The film being a fairly good remake, it will still raise a valid question among the Punjabi viewers that why this was made when the original film had nothing new or fresh in the name of content or its basic storyline?
The simple answer to the question is, because the Marathi film SAIRAT was a thundering success at the box office and success always attracts producers and financers in this trade expecting a similar result without deeply studying the key reasons behind the original film’s astonishing performance.
SAIRAT never became a success due to any novel subject matter to give you the real picture and it was all because of an immensely appealing young lead couple (particularly the girl), exceptional execution and an outstanding original soundtrack having a rare and strong regional appeal. So I was personally never convinced about the decision of going for its Punjabi remake and that too with an already established singing-star of Punjab. However, glad to accept that director Pankaj Batra has thankfully made a fairly good film with the only weak point being his choice of female lead that was supposed to be the backbone of the entire project (as there in SAIRAT).
Anyhow, following is a detailed account of the project as an individual film, as well as a remake discussed in two separate sections of the review.
As an individual film
Besides its status of being an official remake, CHANNA MEREYA has a much enjoyable first half with the singer-turned-actor Ninja making a noticeable debut without going for any forced heroism (except his introductory scene) or showing attitude of an already established singing star of Punjab. Despite not having anything novel to showcase in the initial hour, the film still works due to its likable performances and dialogues in particular. Ninja puts a fairly entertaining show along with the ever dependable Karamjit Anmol (as his friend). Besides, both Yograj Singh and Amrit Maan (another debut) remain highly impactful as the villains playing the father-son politician duo ruling the entire region. Though Payal Rajput (third debut in the film) tries her best playing the leading lady, she unfortunately becomes the weakest link amongst all unable to win over the audience. As a result, the film misses that most important element of a love story, wherein the viewers also fall in love with the girl along with the leading hero.
The second half begins with all clichéd seen-before sequences but soon picks up with some unpredicted action and B.N. Sharma entering the scene bringing back entertainment into the narration. The story continues to be repetitive with nothing fresh or out of the routine (as already seen in several Hindi love stories) but still largely remains watchable before the crucial final twist that comes all of a sudden missing the rare opportunity of making an emotionally solid impact.
In the technical department, the film scores for its cinematography, a couple of songs and background music providing the much needed support. Overall, CHANNA MEREYA can easily be rated as a decent remake made in an entertaining style that lacks any exceptionally outstanding feature to be straight.
As an official remake
The most appreciable merit of CHANNA MEREYA remains its overall romantic feel which more or less remains quite close to SAIRAT, portraying the caste and class clashes in our social structure. But that remains the only merit if you compare it as a remake, since the film makes some changes skipping the crucial scenes in the second half as there in the Marathi original.
Moreover, it loses major marks when it comes to the leading lady and soundtrack that happened to be the most powerful feature of SAIRAT setting some new standards. Yes, a couple of songs sound good while you are watching the film, but the soundtrack doesn’t feature any extraordinarily remarkable song lifting the entire film.
Another major difference in the remake is in its onscreen presentation of the lead actors, who are not any innocent-looking teenagers as in the original. Here we have the hero flaunting his ‘six-packs’ by taking off his shirt in the very first scene and the girl having too mature looks, far away from the lovable scene-stealer of SAIRAT (probably the reason why the climax doesn’t turn out to be that impressive).
Coming to the most alarming factor playing a major role in the remake’s box office performance, it’s the emotionally shocking and abrupt climax that might face mixed response from the unprepared and yet not evolved viewers of Punjabi cinema.
However, if that is accepted and appreciated whole heartedly like the Marathi audience, then CHANNA MEREYA should see a good run in the theaters in the coming week.
Rating : 3 / 5
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CHANNA MEREYA (Punjabi) Review by Bobby Sing was also published in Mumbai’s reputed newspaper MID-DAY that can be read at the following link.
