Chaalbaaz

Chaalbaaz review :

Based on the staple plot of twins separating at birth and circumstances leading to role reversals later, it is Sridevi who carries the film on her very capable shoulders, displaying incredible range by playing the alcoholic trickster Manju and her coy and repressed twin sister Anju.

Infact, the two male leads - Sunny Deol and Rajinikanth are mostly relegated to being bystanders getting a few fights and some hilarious one liners. One of them -"Aaj Sunday hai, aaj Sunday hai, toh daru peene ka din hai " mouthed by the thailavar himself has become a way of life for many...but Chaalbaaz is primarily a Sridevi film and she makes the best out of it.

Her sob story to creditors, run-ins with Sunny Deol at a bar where he offers her a drink and beating the hell out of Shakti Kapoor after tricking him in to a massage are some of the film's high points. Coming to that bar scene, the film even in the late 80's was refreshingly unpretentious enough to let a lady enjoy her drinks without attempting to label her or reform her in any way. Bravo!

Director Pankuj Parashar keeps the serious moments to the minimum - the atrocities committed on Anju by her buck toothed uncle (Anupam Kher) are not overdone - and concentrates more on the masti element. Technically too, the movie is impressive and a couple of Laxmikant-Pyarelal's songs score are noteworthy, particularly Sridevi's rain dance in "Naa jaane kahan se aayi hai"

The supporting cast delivers big time - Shakti Kapoor as Battuknath Lallanprasad Malpani is the perfect comic villain, idiotic enough to get robbed by a street beggar (Kader Khan in a two minute unforgettable cameo) and also devious enough to harass Anju to call him her "Balma". Rohini Hattangadi gets to show her evil streak as Amba, Anju's tormentor. The ever dependable Anupam Kher plays the evil uncle Tribhuvan as a criss cross between KN Singh and Mukri.

Undoubtedly, Chaalbaaz provides wholesome entertainment for all ages with Sridevi demonstrating true "Girl Power"...

Recommended watch (or re-watch if you have seen it earlier)!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

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.

This film is a pain to watch. Not because of technical flaws or performance (it's an 80s film, so one must be quite tolerant), Sridevi is a great actress and dancer, but the story is terrible. There is just no way to enjoy this film. It shows such gut-wrenching abuse of the one twin role of Sridevi, Anju, and the whole film long you see the poor girl being broken and exploited. The film has some good intentions, which is to accuse the men's society of ruining the lives of women, but this film is so mercy-less and seems to right-out enjoy the Anju being abused, that the message becomes a farce. The ending does not help this film either, they spoiled it. I have not seen many Bollywood films before the 1990s, but I would say this one is special. Special because of Sridevi, but also infamous because of its cruelty. Just maddening and gut-wrenching.

There are so many things that I like in Chaalbaaz, and then, there are so many things because of which I would never want to see it again. I like its craziness but I hate its stupidity. Chaalbaaz is a mere copy of the 1972 classic Seeta Aur Geeta. Clearly, this one is not a patch on Ramesh Sippy's timeless comedy of errors, and well, frankly, the fact that these two films are compared is an insult to Seeta Aur Geeta. Chalbaaz just lacks the latter's excellent script, great humour, music, light comic mood, and of course the performances. Hema Malini's performance is unmatched, and here the director actually turns the twin sisters into some hysteric and mentally unstable damsels in distress. Then there's the element which many people disliked the film for. While the film aims to be a comedy, there's one really disturbing part in it, and it is the way Anju is abused by her uncle and his wife - it is hugely exaggerated, but very often far from funny because not once does it appear downright sadistic. The action sequences are poorly handled and actually there's too much of them.

Sridevi is an excellent actress, but just like with the film, I like and dislike her performance in equal parts. I liked the fact that she evidently highly enjoyed playing her part, I liked her spontaneity, and her neurotic dance numbers were truly outstanding. It is her portrayal of the scared and frightened Anju that I liked more, as she was so intensely involved with the character. The role of Manju, the street smart lost sister, is totally over-the-top. She is not just brave and defensive, but a violent idiot. And it's not Sridevi's fault, she is just let down by the script and forced to ham it up. The leading actors are very average, while the two who actually understand the film's mindless mood and act accordingly are Anupam Kher and Rohini Hattangadi, who are very good and easy to hate. It's of course a masala flick and one should never take it too seriously but then it's not a very good film even as mindless entertainment, and sadly so, because this is the kind of story which could churn out a terrific comedy of errors, a goal this film unfortunately never manages to achieve.