All Movie Reviews: Aloo Chaat

Aloo Chaat: Movie Review

19 Mar, 2009 06:00 am ISTlINDIATIMES MOVIES

Director: Robby Grewal
Cast: Aftab Shivdasani, Aamna Shariff, Linda Arsenio
Rating: *** 1/2

The English attempted to rule on us by dividing Hindus and Muslims. Director Robby Grewal attempts to unite Sikhs and Muslims by exploiting English. That's how you could summarize the recipe of Aloo Chaat .

Nikhil (Aftab Shivdasani) has just returned from London and his parents want to get him married in their community. But he loves a Muslim girl Aamna (Aamna Shariff) and his father (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) is strongly against inter-caste marriage. Nikhil seeks help from family friend Hakim Tarachand (Manoj Pahwa), a sexologist.

Knowing his parents wouldn't approve of a Muslim bride, Tarachand suggests Nikhil to introduce an English girlfriend to his family. Nikhil hires Nikki (Linda Arsenio) to pose as his girlfriend and simultaneously gets in Aamna in the family as Nikki's friend. The premeditated idea is to create a conspicuous contrast between the two girls making Nikki the incompatible bad girl in the family so that Aamna by default gets a comparative clean chit.

Appreciatively, the screenplay doesn't waste unnecessary reels in establishing the romance between the lead couple. The narrative is kept crisp and concise, and focuses mainly on female bonding within the family. The comedy isn't slapstick. The humour is handled rationally; Some scenes have you in splits. Also, the Aloo Chaat symbolism is smartly incorporated in the story.

Both Aftab and Aamna are pleasing. Linda Arsenio is mention-worth. It's delightful to see Kulbhushan Kharbanda in a lighter vein. Dolly Ahluwalia is a pleasant change from her regular Bollywood grandma characters. Manoj Pahwa and Sanjay Mishra have hogged the meatier parts and are funny in their acts.

Aloo Chaat isn't any boring health food. It's instead easily edible and guarantees some tangy tickles.

http://movies.indiatimes.com/moviereview/4286031.cms

By Taran Adarsh, March 20, 2009 - 09:02 IST

Hrishikesh Mukherjee started a trend. Simple stories narrated in the most simplistic manner. His movies inspired a generation of film-makers and a lot of storytellers even today pay homage to Hrishi-da through their movies. Robby Grewal does so with ALOO CHAAT. Only thing, the film lacks the sweetness associated that you expect from it.

ALOO CHAAT makes you smile sporadically. At most times it's like watching a TV serial that's not hard to predict. 20 minutes into the film and you know what the culmination would be.

Robby's last outing MP3: MERA PEHLA PEHLA PYAAR was an interesting experience, but ALOO CHAAT tries too hard to be a Hrishikesh Mukherjee kind of a film. Its execution brings back memories of the illustrious film-maker's several films as also Rajshri's DULHAN WAHI JO PIYA MAN BHAAYE [Prem Kishen, Rameshwari], but falls flat.

Write your own movie review of Aloo Chaat Verdict? This aloo chaat is spiceless!

What do you do when your entire family is against the bride of your choice? Do you replace your family? Or do you replace the bride?

Nikhil [Aftab Shivdasani] hails from Delhi and is visiting his family in India. His parents start showing him Punjabi girls for wedding. Knowing the temperament of his father Purshottam [Kulbhushan Kharbanda], he feels hesitant to disclose about his love affair. Hence, he approaches his father's best friend [Manoj Pahwa], who has a great influence on his father. Together they plot to bring Nikhil's girlfriend [Aamna Sharif] into the family.

ALOO CHAAT suffers due to one major reason: It just doesn't hold your attention. The screenplay [Divya Nidhi Sharma] relies on the same old tricks and the same old situations that we've watched over and over again. You do smile at times not because the scenes are funny, but because the dialogues are witty.

Robby Grewal is letdown by a below-mediocre script. Music [Mehfuz Husain, RDB, Vipin Mishra] is soothing and a couple of melodies are tuneful. The video towards the end credits [RDB] is eye-catching. Dialogues are well penned.

Both Aftab and Aamna are limited to a few expressions. Not their fault frankly because the writing hardly gives them scope to perform. It's the supporting cast that works wonders. Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Manoj Pahwa and Sanjay Mishra sparkle. Dolly Ahluwalia is okay.

