Chori Chori Chupke Chupke
Desi version of Surrogate Mother

THE only way for a woman who cannot bear a child is to ask the husband to hire a woman who will bear a child for them for a price. This is what director duo Abbas-Mustan seems to be propagating with its latest family drama, Emmar Films International’s Chori Chori Chupke Chupke. On the one hand, the film stands by family values and desi culture while, on the other, it goes in for cheap gimmicks like hiring a cabaret dancer as a solution for bearing a child just to lure the front benchers and the masses.
The first half of the film makes one wonder whether it happens ever in India, while the second half is stuffed with emotional sequences which will have some impact on the ladies audience. The film’s main asset is its music which will help it to have a relatively longer innings at the turnstiles. The publicity the film generated in the media due to the alleged underworld financing has also fuelled the expectations of the cinegoers to some extent.

Raj Malhotra (Salman Khan), the only son of a business tycoon, is wary of marriage as he feels the girl stepping in would spoil the serene atmosphere of their house. But his grandfather Kailashnath (Amrish Puri) convinces him to tie the knot so that he can see his grandchild and die in peace. Raj marries Priya (Rani Mukerji) and both have a wonderful married life. However, their happiness is short-lived as the pregnant Priya slips and falls which results in a miscarriage. The doctor’s diagnosis is that her uterus is affected and she can never bear a child in future. But the couple doesn’t want to inform other family members of this tragedy. Priya suggests that Raj should remarry or hire a surrogate mother to solve the problem. He lands up in Mumbai and comes in contact with a bar dancer Madhubala (Preity Zinta). He suggests to her to bear his child for a hefty sum. Madhubala, who has never seen so much money in her life, agrees to the proposal. Whereafter the couple and Madhubala zoom to Switzerland on their mission so that the child could be brought back to India as that of Raj and Priya. But Madhubala later realises that she is being exploited and the sense of womanhood and all other values suddenly weigh on her. She refuses to give her child as promised earlier. How the whole drama snowballs in the end forms the climax.

Salman Khan has given an inspired performance and has underplayed his role with remarkable perfection. Rani Mukherji is at her best in a complex role and is also very good in emotional scenes. However, the real scene stealer is Preity Zinta who has come out with a stunning performance. The second half of the film belongs entirely to Rani and Preity. Amrish Puri tends to overact in certain scenes. Johny Lever provides some relief with his antics. Farida Jalal, Prem Chopra and Dalip Tahil just fill the bill.
Director duo Abbas-Mustan has a script in hand which is inspired by many films and they have done their best to bring a fair amount of conviction while putting it across on the screen. The second half of the film is very engrossing which will help it to consolidate its position. There was enough scope to make certain changes in the script which could have saved the embarrassment of family audience. Screenplay by Shyam Goel helps the director duo to hold the interest. Cinematography by Thomas Xavier is excellent. Last but not the least, it is Anu Malik’s music that is the highlight of the film. The title song and number one punjabi are the pick of the lot and picturised well too.

Padmaraj Nair
raajnair99@hotmail.com

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