‘Chhichhore’ Movie Review: Leave everything and go watch this Nitesh Tiwari gem

Directed By
Nitesh Tiwari

Produced By
Sajid Nadiadwala

Cast
Sushant Singh Rajput, Shraddha Kapoor, Varun Sharma, Prateik Babbar, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Naveen Polishetty, Tushar Pandey, Saharsh Shukla, Rohit Chauhan, Nalneesh Neel.

Bollywood Bubble Rating
4/5

What’s It About:
Sushant Singh Rajput and Shraddha Kapoor’s son jumps off a building and is now critically ill. The reason is that he thinks he’s a loser in the eyes of his parents. Fighting for his life in the hospital, will the story of his parent’s college friendship with 6-7 other ‘Chhichhore’s be able to save him? Will he ever stop considering himself as a loser? Well, that’s what the story is all about.

What’s Hot:
First of all, let’s get this thing out: THIS IS NOT ‘3 IDIOTS’. It’s a different story and plot and the maximum similarity which you can think of to the Rajkumar Hirani film is that even this one has friendship at its core and even this one has a strong message at the end.

Nitesh Tiwari’s direction and storytelling are simply superb. He hasn’t faltered anywhere. The story seems to have come right out of his heart and that’s why it connects so beautifully with you just in the first 15 minutes of the show starting. He has this amazing ability to make you laugh your guts out in one college scene and in the very next scene, set in the present day, he makes you moist-eyed. I am not saying it for effect, but the storytelling genuinely makes you teary-eyed. After ‘Chhillar Party’, ‘Bhootnath Returns’ and ‘Dangal’ people were expecting a lot from him, and he comes up with a gem in ‘Chhichhore’.

All the characters are brilliant. Most of our Bollywood films are led on the shoulders of the protagonist, whom we refer to as the ‘hero’ of the movie, but ‘Chhichhore’ breaks the norm. You can’t call this a Sushant Singh Rajput film or a Shraddha Kapoor film. It’s equally a Tahir Raj Bhasin film, it’s equally a Varun Sharma film and likewise for the rest of the cast. Every actor has been given proper screen space and they have mastered that one particular character to the best.

To be fair, the movie plays on nostalgia right from the very first scene. From the Gold Spot bottles to the high waisted jeans pants, it was everywhere. While on one side you will be made to ponder as to how your life has changed or is going to change when you are 45, the other side makes you wonder why you’ve lost touch with your college buddies without whom you couldn’t spend even a single waking moment in those 4-5 years of college life.

The dialogues are hilarious when it depicts the college life and thought-provoking when it’s portraying the 45-year olds. The cinematography, by Amalendu Chowdhary, is perfect. The way he has brought in 1992 in today’s times with perfect precision is applaudable.

The songs, by Pritam, are decently placed as they aren’t something that takes you away from the storyline. They mostly keep playing in the background while the story moves forward. Even the end credits song, ‘Fikar Not’, is so well-timed that it will make you keep pondering over the strong message which was just delivered in the climax.

Talking of the climax, it does have a really strong message. While many of you might think it’s a take on the education system, something which ‘3 Idiots’ also had, this isn’t that. The message will make you want to call your parents or sons/daughters. Also, many times a message giving film become really boring and preachy at the climax – this is not one of those films.

The best part about the film is the relatability of the characters. We all have had a ‘Sexa’ in our college life who cannot stop thinking of sex all day. We all have had a ‘Derek’ who is the hottie but always stays secluded in his room. We all have had a ‘Mummy’ who keeps crying throughout the day about missing their homes. We all have had a ‘Bevda’ who thinks of leaving drinking every day, but isn’t able to ever. We all have had an ‘Acid’ who cannot stop using cuss words in every sentence of his. It’s that, along with the message at the end, which makes this worth every penny.

What’s Not:
The name ‘Chhichhore’ doesn’t properly justify the movie. It could have been named better, as there would be a whole lot of people who would think that this is just a ‘fukra’ movie, which it isn’t.

No complaints on any of the actors, but I think Shraddha Kapoor was left as just the pretty face in the film. She didn’t have too much to do as most of the fun and emotional scenes were based heavily on the male characters. Even Saharsh Shukla, who plays Bevda and enters only in the 2nd half, seems to have had more screen time than Shraddha.

The lead up to the scene where Sushant Singh Rajput and Shraddha Kapoor’s son jumps off the balcony of his friend’s apartment was a little bit predictable. Seeing the little boy cry and talk to his friend sitting in the balcony, and then walking furiously on the edge of the balcony holding on to the railing, made it pretty much obvious that he was going to jump off.

There’s hardly anything else which you wouldn’t like in this Nitesh Tiwari gem.

Verdict:
MUST WATCH! If you’ve ever stayed in a hostel or in a PG with friends, you would relate to it right from the very first scene.

Box-Office:
Now, this is tricky, as the film hasn’t been marketed too much. It will have to rely heavily on great word-of-mouth publicity and some wonderful reviews from critics. Sushant Singh Rajput too hasn’t been having a great run at the movies to draw in the masses to the theatres. If it picks up in the first and second day, it might go on to run for a really long time at the ticket windows.

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Also Read: ‘Saaho’ Movie Review: Prabhas-Shraddha Kapoor’s sleek actioner turns out to be a massive let down

Prateek Sur

Born a Movie Buff, working as a Film Critique and enjoying life as a Bollywood Reporter.

Email: editor@bollywoodbubble.com Phone: +91 8355910465