Customer Reviews

Cheeni Kum (Amitabh Bachchan)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this movie! Tabu and AB together is a treat. Although the movie tackles a very touchy subject, a May-December relationship, you never really get the sense that it's about age until the groom to be has to go to India and ask for the bride to be's father to marry his daughter. But between them, it was never about age. It's about two people, mature and intellignet people, who weren't necessaritly looking for love or relationship, met and eventually fell in love. I love the humor in the movie and no other actors, and really, could have played these roles of Bhuddhadev Gupta and Nina Verma better than Tabu and AB. Tabu and AB are two of the best and most versatile actors in Indian Cinema. Not many actresses could have stood up to par with AB but Tabu did. She played her character to a T and with confidence. You never sense that she was intimidated. She was in fact very confident. Her character was a breath of fresh air. And AB was great and very funny. His charcater is often at a loss for words when he tries to play it cool with Tabu's character who answers him with a straight-face, so you never know if she's kidding or not.

The supporting cast is umpecable. The 9-year od Sexy played by a very adorable Swini Khara was fantastic. She's very mature beyond her years. The great Zohra Sehgal, who plays AB's mother is funny and sarcastic. And Paresh Rawal who plays Nina's Dad is also a comic relief.

The Inidan Cinema is changing and it's for the better. I like that there was no dancing and singing in the movie. This movie was not meant to be a cute romance. The difference between this movie and Nishabd, which was received poorly by the audience and the critics, is the undertones of lust and sex. AB's character isn't going through mid-life crisis in this movie. He just fell in love with Tabu's character. The progression was natural.

Last but not least, it is so nice to see Tabu in a light role. She's never looked better. I loved that she wasn't glamourized in the movie. She was natural and so very beautiful. Every movie with Tabu is always a treat.

This movie won't change your life, but it will help you spend a nice time... I really enjoyed AB's acting here and the topics is treated in a light and teneder way...It has not much of singing and dancing and to me this is not a bad thing, anyway I really liked the theme song.

In Balakrishan's Cheeni Kum (2007) love knows no boundaries. Surrounding the "sugar-free romance" of two unlikely individuals, he parades his romantic comedy that both tickles your funny bone and touches your heart.
Buddha (played by Amitabh Bachchan) the 64-year-old, cynical head chef of the" finest Indian restaurant in London", falls for 34-year-old Neena (played by Tabu), a tourist who dines at his restaurant and boldly criticizes its top dish. Take a cup of Buddah's sarcastic banter, mix it with three teaspoons of Neena's flirtatious wiliness and you have a recipe for undeniable romance.
This recipe of perfection is only soured by Neena's father's objection to the marriage and the childish measures he takes in an attempt to spoil their love. Six years Buddha's junior, Neena's father believes that Buddha is a preposterous match for his darling daughter and therefore refuses to eat until the relationship is called off. Buddha's immense strong-will is emphasized through the use of high-angle shots as he attempts to convince Neena's father of his perpetual love for his daughter. Gazing up at Buddha, Neena's father appears inferior- an element foreshadowing his eventual consent.
But the recipe's not finished! Let's not forget a dash of Sexy- Buddah's 9-year-old neighbor and best friend! Amusingly portrayed as Buddah's conscience and confidant, Balakrishan's creation of this sarcastically charming character as well as the play of her relationship with Buddah alongside his relationship with Neena is brilliant. When Buddha and Sexy are seen sitting in the park, low-angle shots accentuate Sexy's towering wisdom over Buddha as she gives him advice about life and love. Here, Sexy seems bigger, an element true to her character but still likely to summon a laugh.
Sexy's role in Buddha's life causes many ironically conflicting events to those concerning his relationship with Neena. Towards the end of the film, the crosscutting between Sexy's life-threatening illness and Neena's dwindling patience creates a sense of incredible intensity. The audience is exposed to the stress of dual responsibility that Buddha is going through and finds themselves just as torn as he is.
Balakrishan does a wonderful job with Cheeni Kum in romanticizing the controversial issue of age gaps in marriage. With a few comic twists, Sugarholics beware; this delightful comedic romance is far from sweet.

