Chhal (2002) User Reviews

Not terribly inventive but really entertaining.

[Pedro-37 · 6/10 · 23 October 2002]

"Chhal" is no "Company", but it's a good Bollywood gangster movie. It tells the "Donnie Brasco"-inspired story of undercover cop Karan (Kay Kay) who is assigned to bring down the mighty gangster Shastri and his right hand man, the uncontrollable Girish (Prashant Narayanan).

The interesting twist is that Karan gets problems with his loyalty. The gangsters are not shown as sympathetic, but they give Karan more support than he gets from his colleagues of the law enforcement.

The main actors are rather fresh faces and give solid performances. The director wants to add to the freshness with a hip style. That's only partially successful. All the jump cuts, the fast cutting and the alternations of color draw a little bit too attention to themselves. But it's far from being a distraction.

While not being inventive, revolutionary or perfect, "Chhal" tells an interesting story with good, fresh actors and an involving directorial style. That's enough for a solid

7/10.

Surprise surprise

[pranay_misra · 7/10 · 1 July 2023]

I kept thinking this movie will go down from next twist or turn but it didnt. It went till the end with good execution, important scenes got enough screen time, actors did good job, making it an emotinal ,blood pumped crime drama.

It is a must watch for KK menon fans. Prashant narayan was even better than him here. Sad he didnt het much chances in bollywood.

Story is good and not predictable, acting is top notch, direction is good but camera work is little shaky owing to the time of 2002, guess due to experiement work.

Main actress was also good but didnt see her any other role. This is one of the most underrated movie of bollywood.

Good underworld film

[silvan-desouza · 6/10 · 22 October 2012]

Chhal released in 2002 alongwith the big budget Mujhse Dosti Karoge The film was one of KK's first films after BHOPAL EXPRESS and some appearances in TV Serials, while it launched Prashant Narayanan who was acting in TV Serials. The film marked Hansal Mehta's second turn in direction after DPMLY The film narrates a story of an informer cop who gets sucked in the world of underworld, it may sound simple but the way it's executed deserves good marks. The way the cops and criminals colide is well handled though several portions may seem done to death. Thankfully no forced love and dance stuff, the romance is a vital part in the film and works well. Also the helplessness a cop faces and how his loyality is challenged is the best part and keeps you engrossed. The first half is superb, the film hardly gives you time to breathe and the second half too catches your attention though at times pace does slacken, the climax is brilliant but a bit prolonged

Direction by Hansal Mehta is superb Music in limited doses is adequate Writing by Suparn Verma is superb Background Music is good at places but the same tune used throughout does hamper the proceedings, where silence could work better

KayKay Menon who was hardly a known face that time, does a superb job, giving his 100 cent to his character and he delivers a superb performance Prashant Narayanan proved too he is here to stay, handling a complex charactef for his debut is a challenge and his performance proves his calibre. jaya Seal is good in her role, Vallabh Vyas is superb handling his chameleon type character perfectly while Naved Aslam is good too, Sanjay Mishra has some moments rest are adequate

Stays loyal to the script

[CAMKG · 10/10 · 5 October 2002]

Chhal is a writer's dream come true. For the simple reason that it has been directed just as it was intended to, with passion and loyalty to the script. Mehta showed signs of technical brilliance and most importantly originality of thought and treatment with Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar. He showed signs of bubbling energy and intelligence with his first venture. The one thing that DPMLY lacked was a cohesive script and proper incorporation of the tracks. Chhal goes all the way in that regards. Suparn Verma has written the film superbly and Mehta has translated the energy of Verma's words onto the screen as if the two are in telepathy with each other. The acting by relative unknowns such as Kay Kay (as far as acting is concerned he is a newcomer), Prashant Narayanan and Jaya Seal is simply remarkable to say the least. The hrithiks, deols, rais and kareenas need to learn something about the tradeoff between ego gratification versus character portrayal. Viju Shah just adds a great dimension with his tracks as well as the background score. Alongwith Parinda, Satya and Company, I would rate this as the best film in the genre of gangster films. A most definite 10/10.