Chehre review: Amitabh and Emraan's splendid performances make this open and shut case worth the watch!

‘Chehre’ is a judicial face-off set against the backdrop of a 'Mock Trail' where a group of retired legal practitioners occasionally immerse themselves in a game of court hearing. An 80-year-old retired criminal lawyer, Lateef Zaidi (Amitabh Bachchan) plays a game of façade to uncover the truth and the tussle with the business tycoon, Sameer Mehra played by Emraan Hashmi.

Rumy Jafry, who wrote and directed the film, has completely utilized talented actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi. The film entirely soaks up the fictional ambience making the plot simple yet compelling. Chehre is one of those rare films that keeps you awake despite the flurry of heavy dialogues and ground-level realism. In fact, it is the dialogues and the excellent performances that have proven to be the soul of this film. 

The film takes place in the icy mountains away from Delhi, where a desperate Sameer Mehra is storming his way to the country’s capital for a business deal amid troubling weather. Being stranded and helped by a group of retired legal practitioners, he soon finds himself at their mercy as an observant Lateef Zaidi who decides to include the guest in a real-life game that would soon turn deadly.

The director has managed to exploit a simple idea of a game that has been a popular concept across the realm of pop culture. There have been endless horror flicks that hold their roots in similar viewpoints. However, Jafry has also managed to tweak the concept and add an interesting twist which also looks appealing on the big screen. 

Jafry has majorly worked on films that focus mostly on comedies and drama. Considering ‘Chehre’ his first attempt at directing a murder mystery, he has done a fairly good job. The director did manage to grab the audience’s attention in the first half itself. It is a common notion, any thriller that loses its audience in the first half can hardly bring life to the film in the second half and yes at some point the film did lose its touch. The overly predictable plot does take a backstep but that it is fun to watch the face-off between Amitabh and Emraan.  

Packed with heavy blows of impacting dialogues, Amitabh Bachchan has yet again excelled at what he does. The 78-year-old has once again proved himself why he is known to be the superstar and his eyes still hold the fire and the iconic persona of the angry young man. 

Although nowhere in the film, Amitabh has tried to overshadow Emraan Hashmi. Big B offered the 42-year-old actor his own sweet space to impress the audience. For Emraan, it is the mere stereotype that has unfortunately subdued his career. Since the last few projects - namely, Mumbai Saga, Why Cheat India, Bard of Blood - Emraan has managed to prove himself as a talented actor and it is worth highlighting that facing Amitabh Bachchan in a film, heavy on dialogues is very difficult. Emraan does a terrific job. 

Personally, ‘Chehre’ makes for a good film. It somehow compensates for the long wait and the repeated delays in its release. Unlike every other film, there are a few flaws and they can be overlooked. The 139-minute murder-mystery drama could have been shortened if a few unnecessary scenes could be deleted. Despite its predictability, the film is fun for its strong line-up of actors.

While the film is packed with dialogues, Amitabh Bachchan takes away the cake with his fabulous monologues and action sequences. No one knows what more this 78-year-old is capable of. 

Rhea Chakraborty, on the other hand, made a brief appearance in the film. She has successfully done her part and there can be no complaints from her end. Meanwhile, the supporting cast has done a fairly excellent job and they have proved to be strong contenders in the game. 

In conclusion, the film does leave you impressed with its overall setting and the characters. Detailing each and every character, the writers even constructed the philosophical tone for each and every one of them. The entire plot revolves around Emraan Hashmi’s sins and no matter how absurd or petty they might sound, the writers did justify the entire concept at the very end. Basically, Chehre is a one time watch that quite interesting for its performances.