This may, by its technical definition, be a "Bollywood" movie, but it's far from typical fare from the Indian subcontinent. There's really no dancing and prancing about, and while there is musical accompaniment to a montage-scene, it's brief and the characters don't sing "themselves" (as if anyone believes that most Indian actors in Bollywood films are doing anything but lip-syncing, but...). In addition, the characters' attitudes about sex are far different from the "only-inside-marriage" view that comes across in most Indian movies - and the attitude towards marriage is fairly cynical. Even so, the sexual "action" doesn't really go beyond heavy innuendo, and the focus is just as much on the comedy as on the romance. Even though there are tragic, serious, and touching moments, the comedy often manages to shine through, making the movie fairly well-balanced. The only thing I was disappointed with was the fact that I wasn't sure, even at the end, whether some of the more "hard-edge" characters had actually become softer...I never heard a "sorry."

Cheeni Kum is about 64-year-old Buddhadev Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan), a grouchy uptight owner of London's top Indian restaurant `Spice6.' He meets a 34-year-old unmarried woman by the name of Nina Verma (Tabu). They are both from Delhi, but unexpectedly meet when Nina complains about the Zafrani Pulav while eating at his restaurant. Buddha does not take it well, and after an argument in the restaurant, Nina leaves with her friend in an uproar. Days later, Buddha meets her again outside of the restaurant, and from then on it is a story of their growing relationship and love for each other. They soon decide on marriage, and their biggest struggle is breaking the news to Nina's diabetic father, who is six years younger than Buddha. Her father doesn't respect their decision, and Buddha believes it is due to jealously and envy of their affection for each other.
The Main theme of the movie is "less sugar." Going back to the incident where Nina criticized the dinner, she said that it was too sweet, and real Zafrani Pulav doesn't have sugar. This theme continues throughout the movie. Less sugar equals more originality and purity. They are both single and looking for sexual relations, and during the course of the movie they really don't bead around the bush with sexually expressing themselves. Usually in Bollywood Cinema, the emotions and feelings of the characters are delicately implied, but in Cheeni Kum, the older characters are more mature and outgoing.
One scene that caught my attention was when Buddha's chefs made him a cake and were putting the candles on it, one for each year of his life. They put 64 candles on the cake. While no one was looking, Buddha took off five candles due to his embarrassment of his age. Also, Nina was coming to the restaurant for his birthday, and he didn't want her to find out his true age. One employee, Colgate, tries to tell Nina how old Buddha is, but he shoves cake in his mouth before he can't spit out the words "sixty four." This serves the plot because later Nina's father made Buddha conscious about his age.
Camera angles that caught my attention were the close-ups on the unique and colorful foods in the kitchen of Spice6. So many different foods were being prepared and the shots were amazing in the kitchen. The uses of these shots were to show how luxurious the restaurant is and how much power and responsibility Buddha has. Also, Nina had many follow focus shots when she would walk away from Buddha but look back a couple times to show her affection for him.
Overall, I feel that it was too easy to forecast what was coming next. The conversations between Buddha and Nina are dry, and in their flirtatious actions I notice that there is no real chemistry between them. Also, they decide on getting married after only seeing each other a handful of times. Everything happened too fast, and the structure of a building relationship did not seem realistic during this movie. During the film I was never put on the edge of my seat. My emotions and feelings never changed throughout the whole film, and not one character really caught my attention. Nina was really the only thing I paid attention to because of her stunning looks and personality.

