Chameli (2003)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Sudhir Mishra

Writers:

Anant Balani (idea)
Swanand Kirkire (dialogue)

Release Date:

31 December 2003 (India)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Two strangers. One stormy night.

Plot:

Lamington Road on Bombay's Western Railway is the nearest railway station that takes one to Kamathipura...

Plot Keywords:

Prostitute | Police | Pimp | Eunuch | Rain

Awards:

6 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Kareena Kapoor	...	Chameli
Rahul Bose	...	Aman Kapoor
Rinke Khanna	...	Neha
Kabir Sadanand	...	Haseena
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mahek Chahal	...	Dancer in bar
Panne Chatterjee	...	Call Girl
Makrand Deshpande	...	Taxi driver
Ghanshyam Garg	...	Usman's man
Dinkar Gavande	...	Usman's man
Pankaj Jha	...	Usman
Master Vinni Pachori	...	Johnny (as Vinni Pachaure)
Deepak Qazir	...	Raja's father
Satyajit Sharma	...	Police Inspector
Yashpal Sharma	...	DCP K.P. Singh
Tarun Shukla	...	Corporator's man
Aniket Vishwasrao	...	Raja

Runtime:

UK:108 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Singapore:PG | India:A | India:Not Rated | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Company:

Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC)

Trivia:

The original director, Anant Balani, died during production. Sudhir Mishra completed the direction.

Oh what a night!

This movie was one of the best Indian films I have seen! I loved it. Such a well written film, and so sensitively portrayed. The acting was superb. I adore Rahul Bohse, he is always a delight to watch. I agree with another comment on this page, that he would have been ideal for the role in Kal Ho Na Ho, actually he would be ideal for many roles that I've seen being handed over to lesser actor's for their commercial appeal. He is a delight to watch no matter what character he plays. I first noticed him when he played Sunny in "Thakshak". He managed to upstage Ajay Devgan, who in my opinion is one of the best actor's in Bollywood. He proved he could do comedy too, with his role in Jhankar Beats.

As for Kareena Kapoor, she was a pleasant surprise. I knew that she could act,but since she was always being "type-cast", she couldn't do much with her roles. I think she bought a touching sensitivity to the character. The fact that it was Kareena Kapoor acting as Chameli somehow made her plight even more poignant, because we know what she is like as a "carefree" character, and this is a direct contrast from that. This adds to the pathos in my opinion. There was a lot of depth in her performance. Well done Kareena!As for story, it attempts to realistically portray the lives of people in the red light districts, and especially those of women and their plight. The two protagonists are both in pain. They are both going through different types of pain in their lives, and for a moment they stop to share their plight with one another. It's the kind of encounter everyone dreams of. It's a very romantic meeting, albeit in a very unromantic setting. At heart, this movie is about finding love in the most unlikely places, and how a women who has lost faith in men has it restored by a kind and handsome stranger who wanted to help her without wanting anything back. This movie makes you believe that chivalry is not dead after all!