Chandni Bar

What worked:

• an inner view of the life of the bar girl in Mumbai; some of the plots seemed stereotypical but indeed true to the fact
• strong screenplay and lead actors

What did not work:

• maybe the ending was necessary the way it was, but we could hope for some alternative endings with something optimistic. However, the ending is still as powerful as it should have been

Final verdict: Recommended.

Chandni Bar is an intrguing film and, to this day, remains Madhur Bhandarkar's best film. Bhandarkar gives us a glimpse into the filthy world of Mumbai's lower strata of prostitution, and it is a very truthful look at once. I'm not going to drag it, the one who gives the film its realistic edge and poignancy is its leading lady. Tabu is tremendous in this film - totally there, committed, real, and very credible. You really feel for her throughout the film and want her best interest. She lives her role rather than just playing it and even though she is at times lacking in energy, she is the film; nothing else in it works as well as her story and superlative performance. She is well supported by a competent Atul Kulkarni as the tough but kind husband, and Anaya Khare gives a remarkably realistic performance in a tiny short role with just a few scenes to deliver. Chandni Bar is gritty, gripping, and for the most part rings true, which is a surprise considering the director's other works. Sadly Bhandarkar seems to have fallen too much in love with the idea of showing "the dark side of" that his next projects revolved around similar ideas but focused on providing the viewers some shock value, with much less credibility. Chandni Bar is one piece he could always be proud of, it is worth a watch as a film, and the brilliant Tabu remains its prime asset.

Although I rented this movie on Video, I am still very moved by it. It was quite an experience. Hats off to the director and all the actors especially Tabu & Atul Kulkarni are very effective. The director has done a lot of non-routine stuff like the narration, the lights, the bar songs and background music etc. Hopefully the people get the right message the director wants to convey.

"Chandni Bar" is the BEST movie to come out of Bollywood in 4 decades. Its a brave film, speaking unabashedly about the seemy underbelly of Bombay (and YES it is and always will be Bombay to many), about the nexus between crime and the corrupt police in this city, about sin and the hope of redemption dashed by a vicious system. No wonder this was NOT India's entry to the Oscars....our politicians would be loathe to export something that could "create a bad impression" (they sent the ghastly jingoistic "Lagaan" instead). Pity, because, as an example of cinema verite at its grittiest, it would have probably won. Tabu would have definitely been in the running for Best Actress --- her performance is a study in truth and control. I happened to meet her on a plane and asked whether the film was shot more-or-less in sequence; and she answered in the affirmative --- no doubt this helped her create a slowly-intensifying graph of emotion, peaking at her gut-wrenching howls in the final scene. Her subtlety and sensitivity in the role of the dance-hall girl have had few equals seen by this writer in the cinema. Also the film's design, capturing the slums, back-alleys, police-stations and of course the seedy, sexual, smoky, boozy atmosphere of the dance-bar (changing its decor and its music with the passage of time in the plot) has an attention to detail and a REALISM that anyone who has ever been to these places will marvel at. Bravo to all concerned....and now may we PLEASE have this available on DVD?

Thanks to the plethora of movie and music channels, the 'non-commercial' movies of today get enough and sometimes, extra publicity. Hyderabad Blues gave some distributors the confidence to venture out with such movies.

As is obvious from the title of the movie and from the promos on TV channels, the story revolves around the central character, Mumtaz, and her life and times as a "beer-bar" dancer. Rather than just narrating one particular story, the movie tries to document the misery in the lives of such people.

Hats off to Madhur Bhandarkar for boldly doing a movie the way he wanted to do it. The movie hits you on your face even more than Satya (to which it has drawn comparisons), primarily because of the absence of commercial elements (including songs). The movie is raw yet clean.

But the other half of the credit should go to Tabu, who stakes her claim for a second National Award, with a sensitive portrayal. The only problem is that she tends to maintain a kind of laziness in all her roles. The other actors are adequate and play characters which move in and out of Mumtaz's life. Raju Singh's background score is a good supplement to the movie, though it sounds eerie at times.

This movie is strictly not for entertainment. Just go out and get the satisfaction of watching a good movie.