Cheeni Kum is not your typical love story. This film is about Buddha, a 64-year-old grumpy chef, of an authentic Indian restaurant, in London, and Neena, 34-year-old woman visiting London, who falls in love. The first encounter is anything but good; Neena is the first person to ever send back a dish, Zafarani Pulao, a traditional Indian dish, at his restaurant saying it is too sweet. Buddha is very upset and approaches Neena. He is very rude in demanding her to tell him how to make the dish correctly, the close up of Neena's face shows that she isn't upset with him, but wants to laugh at him. The next day Neena brings her homemade Zafarani Pulao to Buddha at the restaurant, that is when he started to feel differently about her, because in the scene she leaves in slow motion and she looks back at him one more time before she goes around the corner. After that moment he feels as though he must apologize to her, but he cannot say sorry, so instead he gives her his umbrella. Neena goes to the restaurant daily saying she is there to return the umbrella but never does. Their relationship grows more and they fall in love. Buddah asks Neena to marry him and she accepts but there is a problem, Buddha is 6 years older than her father and he needs his blessing for the two of them to wed. After two days of starvation he finally accepted his offer to marry his daughter.
This movie was not one of my favorites because there was no singing or dancing. It was hard to keep me focused, because the music only came on whenever she was leaving him and was walking away. This movie was too drawn out for me but others might like it because it sticks closely with reality. As the relationship grows you seem them fall more in love with each other, from taking walks in the park, having cute nicknames for each other and getting upset when they don't see each other for a day. It shows in the relationship evolving and becoming something beautiful and different than other love stories.

The movie "Cheeni Kum", directed by R. Balki, takes place in London, England. The two main characters in the movie are Buddha and Neena. Buddha is the owner and chef of the restaurant that Neena and he first meet at. The reason behind their encounter is that Buddha makes Neena a meal and she disapproves of the meal and sends it back to the kitchen. This of course, makes Buddha mad and he leaves the kitchen to go and confront the unpleasant guest in the dining room, and then it was love at first sight.
The story line behind the movie is very interesting itself. Buddha and Neena fall in love obviously and eventually agree to get married. There is only one issue: her father. See, Buddha is sixty four years old and Neena is thirty four years old. Typically speaking, it is common for an older guy to go after a younger woman these days. The big issue is that Buddha is six years older than Neenas' father and he does not approve the least bit of their marriage. The film goes on to tell the story of how two people fall in love against moral beliefs and have to spend the majority of the film convincing her father to change his mind.
Some of the camera angle views that really helped to intrigue the audience were the over the shoulder shots. The film focused on that shot a lot throughout the film, especially when Neena and Buddha were speaking to one another. It helped to put the focus on just one character and to show their reaction to what the other character was saying. Another shot that was seen a lot was the head and shoulder shot. A lot of the times during the film, the audience was only allowed to see the upper bodies of the characters. I believe that this helps the audience be able to focus on what the characters are doing without risking the chance of being distracted by something in the background and losing focus.
"Cheeni Kum" is a story that involves romance and tragedy. The film never seems to lose the audience's attention and is very easy to follow. The storyline is one that is usually typical with a few unexpected situations thrown in which, overall, make the film more interesting for the audience.

Cheeni Kum is a contemporary love story between a man and woman who are separated by a thirty-year age difference. The movie incorporates a theme of attraction between opposite personalities. Buddha Gupta is an egoistic, condescending chef and the owner of "London's Finest Indian Restaurant". Neena Verma is a pretty, single Indian woman who dines at Buddha's restaurant and is not satisfied with her meal. When Buddha goes to see who this customer is who was not satisfied with his food, he finds Neena. After this rather unusual meeting, a relationship develops between Buddha and Neena who, over time, fall in love.

The night after Buddha initially confronts Neena about her criticism of his Zafrani Pulao, the same dish is sent back to the kitchen. The change in Buddha's curmudgeon personality is immediately noticeable the second he realizes Neena has returned to his restaurant. Neena continues to frequent the restaurant and Buddha continues to look forward to her daily arrival. When the idea of marriage is brought up, the two go to their parents for approval. Buddha's mother is immediately accepting and excited. Neena's father however, is not thrilled with the couple because, as it turns out, he is six years younger than Buddha!

