Chehre REVIEW: Even Amitabh Bachchan’s extended monologue can’t save this film

Chehre movie cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Emraan Hashmi, Rhea Chakraborty, Krystal D’Souza, Annu Kapoor
Chehre movie director: Rumy Jafry
Bubble movie rating: 2 stars

Releasing in: Theatres

A climax meant to leave a lasting impact and move you ends up getting muffled yawns. Cancel that, it’s not only the climax I am talking about. Chehre starts with an intent of doing something unique and probably leaves you with a cinematic experience of a different kind, but fails majorly due to its boring screenplay and overtly stretched monologue, which garners little or no response. Chehre is about exposing the different facades and masks people wear in the garb of society, but it ends up being a dummy. If dealt differently, it could have meant so much more. Rumy Jafry tries to dabble with a lot of subjects together which ends up making a khichdi with extra salt which automatically doesn’t appeal to your taste palette.

The first scene opens in a snow-covered hill station with rather scary roads and a BMW with Emraan Hashmi (Sameer) behind the wheels. It was okay till I saw that the location was supposedly some place between Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. It felt unbelievable to me and understandably so, the scene was apparently shot in Poland. Okay. Next up, the film takes another 35 mins to set the plot and another one hour to build up. I don’t necessarily have a problem with the length in the first half but the second half seems painfully long. The last 20 mins especially felt like 2 hours because of lack of originality. The monologue though powerfully delivered, must admit, lacked the power. It failed to leave the desired impact. Honestly, to me, it felt like a rerun of a news bulletin. It is not Amitabh Bachchan’s fault in that though. He is phenomenons, to be honest, but it is the dialogues that lacked the punch. Big B is effortless as a prosecutor and relentlessly fierce throughout.

Emraan Hashmi, Raghubir Yadav, Anu Kapoor, Dhritiman Chatterjee have the maximum screen space throughout and are characters set up in a rustic old villa situated on the outskirts of the hill. What initially felt like an old age home later becomes an adda for some scary courtroom drama. The senior men, all having a background from the field of law, turn up the heat with a game they like to play which is a game of law. But, it is not just a game in reality. It is their effort for a judgement recourse which is shocking and different, sure but also unbelievable. Emraan Hashmi is effortless and interesting as Sameer. He brings in a certain level of charm and nonchalant-ness to him and it makes you invested in his character. Krystle Dsouza makes a noticeable debut with Chehre. She plays a rich spoilt trophy wife and is believable in most parts. However, she can definitely improve in some scenes which require more spontaneity perhaps. Nonetheless, there was room to perform for Krystle. Speaking of performance, Siddhant Kapoor too as an ex-convict was mostly silent but his presence was noticeable. However, Rhea Chakraborty failed to move an inch of emotion. In scenes, where she seems triggered after being gifted a butterfly ends up evoking mocking laughter than a genuine smile which perhaps was the intent behind the scene. The lesser I say about her the better.

The cinematography and the courtroom setup were aesthetically done. There were elements used which keeps you on the edge but eventually it is more or less predictable. The music is decent but nothing that will remain in your mind for a long time. The chemistry between Emraan and Big B mostly works and perhaps one of the reasons why you should watch Chehre.

Also Read: Exclusive: Rhea Chakraborty’s role has not been increased or chopped off: Chehre producer reveals why actress was hardly seen in trailer

Bhavna Agarwal

Assistant Editor at Bollywood Bubble. An ambivert who is currently high on K-dramas and K-Pop. A forever Bollywood fan, who continues to gush over solid stories and characters. Hit me up for a fine conversation over chai.

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