Chhalaang (2020, Movie Review)

Indian Hindi-language comedy produced by Ajay Devgan & others and presented by Bhushan Kumar. Chhalaang starring Rajkumar Rao and Nushrat Bharucha comes from the stable of Hansal Mehta who apart from several other TV shows and films is especially regarded for his solid cerebral stuff in Aligarh. Chhalaang revolves around an accidental sports teacher, played by his long time muse Rajkumar Rao, whose inability to persevere beyond a point, has been his undoing for a good part of his growing up years.

Chhalaang is all about that “leap” that he eventually takes to prove himself - to his lady love and beyond! The narrative follows a predictable pattern that a lot of successful Bollywood sports films have done in recent past - however in essence, in several ways, it is closest to Prakash Jha’s debut venture Hip Hip Hurray. While there is a feel-good factor to any such sports movie with poetic justice, the movie never manages to create the cinematic impact that outdoor action scenes especially in the climax stages manage to offer. What probably stands out for the film though, is some simple yet effective social messaging that Mehta manages to infuse in an otherwise run-down genre - especially one on one between Venkat Mehat (Saurabh Shukla) and Usha Gehlot (Ila Arun), in my opinion, is a high point in the film. Beyond these, the storyline, IMO has several jarring notes which look rather bizarre, but I would leave that to the ultimate judgement of the viewers. Rajkumar Rao, who has been growing by leaps and bounds as an actor and impressed us once again, He delivers the transformation of his character rather effortlessly and provides several rich moments for his fans. Two masters of situational comedy Kamlesh Singh (Satish Kaushik) and Venkat Mehat (Saurabh Shukla) play important roles to keep the film alive. Usha Ghelot (Ila Arun) as the principal of the school is just about okay. The extremely charming Neelu (Nusrat Bharucha) playing the female lead to Rajkumar Rao struggles to get in, though one can make out that she tries quite hard. Dimpy (Jatin Sarna) and Akash (Zeeshan Ayub) play their roles well. Overall Chlalaang, though not disappointing, somewhat flatters to deceive. It, however, is still a very good watch for a lazy Sunday afternoon that can ensure a very positive start to the week. If you are a parent whose kid is showing a promise in sports it has got a strong message at the end of the movie.

Would have given it 4 stars but Rajkumar Rao just pulls my finger towards the fifth one. This said I will add that this man is the epitome of versatility. Wring out 50 emotions in a minute and he will do it in such a smooth manner that you will think it's natural and we'll forget that this man is really acting. He is the one who has kept the acting word in action. Now going to the plot of the movie, The film starts well with humour at parts to keep you alive and alive with entertainment, the characters are also well written and the chemistry goes well between Rajkumar Rao and Nushrat Barucha, the film takes a predictable turn once the love triangle is established on the entry of Zeeshan Ayub. It’s simple and the theme comes out well that the protagonist of the story has to win. The question is how?

This is a motivational journey of a casual PT teacher jisne Zindagi mein sirf chhoda hai. Kabhi, science Kabhi LLB, Kabhi state-level competition because vo harne se darta tha. With his reputation and love at stake, he finds out his real self. It’s a movie that gives you a good happy lingering feeling where all characters change at some point in time. The direction is neat and there are no loopholes as such, apart from its predictability which acts as a catalyst on the contrary and pulls the movie forward. All the characters are as usual outstanding. The song chchalang is powerful. And the humour quotient is the need of the pandemic hour. I will suggest you give it a watch.