'Mrs Doubtfire'.
'Chachi 420' is a rib tickling comedy along the lines of the Hollywood smash hit
'Mrs Doubtfire'.
The story revovles around Jaiprakash (Kamal Haasan) who is forced to divorce his wife Janki (Tabu). Unfortunately Janki is given custody of their only child, Bharti (Baby Saana). Since Jai loves his daughter dearly he applies for the post of her governess and obviously succeeds. The only catch is he now has to dress up in drag to be suitable for the job. He does this with the help of a friend (Johhny Walker) and is soon transformed into Laxmi Godbole. All's well until lies get him into deeper and deeper trouble. The real trouble comes when Janki's father (Amrish Puri) and Jai's landlord (Paresh Rawal) both fall for Laxmi's 'cute' charms leading to hilarious consequences.
How he escapes their amorous advances and wins back his wife's love form the climax of the story...
Overall, the film is excellent. 'Mrs Doubtfire' is only a starting point - the rest of the film is vey original. Kamal Haasan's direction has panache and style - truly a stunning debut for any director. If his direction is brilliant, his performance is just as good both as Chachi Godbole and Jaiprakash. Tabu adds another sensitive performance in her kitty - she like Kamal is really good. The supporting cast has performed very well too. Amrish Puri is his usual reliable self - his character has many twists and turns and he truly excels in his portrayal of a man deprived of love. Om Puri is surprisingly good as the cell phone obsessed employee. Paresh Rawal is give the type of comedy he ususally gets but he is still good. Ayesha Jhulka trys hard in the few scenes given to her and to her credit she performs with ease and manages to look gorgeus. Johnny Walker is a treat after so many years. Baby Saana is a competent performer.
Kamal Haasan's make up is very good especially for a Hindi film. Slick editing and great photography rule the roost as well as the witty (yet a tad vulgar) dialogue and good screenplay.
Despite the positive aspects, 'Chachi 420' has a few shortcomings. The spotlight is entirely on Kamal Haasan and though he is good in the scenes involving him, the focus is entirely on him. Tabu's character is a bit too grey and Vishal's music is not upto the mark. But despite that this is a thumbs up...
Rating:
