Respingo

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.

Story is light, so is the acting. The characters are supposed to reflect real stories, but there is no effort put to show the real background of the culprit and the culture and thinking he grew up with. Real life character was much worse. If this is based on true events then it should be true to the characters.

First of all let me mention i am a great fan of Dipika Padukone and have watched every single movie of her but when it comes to chhapaak this movie is special . Hats off to actors they did a great job . Chhapaak title track is amazing . My parents somewhere felt that let's not go for this movie it might be depressing but after seeing this movie let me tell they were so happy and they mentioned that our persoective towards this movie was wrong because it's not at all depressing to see someone's struggle and that courageous person fight through it .

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 opening scene is small but uncomfortable. Some might say it presents a tragic truth, where victims are forced to measure their victim-ness against one another to earn the right of justice.

The movie reminds us of the heinous masculinity of a crime aimed solely at defacing a woman in an optical culture that equates societal worth with physical beauty. It's a calculated choice that the woman is played by a mainstream actress, from a film industry notorious for fetishizing her glamour over all else; this way, the transformation hits the average viewer harder.

We don't quite get to know Malti beyond the legacy of her life's events. The story doesn't pause to know her either. She exists - in a thinner texture of flesh and blood - mostly because Laxmi does.

A storyteller's rage is not a bad thing. The intent is right, but the execution feels awkward.

The timeline feels oddly cold-blooded. It leaps from one version of Malti to another. The screenplay overcompensates for the pace. The men in the background are either stereotypical idiots (male reporters ask insensitive questions) or unrealistic angels (the surgeon is annoyingly cheerful; the lawyer's husband serves tea and parathas to the "ladies of the house" so that she can save the world).

The little touches are nice: Malti laughs with pursed lips, thereby evoking a face that had to reconstruct its smile in a way that hurt the least. She speaks less, but places more gravity on her words (because maybe that's all she has) - a trait that allows the dialogue-ish nature of her lines sound organic.

Vikrant Massey and his idealism forces her to balance it out by being a tender, soft-spoken - and better - woman. She is the ice to his fire, even though she wears fire on her face.