Generation gap has always been an issue during all eras. At present the problem has become profound with the rise of social media. Leena Yadav’s Rajma Chawal tackles both – the lack of communication between a parent and child as well as how people prefer to now communicate through fingers and not through their mouths! Despite few glitches, Rajma Chawal managers to leave a mark and a nice after taste!
The story of the film: Raj Mathur (Rishi Kapoor) stays in a posh Delhi locality. Due to certain circumstances, he’s compelled to move back to Chandni Chowk where he used to stay once. His son Kabir (Anirudh Tanwar) resents this change and it adds to the already fractured relationship between them. Raj tries his best to mend the bond but his efforts prove futile. This is when his neighbours and friends advise him to implement an unusual idea.
Rajma Chawal has a fine beginning and no time is wasted in establishing the characters and also Chandni Chowk which is also a character in itself! The film has loads of comic moments which commence as soon as Raj Mathur takes the help of social media to communicate with his son. With the introduction of Sehar (Amyra Dastur) in the narrative, things get even more interesting. The touching moments are aplenty but at the same time, the humour quotient is also maintained. And sadly, same goes for the glitches, albeit not much thankfully. Few sequences are random and catches viewers unawares. For instance, when Kabir gets angry at Mathur outside the bar, one feels that the latter’s game is up. But the next scene is something else altogether, which is very unconvincing. Even the actions of Mathur in the pre climax and climax are difficult to digest, considering the realistic tone of the film. But the touching finale kind of makes up for it.
Rishi Kapoor earlier this year was seen in 102 Not Out which also was a touching father son saga. And now once again he wins hearts in a film that’s set in a similar space. He’s sure to make viewers moist eyed. Anirudh Tanwar makes a confident debut. He doesn’t have the conventional hero look but he has talent and that’s what counts the most ultimately. Amyra Dastur is charming as always and this is surely her best performance in Bollywood. She gets a complicated character to essay but she pulls it off effortlessly. Aparshakti Khurana (Baljeet) raises loads of laughs but ultimately wins hearts too! However it’s weird to see how he would land up at the exact same place where Seher is hanging out. Diksha Juneja (Paro) has a nice screen presence. Akash Dabas (Sanju) is decent. Jitendra Shastri (Anees) leaves a mark in his scene with Anirudh Tanwar on the roof. Raja Hasan (Jacky Jam) is funny in his entry scene. Manu Rishi Chadha (Mittal), Nirmal Rishi (Beeji), Harish Khanna (Kuljeet) and Sheeba Chadha are very good. Mukesh Chhabra (Anoop ji) is impressive.
Hitesh Sonik‘s music is quite good. ‘Dil Mera Chandni Chowk’ is the best of the lot. The background score is a bit loud but works. Donald McAlpine‘s cinematography is spellbinding and captures the essence of Chandni Chowk very well. Sonal Sawant‘s production design is realistic. Ashima Belapurkar‘s costumes are authentic and stylish in case of Amyra. Thom Noble‘s editing is simple.
Vivek Anchalia‘s story is promising and makes an important comment on the generation gap prevalent today and also the communication problems faced by parents and even children. Vivek Anchalia, Manu Rishi Chadha and Leena Yadav‘s screenplay is effective and uncomplicated. Manu Rishi Chadha‘s dialogues is straight out of life.
Leena Yadav‘s direction is uncomplicated. The director is able to switch genres very well (her last film was the intense rural drama Parched). She goes a bit off track in few scenes which could have been avoided. But overall, a fine job!
On the whole, Rajma Chawal is a nice, touching and funny family drama that makes an important comment on generation gap and social media. Performances are exemplary, especially by Rishi Kapoor, Anirudh Tanwar and Amyra Dastur. Those in Mumbai can try it’s final show tomorrow at Jio MAMI 20th Mumbai Film Festival at Le Reve (Globus). Or else, enjoy this delicious film on Netflix from November 30!
My rating – *** ½ out of 5!