Director R. Balki did a great job with this film. The scene on the evening that Neena does not come to the restaurant, cross-cutting shots go from close-ups of the clock to Buddha's face. The close-ups show the excited anticipation in Buddha's face slowly turn to disappointment as he realizes Neena is not going to show up for dinner. In the end, all is worked out, and love prevails for Neena and Buddha. As a person who loves romantic comedies, I really liked this movie. I believe anyone who enjoys watching a typical romance for entertainment would enjoy this film.

Cheeni Kum is not your average love story. The film is set in contemporary London and India, telling the story of a man who falls in love with a woman who is nearly half his age.Buddhadev Gupta is the head chef of Spice 6, which he claims is the only restaurant in London to serve authentic Indian cuisine. He is a grumpy, lonely old man whose only happiness comes from his nine-year old neighbor Sexy, who is sick with leukemia. However, when Nina arrives, Buddhadev begins to change. Nina visits Spice 6 with a friend. She is disappointed with her meal and when the egotistic, upstart Buddhadev refuses to apologize, and proceeds to insult her, Nina takes matters into her own hands and retaliates. Surprised by her witty and bold action, Buddhadev becomes attracted to Nina. She returns his advances and they fall in love. When talk of marriage arises, Nina insists that Buddha tells her father of their plans. What they don't count on is her father's adamant refusal to allow his daughter to marry someone who is even older than himself. The ending is somewhat to be expected, but that doesn't prevent the film from telling an engaging story from start to finish.

The cinematography of Cheeni Kum provides viewers with more information about the story. The varying camera angles reveal the large ego that Buddhadev has. In early scenes of the film, whenever Buddhadev is speaking to someone, the camera is angled slightly downward, making the speaker (Buddha) appear domineering and powerful. However, when Nina enters his life, they are always shown on an equal level, or Nina appears slightly higher up than Buddha. These subtle angles are symbolic of Buddhadev's feelings that Nina is special and one of the first people in his life he views as an equal. The audience will have to keep an eye out for this technique, while also looking for other symbolism.

Cheeni Kum appears more true to reality, it is not "sugar-coated" as the title implies. Life is not always sweet; happiness can be accompanied by family conflict and tragedy. While the film features sorrow, it does not overtake the general lighthearted feeling of the film. Cheeni Kum leaves the viewer with a message: accept the tragedy, learn to overcome it, and seize the beautiful moments in life and make them count. Cheeni Kum features great performances by Amitabh Bachchan as Buddhadev Gupta, Tabu as Nina, Paresh Rawal as Nina's father, and Swini Kara as Sexy. Cheeni Kum is directed by R. Balakrishnan, produced by Sunil Manchanda, with music by Illayaraja. Overall, the film is playful, sarcastic, funny, and romantic, with a little something for every viewer to enjoy.

This is not your typical Bollywood romance--and that's both good and bad. Good because it's a realistic portrayal of a flawed man and woman working to overcome their differences. Bad because the love story is too mundane. Buddhadev Gupta (played by Amitabh Bachchan) is a grouchy 64-year-old chef in London who falls for Nina (Tabu), a 34-year-old tourist from Delhi. The immensely talented lead actors give respectable performances as their very ordinary characters grapple with the predictable challenges of a May-December romance. But it is the supporting actors who really make the movie worth watching. Paresh Rawal, one of India's best comedic actors, brings much-needed levity to the film as Nina's father, who is six years younger than her suitor and who opposes the match. Zohra Sehgal, a spry 97-year-old actress who plays Buddhadev's mother, is delightful as always. And adorable child actress Swini Khera melts hearts as Buddhadev's cancer-stricken neighbor who is wise beyond her years. If it weren't for these entertaining secondary characters, the movie would be too boring to sit through. - The Bollywood Ticket: The American guide to Indian movies (Subscribe: The Bollywood Ticket)