Interestingly titled RAJMA CHAWAL, the new Netflix release tries hard to present a delicious cuisine to the viewer but only manages to get the toppings right to be straight missing the real taste. Directed by Leena Yadav and written by Vivek Anchalia and Manu Rishi Chadha, the film successfully manages to collect all the right ingredients for the dish ensuring a great taste. But sadly goes wrong in the preparation post making a fine start, once again taking you into the narrow nostalgic lanes of the famous Purani Delhi or Delhi-6.
Based on a potential plot of an authoritative father trying to break the ice with his young wanna-be singer son through a fake Facebook profile of a charming girl, RAJMA CHAWAL begins well as the middle class family returns to India to their home in Chandni Chowk. But the plot goes for a toss the moment a real girl enters into the narration pulling the film back to the same old routine stuff seen several times before.
The lead pair doesn’t impress and fails to make the much important connect with the viewers and you don’t get to see the expected entertainment from names involved as Rishi Kapoor, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Gajraj Rao, Manu Rishi, Brijendra Kala and more. Surprisingly here we also have Nirmal Rishi, a veteran of Punjabi cinema becoming a part of the elderly scheming group in the film’s initial moments. Sadly nothing really works in the second hour of the film wasting a fine opportunity and it all ends sorting the confusions on a strictly routine note.
In short, a few sequences representing the issue of generation gap (focusing on smartphones and social networks), genuine moments of friendship between the middle aged men and an appreciable cinematography capturing of the spirit of Chandni Chowk remain the only notable merits of this supposedly new age love story, casually written taking a clue from the today’s net-savvy world.
So though named as RAJMA CHAWAL, this doesn’t have the taste and aroma of the famous Sunday dish mostly prepared like a ritual in Punjabi North Indian families. Hence watch it only if you must, may be because of Rishi Kapoor and his friends, who remain the best part of the film, wasting an otherwise fine plot and given opportunity.
Rating : 2 / 5
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RAJMA CHAWAL (Netflix Film) Review by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com, New Hindi Films Reviews by Bobby Sing, New Bollywood Movie Reviews by Bobby Sing, New TV Series Reviews by Bobby Sing, New Online Movies Reviews by Bobby Sing
