta" was the inspiration and other than the storyline , none was similar to Seeta and Geeta. Infact Sridevi enhances and creates entire new level of comedy thus inspiring other actors and directors like Madhuri Dixit , Karishma Kapoor , David Dhawan to say the least and none could reach even the 1% of what Sridevi did ? Infact she herself could not emulate until she acted in Judai. It would not be exaggeration to say that she deserves national award for best actress , atleast for comedy.

Having read the previous negative review posted by Gunsha, all i can say is that she seems to have completely missed the point.

Chaalbaaz is an all out entertainer which shows no pretence of being anything other than a wholesome fun family entertainer.

This film has everything that is good about Hindi cinema, excellent songs, dialogue, action and above all side splitting comedy. Sridevi & Rajnikant fans won't be disappointed, as they perform to the height of their iconic status'.

Chaalbaaz is a timeless masterpiece, a text book reference on what Hindi entertainment is. Though the film was made 15 years ago in an era when Shakti Kapoor & Anupam Kher weren't annoying & when Sunny Deol was able to give a restrained performance. It's brand of comic humour, far from appearing stale, comes across just as fresh as when it was 1st made (in fact David Dhawan could learn a thing or two on what REAL comedy is, by watching this). Definitely one of the definitive movies of the 90's.

Classic Scene : Shakti Kapoor mistaking Anupam Kher for the "Ghar ka naukar"

Watch it with friends & prepare to laugh your socks off!