Chhapaak

CHHAPAAK REVIEW :-

Chhapaak says so many things from it's title itself if you see deep into it. If not then the trailer atleast gave so much idea about how the film is going to be. An untold and unnoticed story of Acid Attack victim Laxmi (Real Name) is told in Brilliant way by Director Meghna Gulzar and it's a safe bet to shatter your heart (if you have one for the sake of huminity).

The first question comes on this story is why did this strong story remained unnoticed and untouched before? Ultimately that was good because it got into the safe hands of a genius storyteller like Meghna Gulzar otherwise someone else might have spoiled something here. Chhapaak tells a journey of a young Beautiful Malti (Laxmi's character name in the film) who gets attacked by a relative with the Acid thrown on her face and then turning into Fighter Malti. The film also focuses on some judicial system problems in our country that how difficult is it to get the Justice and why we need to make some strict changes in our law.

Deepika Padukone as Malti delivers Best Performance of career till date. She is unstoppable from the first frame and remains unstoppable throughout the film. Many people had fear that Vikrant Massey's character might be sidelined in this woman centric film but wait... We are here for the One Man Show by Vikrant Massey as he gets the Best chance to shine as alone Male Lead Character in this Woman oriented drama. He gets to portray a big hearted guy Amol and connects us all quickly. Supporting cast is fantastic whether it is important scenes or the chorus ones.

The story of Laxmi (Malti) is very painful and you might feel offended at several occasions or might scream out watching her pain. The film makes you feel her pain and that's where the writer wins you over. The narrative looked brilliant, screenplay is highly engaging with almost no loo breaks and the scripting is fantastic too. Music is highly situational that makes every scene more exclusive and impactful. Especially "Chhapaak Title Song" is a slow poison that stays in mind even after leaving the theatre. Coming to the dialogues of the film, I mean one of the major winning aspect of the film for some valid reasons. Okay, this is a real story and you need some powerful hard hitting dialogues that will poke hard to the criminal minds & some other faulty systems of our country and Chhapaak does it with excellence.

How many women directors we have to name in Bollywood when it comes to Quality films? I guess hardly few. Meghna Gulzar should now top the list of best women directors in India. Why? Look at her filmography, especially when it comes to real events she has managed to shatter some myths and delusions about cinematic compromises. Talvar, Raazi and now Chhapaak.. Have to believe that Meghna Gulzar is doing quality work consistently.

Overall, Chhapaak is a lesson and inspiration to the two repulsive sides of our society respectively where one has humanity and the other one has cruelty. However the end of Malti's story is predictable but then there is one more heart wrenching scene in the last frame of the film which will force you to scream out. It's not for weak hearted people because one need to have strong guts to watch the film and feel it from the emotional quotient. Delivering perfect cinematic content Chhapaak might also change the life of Acid Attack victims and Normal people's perception about them.

RATING- 7/10*

Chhapaak - a doggedly determined acid attack survivor Malti Agarwal (Deepika Padukone) braves her physical, mental, social, economic and legal obstacles to ensure that the country becomes a safer place to live for women. She battles against poverty, social insecurity and apathy and government indifference towards her plea to make acid attack a separate crime under the penal code and ban the sale of the corrosive liquid that not just scars the face but also the soul, breaking down the victim's desire to live, confidence and willpower systematically. The attacker commits the crime, the rest of the society exacerbates it.

Succeed she does, with the help of a handful of sympathizers including an NGO and a kindly lawyer who support and lead her in every step, even when she breaks down and wants to quit in her 8 year long wait for justice. However, the statistics of the crime are grim - when acid sale was finally regulated in 2013 there were 113 cases of attack registered, whilst in 2017 with the controlled sales, the number had risen to 252. Imposition of law isn't a deterrent here, the social awareness and education would perhaps make the real difference.

The film directed by Meghna Gulzar is sombre. There's no scope of lighthearted moments here, as the film rarely strays from its path and focus. Malti's retraction from the society in the beginning and gradually regaining her confidence and zeal to bounce back to life has been shown poignantly. Vikrant Massey gives a muted, low brow but strong performance. Deepika I thought was good but often appeared to be herself instead of Malti. Her costumes were simple, but never repeated, which is unusual for the economic strata that the girl belonged to. The music and lyrics are appealing, kudos to Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Gulzar respectively. With a running time of 120 minutes, Chhapaak shuns melodrama, but often adopts a documentary style, and doesn't allow any character other than Deepika's to bloom, reducing everyone else into a mere distraction, rather than build on them.

When the trailer came, i knew this movie is gonna be LEGEND wait-for-it DARY. Legendary movirle it is. Though i am not a DP's fan nor have i watched any megha gulzar movie but this movie attracted me thus i ended up watching it. ACTING - everyone has done has great job and vikrant and deepika steals the show and the real acid warriors (not victim or survivor tbh they are warriors) are worth watching. Their smile nd everything is so damn good.

Overall this movie is must watch and i CAN SURELY SAY ONE THING THAT WHOEVER HAS GIVEN THIS MOVIE SUCH A LOW RATING ARE 80% THOSE FOOLS WHO ARE FOLLOWING #BOYCOTT trend and rest 20% could be genuine reviews :)) Though those 80% people are so dumb that they can't see beyond boycott trend nd all the work behind this movie :)) Worth watching...

This film does not live up to the expectations. The story was good but Deepika acting is so not up to the mark. There are flaws with continuity and depiction of real life situations. I would recommend to skip this flick.

Average acting got buried down by slow passing issue. Even through movie runtime is more then enough other characters where stay hidden or won't have much story to cover them and they did not got chance to show their range. And at the end I think casting of lead could have been better Kangna or Rani would have done far better job then this lead.