Chehre (2021) [Movie Review]

Dir: Rumy Jafry

Starring: Amitabh Bachan, Emraan Hashmi, Krystle D’souza, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Annu Kapoor, Rhea Chakraborty.

Dur: 2 hrs 19 mins

Genre: Drama

Rating: 8/10

                The trailer had me hooked. I couldn’t believe that Bollywood was finally experimenting with original storylines! But when I sat down to review the film I realized that it was a copied idea. As if that wasn’t enough, it wasn’t even a new copy at that! This film is actually based off a German Novel by Friedrich Durrenmatt titled A Dangerous Game. A Marathi version had come out way back in 1971; more recently a Kannada and Bengali adaptation were released. Nevertheless, Bollywood felt that it had to jump on the bandwagon and recycle this story.

                The film itself is quite brilliant. The idea is novel. It doesn’t have traditional Bollywood trappings. It dives straight into the story and then begins to explore characters and possibilities. I quite liked the selection of cast. They weren’t an ensemble but they were pretty effective although they could have been utilized better. The chief actors of course were Amitabh saab and Emraan, and they did deliver great performances. I felt Emraan bettered Amitabh with his charisma and delivery.

                The film opened with a monologue by Amitabh that was aided by dynamic camera movements and animation but it didn’t fit in very well with the rest of the film. It was a prologue of sorts but more of a promo then something that has actual bearing on the film. I am presuming this was Bollywood’s way of leaving a mark on the production; I can only surmise as I haven’t seen any of the other remakes. But I found it out of place.

                Rhea Chakraborty seemed artificial for most of the film; her character is quite enigmatic by itself and over that was Rhea’s acting! I don’t think I have ever seen her act before and so I really cannot judge her acting capabilities but there were times I was questioning whether she was playing a humanoid or an actual person!

                The film is essentially a courtroom drama without the courtroom. A simulation is created and it achieves some semblance of a real court but the procedure is fantastical and not legally effective even though the film alludes to it being so. However, the film is an excellent reflection on ethics as its premise is an ethical dilemma. It makes for interesting viewing and can be very helpful for personal or group reflection.

                I would recommend this if you are into engaging cinema. If you are looking just for entertainment, you will not find it here. The film draws you in and forces you to make connections. I quite enjoyed the experience and took pleasure in the suspense.

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