Chalte Chalte - Wohin das Schicksal uns führt

Chalte Chalte is no doubt a fully fledged Bollywood commercial venture with top stars, exotic foreign locations, expensive sets, colourful dances and melodious songs but at the same time it's a daring experiment in many ways. First of all, the story defies the set rules of development and plot construction: the boy and girl get married very early in the story and seemingly there is no emminent danger to their "living happily ever after" and at a time when you are expecting some external factors to pop up and spoil their happy marriage, the talented writer manages to create an effective and convincing internal conflict to keep the story within its logical confines. Secondly, the flash-back technique is used very intelligently: not merely for the sake of breaking the linear order of events, but to release the desired information in well calculated bits and pieces, inserted at the most appropriate places. Thirdly, the minor characters are so fully developed and so painstakingly dealt with that it reminds you of the great masters of characterisation in the Russian classics. It's a common observation in the Bollywood movies that the hero's friends or the heroine's female friends never match them in personality, performance or screen presence. The reason being two-fold: you can not financially afford to hire a good actor for a minor role and big stars are not available for minor roles anyway. The producer of Chalte Chalte however has manage to tackle this problem very successfully. He has hired a whole bunch of fresh faces...God knows from where?...and made them do exactly what was required. For the first time perhaps the status of a hero's minor friend has risen above an extra boy.

Finally I should pay tribute to Johny Leaver, who in his mellow role of a failed lover, has busted his own cliche of a jabbering clown.

I don't know why, but I get the feeling that a lot of the so-called critics mocking the way Hindi movies are done, are thinking it just isn't right.

I for one have come to accept the whole song and dance routine, the sometimes awful acting and outrageous production. (don't expect the song and dance routines to go away anytime soon guys, the companies make just as much money through their sales, as the movie, if not more than the movie takes in!)

But credit where credit is due. As I am writing this post at an early 4:30 on the 8th sept, the intro screen for the Chalte Chalte DVD is on repeat.

Having just watched (which always seems to make me apprehensive as to what I might be letting myself in for while I put any Hindi movie on) Chalte Chalte, I was totally blown away!

I never thought I was one for Hindi movies (I have a collection of over 400 Hollywood movies) because I believed that they were just silly! but, I have been proved wrong! Shah Rukh Khan is, as usual, fabulous, the story touches on a subject that most Asian families would rather sweep under the mat and put on fake smiles to!

But this is exactly what makes Chalte Chalte a cut above the rest movie, and where, in my opinion, is beginning to show how everything within these movies are progressing to higher levels.

Rani Mukherji has also put in a great performance as the trying to get blood out of a stone wife of SRK.

I would recommend Chalte Chalte to anyone whether you are die hard Hindi fans or not! My perceptions towards Hindi movies have completely changed after watching a string of titles... give it a bit more time, and I'm sure even western movie fans will be singing their praise! :)

Priya's (Rani Muherjee) performance as a controlling, dominating, "Nit picking" "Neat freak" wife was excellent +! Raj's(Shahrukh Khan)performance as a hard worker, responsible, faithful and romantic husband was Outstanding! Music, songs and dances were beautiful, lively and sexy. They looked like a lovely couple. They loved each other very much and were faithful to each other but it appeared that there were personality conflicts, and family class differences between them because Priya was from a upper class family and Raj was from a middle class family. According to Priya's family, Sameer was the ideal husband for pry, but Priya chose Raj as her husband.

Priya's aunt interfered in Priya's and Raj's marriage. She did not approve Priya's new friends whom she had met through Raj. She also did not approve Priya's life style and believed Priya was not leading a life style that her family had dreamed and had hoped for her.

Raj was positively proud of his hard work and his accomplishments as a business man. Knowing that how Priya's family felt about him, he felt inferior when he was around Priya's family especially aroungd Aunt Anna and Sameer as Sameer was the person Priya's parents had chosen for her as an ideal husband.

Priya did not compliment Raj in a party that was hosted by Sameer although she complimented Sameer. Feeling inferior and insecure, Raj had to ask a waiter about his suit and Watch while Priya was dancing with Sameer.

At home, Priya refused to eat dinner after Raj had complimented her cooking. She also refused to hug him after he had brought her flowers and vegetables and had washed the dishes after coming home working all day while Priya was a home maker.

Raj ran into financial difficulties with his business. He did not approach his father asking for help. He did not go to her relatives or friends asking for help. Priya did not approach her father for help. She did not go to her relatives and friends either. She went to Smaeer asking for help. He gave her 2.5 million rupees as a favior. Priya falsified to Raj about where she received the funds. When Raj had found out about from whom she got the money from, the hell broke loose. Later, Sameer made it look like only a loan.

Although Priya had admitted to Sameer it was wrong for her to accept money from Sameer, she never appolagized to Raj for accepting the money.

No one in the world is perfect. There are no perfect marriages in the whole world. Raj took all the blames. He fell on his keens and publicly appoligized to Priya, Aunt Anna and Sameer for every problems in their marriage.

Raj is a hard worker, family type of person, he loved Priya very very much and was a faithful husband to her.

After considering the type of person Raj is and if some like Raj was to be my husband, I would have eaten my dinner with him. I would have greeted him at the door with a hug or kiss when he had arrived with vegetables and flowers. I would not have nagged him every night about petty things until he had exploded. As a home maker, I would have put away his shoes and would have hung up his jacket after he had returned home from a hard day of work. I would have appoligized for being a nagging wife. I would have apolagized for requesting and accepting money from Sameer because it takes at least two to tangle

After a long time here is a film which entertains,delights and leaves one gasping at the brilliant acting. There are brief tedious patches when Shahrukh Khan and Rani are not on screen but those are few and far between. The story is very everyday -boy meets girl, falls instantly in love and wooes successfully this girl who is bit out of his world. But the Shahrukh charm is such that one wonders how she could have contemplated even for a week the thought of marrying some other chap even if she knew him from childhood. Delightful wooing scenes, lovely songs, very charming and sexy marriage episodes followed by quarrels. These are so believable that the audience is left gasping at the audacity of the rows. Luckily a happy ending and one is left feeling good and satisfied. I shall be very disappointed if SRK does not win every award for this year's best acting. Cant wait to see other Shahrukh films due this year.

I really liked this movie even if it's true in some scenes we feel bored and I think it could be better done.

Yet the songs are really nice. The landscapes also (especially the one in Europe). The story is simple but I think it was the intention of the producer (to produce something which relates the reality).

I give 7/10 to this movie especially for the songs and for the landscapes which take us miles away at least during 3 hours so we forget our problems and daily life to enter in the world of 2 "different" kind of lovers which 2 opposite personalities.

To watch more than one time because really enjoyable songs, musics and landscapes!