On the whole, ALOO CHAAT just doesn't work. Below average.

* 1/2

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/13862/index.html

Taran wrote the review really short😆 I'll wait for DVD because i don't like Aamna and aftab Pairing.

Review: Aloo Chaat is stale

Sonia Chopra

Like all other films this week, this one too is interestingly titled. But Aloo Chaat's content is not as palatable as the film's mouth-watering name.

The story is admittedly inspired by Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge's plot, except for the gender switcheroo. Nikhil (Aftab Shivdasani) is an America-returned Punjabi munda –the kind who, at his age, asks for his parents' permission to take his fiance about town. The lady he's supposedly engaged to (Linda Arsenio: Kabul Express, Mumbai Salsa) is just a false front for his real love.

Since his actual girlfriend's name is Aamna (Aamna Shariff), Nikhil fears his family's immediate rejection over her religion. So along with uncle Hakeem Tarachand (Manoj Pahwa), a sexologist who claims to cure "anything" within 15 days, Nikhil devised a sneaky plan.

Also see: Preview of Aloo Chaat | Meet the stars of Aloo Chaat

As per their design, they got a "gori", a crude colloquial for a foreigner, to pose as Nikhil's bikini-sporting and culture-less fiance, who far from cooking an Indian meal, also comes from a divorced family.

Accompanying her is Aamna, posing as a friend, but actually working on winning the hearts of Nikhil's family by cooking dinner, singing a folk song at the sangeet, lecturing about Indian culture and wearing the world's most boring clothes, almost all in white. The film then has some interesting story turns, with the family's idiot Chhadami (Sanjay Mishra) always suspecting something's not as it seems.

One can't help being surprised at the overtly chauvinistic tone of the film. This, when the film otherwise maintains a fresh and lighthearted tone. As for the family, it's full of the usual suspects, made somewhat likeable by the superb actors.

There's the patriarchal family head (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), his conservative yet comical mother (Dolly Ahluwalia, to die for), his kitchen-bound wife (Meenakshi) and her brother Chhadami who, for some strange reason, everyone treats disrespectfully. For laughs, there's a Punjabi pop star with rings on every inch of his fingers, who visits the sexologist uncle discreetly; and two aloo chaat vendors who we meet at key junctures in the story.

Of the central cast, the limelight stealer is Linda Arsenio who plays her character as the sometimes confused, but always bright and sprightly do-gooder. Aamna maintains her straight-haired, traditional look from television and doesn't have much to do except throw us a glossy-lipped smile off and on.

Aftab, a good actor yet to get his due, gets a bit lost among the melee of actors. But his chemistry with both the female actors is crackling, especially with Aamna. Manoj Pahwa and Sanjay Mishra (once seen together in the TV serial LOC) are both fabulous.

Songs are interesting (the film credits four talents as music directors), and most have a north-Indian flavor. Director Robby Grewal (Samay, MP3) has got the Delhi-based Punjabi family nuances just right (except for the family's tradition of not eating food cooked by a Muslim), adding his own imaginative touches like the band that's plays a western tune to welcome the foreigner bahu.

And that, coupled with a few moments of hilarious developments (the granny worries about Nikhil's sexuality after watching "BrokenToota Mountain" on TV) makes you realise the film it could have been.

One can't recommend Aloo Chaat simply because the 'who's-a-good-bahu' recipe has turned stale, and the audience's taste has since evolved.

Verdict: One-and-a-half stars

http://sify.com/movies/bollywood/review.php?id=14873084&ctid=5&cid=2425&?vsv=HP4

Aloo Chaat: Worth a relish

Rating: 3 out of 5*

USA returned Nikhil (Aftab) belongs to an orthodox Punjabi family and is in a fix about how to disclose the truth to his family about him having fallen in love with a Muslim girl Aamna (Aamna Shariff) while studying in the US. His family comprising of a "generation gap' father, Purshottam (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), his typical housewife mom Seeto (Meenakshi), a spirited grandma Beeji (Dolly Ahluwalia) and an overenthusiastic uncle Chaddami (Sanjay Mishra) begin the "traditional' Punjabi girls showing ritual on his vacation back home. Desperate to seek a solution, he takes help of his father's best friend Hakim (Manoj Pahwa), a sexologist by profession. What smart plan the wise old Hakim devises with an American girl Nikki's (Linda) aide and what chaos it all leads to forms the rest of the film.

