Chehre Review: Simply not compelling enough to watch despite special appearance by Amitabh and great performance by Emraan Hashmi and Rahuvir Yadav. Don’t go to the theatre with high expectations for a movie that preaches vigilantism and culpability.
Amitabh Bachchan’s constant aspiration to experiment new characters and content is highly admirable, while some works but some falls apart. Chehre is one that you can call not his very best. Like in 102 Not Out, this one has some shades from Pink and others from Badla. His character follows an interesting Sherlockian method of deduction but unfortunately, it’s rarely seen.
A large chunk of Chehre, is set in the hills of north India, has been filmed in Poland. The mansion in which the action – or, to be precise, the lack thereof – takes place is cavernous enough to conceal many secrets. It is littered with telltale signs to suggest that Sameer Mehra isn’t the first man that the four have toyed with, nor will he be the last.
Chehre Review – A courtroom dram fails to impress
The courtroom drama Not only does Chehre have no face-saving moments, it peddles tendentious, untenable ideas about how the law should be interpreted and applied. The film advocates vigilantism and thinks nothing of the centrality of due process in judicial proceedings. A key character in the film indulges in acts that violate the privacy of an individual. He thinks he has the inalienable right to do so.
The story revolves around Four superannuated court officials – the men congregate in an ex- judge’s sprawling bungalow in a remote, sparsely populated hill station some 300 kilometers from Delhi – arrogate to themselves the authority to play games with the law and an unsuspecting guest. The result is a whiny, too preachy film that begins to feel like a terrible laborious journey.
Annu Kapoor delivers a rock-solid performance backed strongly by his trademarked eccentric dialogue delivery. His character is used to contradict Amitabh’s and it’s performed equally well by Kapoor Sahab. Rhea Chakraborty hams at places but is subtle overall. The character (Aana) she plays is a difficult one to handle but she manages to sail through despite some flaws.
We wished to see more of Raghubir Yadav as his role of ‘Jalaad’ had a boatload of potential to add eccentricity. He’s instead used too little to make any impact. Krystle D’Souza adds the required oomph but she lands in the taxing portions of the movie. Despite that, she showcases an earnest act if you minus the happenings around her character. Dhritiman Chatterjee is just about okay, not because he has acted averagely but his role is written in an uninteresting manner
Watch Chehre
Performance-wise the movie has the best of all, with legendary artists such as Amitabh Bachchan, Annu Kapoor. Emraan Hashmi makes a remarkable impressioin, despite very unlike of the characters he did in his earlier films. He stands out in this film which dialogues loaded, which isn’t quite his strong forte. His natural charm and the ‘serial kisser’ actually backs the cockiness of his character. From a wicked smile to the confidence of maintaining the act helps him to face the stalwarts dropping soupy lines.
Despite the half-baked character he is saddled with, Emraan Hashmi provide flashes of what he is capable of. Raghubir Yadav makes every glance and every line count.