Chalte Chalte - Wohin das Schicksal uns führt

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!

What can I say about Chalte Chalte?

The cast was excellent as were their portrayal of the individual characters, with Rani shining out the most. She has come a long way from her days in Ghulam, and with her last few performances, she is sure to take the place that Kajol held. She looks classic, acts flawlessly in both emotional and comedic scenes and seems natural. SRK, what is there to say about him hat has not already been said - he is on par with his other performances.

The story is entertaining and patchily scripted with a few flaws and surprises. I have to say that I expected a lot out of this movie, but inevitably it was a concatenation of a other bollywood movies with storylines being nicked from movies such as Saathiya, DDLJ and Hum Tumhare Hai Sanam. Never the less, the songs were good, direction was professional and it was good to see other locations apart from Switzerland.

I had to issues with this though: 1 - why did they not use Johnny Lever to his full potential?

2 - why is it necessary to have a happy ending? Priyas own words were: even though you love each other it is sometimes not possible for a couple to be together. This is a way of live. With their excellent portrayal of married couple squabbles, it was unjust to say that they would forget everything and go back to being a happy couple? IF they had separated as couples do, it would have being a truly realistic movie and a step for bollywood in acknowledging that all things are not lubby-dubby.

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 quite like this film. It seems superficially like Saathiya but is also quite different. Shahrukh plays a self made small time transport business owner and is a very down to earth character. He meets a rich high society girl, played by Rani, and falls for her. He "misplaces" her and then after much searching finds her only to be told she is marrying an old friend in Greece. So off to Greece we go and by the end of the trip she is convinced she loves this man - she never did profess to love her childhood friend. They marry and then the story takes us into an inside look at the marriage between two opposites. Sparks fly, fights are followed by reconciliations until there is an irreconcilable misunderstanding over money and a major rift occurs. She goes off to her family, and he is left to pine... There is an inevitable happy ending, but do things resolve themselves as expected? Not really, and this is where I find Chalte Chalte most endearing. It is quite usual to show "reformed" characters, ideal solutions, in Hindi cinema. Chalte Chalte tells us that in relationships one must accept one's partner for what he or she is and not expect that they will magically be altered or reformed to fit our idealized version.

I found SRK's portrayal of Raj the transport biz owner very authentic. His romancing Priya (Rani) was sweet and never very over the top - yes I even liked the hokey feel of Gumshuda, and Suno Na Suno Na was divine in sound and picturization. The same old romantic dude? Perhaps, but much more vulnerable and real this time around. I liked his drunk act, his trashing the apartment. The one OTT moment was at the airport. Rani was fabulous as Priya, stunning in looks and in her conflicts with Raj. This movie was when I first felt that she was a serious actress. Taube Tumahre yeh Ishare - that was one sweet love ballad. Lillette Dubey was a little OTT but I like her so that was no big deal.

The music was good, and Prem Nagariya reminded me so much of Aisa Des hai mera (Veer Zaara) - but it came before!! Overall - I gave Chalte Chalte an 8 because I liked the story, the music, the acting and most of all the reality that it is hard for human beings to change what is their true nature.

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! :)