Cheeni Kum

At the point in this romantic comedy where they are definitely getting interested in each other, Amitabh Bachchan and Tabu are sitting on a bench in a park in London, and she tells him animatedly to run to a tree across a meadow and touch it and run back. It's the kind of thing you tell a little boy to do -- a brilliant touch that captures so much of what's good about the movie: their fresh dynamic, her self-possessedness, his readiness, if reluctant, to step out of a somewhat ossified "grownup" character. I think you'd be sorry if you missed this, supposing you had a way of finding out what you'd missed.

I don't think light romantic comedy is easy to do - at all - and this movie does it very well -- there's not a sloppy or wince-inducing moment . Moreover there's the pleasure of a love story between grownup characters, an especially rare pleasure. Tabu and AB are really good together - it's nice to see them both matched in terms of their size, for one thing, and Tabu emanates the kind of intelligent, self-confident, unsentimental, serious young woman who often is happiest with an older man -- like Jo in Little Women.

Story takes place in both London and Delhi, which is fun. As everyone who's seen the previews knows, AB is an irritable and perfectionistic chef of 64 who owns a very successful restaurant, realistically filmed and with a pleasing cast of comic minor characters. He meets Tabu, a 34 year old visitor from India, via a character-establishing quarrel when she sends back a dish. And eventually there's her father in Delhi to deal with.

AB lives with his 90-year-old mother (Zora Seghal, she's the grandmother in most movies) and one of the great things about the movie is their totally mutually insulting relationship -- she is a horrible cook and he is very mean and funny about it; she watches wrestling and Sex and the City or something on TV all day and nags him to go to a gym. This is delightful in an Indian movie, as relief from the standard Mataji of the brimming-over compassionate gaze -- and we also unexpectedly see his deep reliance on her, and her availability, when something very distressing happens to him.

Alongside the AB-Tabu story is the story of AB's relationship with a little girl next door who has leukemia. She gives him advice and he promises her the "adult dvds" she wants to watch. And the scene where he goes into the video store and demands "adult dvds that are suitable for small children" is the kind of thing this movie excels at.

The presence in the story of people of all ages, from little girl to 90-year-old Mother, as well as Tabu's father who is younger than AB and thinks of himself as elderly (and carries on to AB about how AB is so-lucky to have been "old enough to see Gandhi-ji") -- all of them written as anti-stereotypes -- makes a very nice philsophical background score about life, love, and mortality.

I like the actual music a lot too - no "singing" by characters, but some nice scored passages that won't leave you, if Bollywood is your home, feeling exiled.

I am sure all of you would have got a fair idea about the movie by now. And also judged the strengths and weaknesses as well.

I am not too sure if Cheeni Kum is the first Bollywood movie which fits into this genre of "Sarcastic Comedy", but definitely there could be many more to follow. With the ad-man at the helm of affairs, its no wonder that every line of the movie seems to have been written by a copywriter.

Amitabh and Tabu share a great chemistry and for once you wonder if you have been focusing on Tabu's performance than Big B. Having said that Big B makes you wonder how can he still manage to look sexy at 64. Zohra Sehgal - every time she comes on the screen, you are ready for the next dose. Fanstastic performance indeed and the same for the little girl "Sexy" who gets one of the best lines in the movie. Paresh Rawal - after a long-long time you wonder how did he go wrong this time. Clearly there is big lacunae, wonder if its the script that is to be blamed. Rest of the star-cast do a perfect cog in the wheel.

Be it sunny and rainy side of London or the cool breeze of New Delhi - P C Sriram managed to capture all the seasons equal ease. Editing by Chandan Arora manages to keep the story crisp. Ilayaraja's music stays with you after the movie as well.

Having been to cinema with least expectations, I walked out of the hall with a single thought "Why can't Johar's & Chopra's make a delicacy like this?". On a parting note, Cheeni Kum seemed to have a a few similarities with DDLJ - different sensibilities though.

I think this is truly a marvelous film. Very well scripted, and even more wonderfully enacted. Amitabh is truly the King of Hindi movies, you just have to watch him in those suits and Tabu has come of age as a seasoned actress, Paresh Rawal is OK.