Director Robby Grewal deserves a huge applause for his treatment of the subject and his narrative structure. His choice of actors is bang on with each actor right from Aftab to even the Aloo Chaat seller fitting the bill perfectly. Robby's handling of the various sub-plots, the film's Delhi setting and quirky side-characters are also worth appreciation. Devoid of typical melodrama especially in the second half, Divya Nidhi Sharma's script is full of witty one-liners and has you in guffaws right from the first frame to the last. Some subtle messages are nicely incorporated within the film. Amongst the scenes that stand out in terms of writing-direction and acting are, Aftab's meeting with a traditional girl at a restaurant, Linda's first meeting with Aftab's family, Manoj Pahwa's story narration in the bus and Linda's bikini scene on the terrace. The titles have been designed innovatively and the funny title song going along it makes it a treat to watch. Production design is fair.

Aftab has always shown a natural flair for comedy and he yet again succeeds in his act. TV girl Aamna looks extremely beautiful and shows a good spark but needs to work out on her dialogue delivery. Linda Arsenio, the Kabul Express girl however impresses a lot. Seasoned actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda finally gets a meaty role and he takes full advantage of this opportunity. While he plays a serious character, sometimes even his expressions have you in splits. Notice the airport scene when Linda gives him a hug and a peck on his cheeks. Sanjay Mishra however gets the maximum laughs for his anything American hating act. Meenakshi Sethi and Dolly Ahluwalia are good as well.

The film is modern day Hrishikesh Mukherjee style cinema that deserves a visit to your nearest cinema hall. It is definitely the best entertainer amongst the crowd of films released this week. -Sampurn Media


http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/movie-review-aloo-chaat-2009_100168819.html

Aamna has very good screen prescence from what i have seen...i was not too eager before now the story seems interesting..

hmm mixed reviews......story sounds simple.

Aloo Chaat – Movie Review

By Aparajita Ghosh
Fri, Mar 20, 2009 15:55 IST

There's almost every spice to suit the Indian palate in director Robby Grewal's Aloo Chaat . The only bummer is that the story's course and conclusion is downright predictable.

What do you get when you pitch the East-West-cultural-divide against the Hindu-Muslim wedge in a rom-com plus family drama that doles no moral messages on religious integration or acceptance of diversity and yet makes an indirect assertion regarding it in a lighthearted, entertaining way? 'Aloo Chaat'.

Hands off! Tongues back to where they belong! Coz this one doesn't make you drool. For you've known the taste too many times.

Nikhil ( Aftab Shivdasani ), a Punjabi munda back from the US, loves a Muslim girl Aamna ( Aamna Sharif ) but is sure that his traditional Punjabi family – comprising of his conservative, and authoritative Papaji ( Kulbhushan Kharbanda ), Mummyji and Mamaji – won't accept her as the bride.

So he gangs up with his uncle, a sexologist, and hatches an ingenious plan. He gets a bikini-clad firangi gori ( Linda Arsenio ) to pretend as his fiance while Aamna is left to win over the family's heart by doing everything that's considered right in a typical Punjabi family in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar.

We all know what the outcome is going to be, so the only way 'Aloo Chaat' could have got its viewers glued to the screen is by telling the story interestingly. And to be fair, there are some genuinely funny moments. Like the old granny suspecting Nikhil to be a gay after watching the movie "Toota Mountain". Or Nikhil's suspicious mama creating troubles. But these moments are few and fleeting.

Aftab Shivdasani is at ease in the skin of his character, while Aamna Sharif (carrying her traditional image forward from TV) makes a comfortable debut that doesn't put much demand on her acting skills. Linda Arsenio chips in a lot of glam as the American gal who likes to sunbathe in Dilli ki dhoop. The supporting cast – Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Manoj Pahwa and Sanjay Mishra – is simple superb.

But for the title song, the music is no great shakes. The cinematography is strictly okay.

The movie, however, can be watched for some timepass fun.

Rating: **

http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/aloo-chaat---movie-review.html

ok wow

thanks for posting the reviews, Zareena..