An unusual story depicted with very realistic situations and laced with light-hearted humour. Oh the movie has some really witty dialogues too.

The cutest bits are the scenes between Amitabh and Zohra Sehgal (who plays his mom in the movie). Another highlight is the role played by the child actor aptly named sexy, who is very witty and worldly wise.

I think the bottom line of the movie is that girls mature faster than men do and thus age should really not be a bar when one looks for a life-partner.

After a long time,(for Hindi movie-goers) one gets to see a movie and say Ya! that was a NICE movie. And definitely worth a second watch.

This movie is a novelty for India, a movie comprising mostly of intelligent, dialogue based humour rather than on situations (like Khosla ka Ghosla) or slapstick (most of the other Hindi movies that pretend to be comedies). Amitabh Bachchan is a crabby 64 year old chef / owner of an Indian restaurant in London. The first half depicts the growing relationship between himself and Tabu, a 34 year old woman from Delhi in London on a holiday. The second half primarily depicts Tabu's 58 year old father, Paresh Rawal's viewpoint on the relationship. There – that's it as far as the story goes…nothing more, nothing less… The true brilliance of the movie lies in the life / spark infused in even the simplest of situations or the simplest of characters. Whether it's the interaction amongst the chef's in the restaurant, the waiter hilariously nicknamed Colgate because of his protruding teeth and the jokes at their expense ('Iske Liye Dimaag Ki Zaroorat Hai, Daant Ki Nahin', he is gently admonished on one occasion), the Sardarji pharmacist and Amitabh's interactions with him, Amitabh's mom's fascination with the gym in the face of her sons obvious reluctance to go anywhere near it, his acerbic comments on his mom's cooking ('yeh Tihar Jail Waali Dal ?'), Paresh Rawal's love of cricket and Gandhism. I can go on and on. I was in near-hysterical splits on no less than 10 occasions. I'm still laughing as I remember some of the jokes….

And I haven't even mentioned Amitabh and Tabu – their running joke around the umbrella, the ruthless way she teases him the first time he tries to ask her out, their almost every conversation was beautifully constructed. The movie also captures amazingly well the highs and lows of falling in love. Will she come or wont she ? Will she say yes ? The mood swings, the heartache and the sheer exhilaration and joy when its all OK, when you're with your newfound love.

I think one of the casting coup's of the movie was Tabu. I watched this movie with a school friend of mine (Prashant) and we discussed her at length after the movie. The parts of the conversation I can print here involved her sheer beauty, her classic features (high cheekbones, eyes) and her subtleness…her understated yet enigmatic presence. She brings reality and a certain mystique to her character, makes acting seem so easy. I don't think there is another Bollywood actress who could have done justice to her role.

However, this doesn't detract in any way from any of the other performances in the movie. Everyone was excellent – from Amitabh to Paresh Rawal to each chef / waiter in the restaurant, Amitabh's neighbour and his daughter (a nice sub-plot here and at last we get a real child who talks like today's kids actually do, unlike the saccharine mumblings of the girl in TaraRumPum). The music, with the title song playing constantly in the background, the settings (even Qutab Minar looks beautiful in the movie), everything, like spices, enhance the brilliance of the dialogue.

Take a bow, Mr Balki (an ad maker and first time director). The entire audience gave a standing ovation when the movie ended. Is movie main kuch bhi kum nahin tha !

aaah! after a long time, here's a romance i could finally relate to. tabu and amitabh capture the long lost magic of romance that follows no reason or rhyme or logic or time, BANG ON! when you watch them both on screen, you realize how much a seasoned actor can do to a role. special mention to tabu, for playing her role at the right tempo - at just the right pace.

balki handles the film with finesse, in the first half. the lines are witty, delivered straight-facedly by amitabh, in what could be one of his most romantic roles. zohra sehgal is sooooo sweet, you wish she was your mom.paresh rawal is strictly okay.

watch this film without having too many expectations. its a nice, frothy romantic comedy and if you keep that in mind, you won't be disappointed. i give it a double thumbs-up