Cheeni Kum

Cheeni Kum (Hindustani for Less Sugar) is a 2007 Indian Hindi romantic comedy film directed by R. Balki and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Zohra Sehgal and Swini Khara.

Cheeni Kum
Theatrical release poster
Directed byR. Balki
Produced bySunil Manchanda
Written byR. Balki
StarringAmitabh Bachchan
Tabu
Paresh Rawal
Music byIlaiyaraja
CinematographyP. C. Sreeram
Edited byChandan Arora
Production
company
MAD Entertainment Ltd.
Distributed byEros International
Release date
  • 25 May 2007 (2007-05-25)
Running time
140 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box office₹237.5 million (US$3.3 million)

Plot

Cheeni Kum focuses on Buddhadev Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan). Buddhadev is the 64-year-old chef and owner of London's top Indian restaurant, Spice 6. He lives with his 85-year-old mother (Zohra Sehgal) and his only friend and confidante is his 9-year-old neighbour, 'Sexy' (Swini Khara) who is diagnosed with cancer. Buddhadev Gupta is an arrogant, ego-centric, pompous man with a singular passion in life — cooking. He is a confirmed bachelor who has never been in love until 34-year-old Nina Verma (Tabu) walks into his restaurant and his life. Nina is a beautiful and charming Indian woman. Cool, calm, quiet, always smiling but independent and strong willed. The two contrasting in age, character and attitude, meet and against all odds, fall in love. They decide to get married and like any Indian man, Buddhadev respectfully comes to ask Nina's father, Omprakash Verma (Paresh Rawal), who is a true Gandhian living in Delhi, for her hand. The main problem here is that Buddhadev is older than Nina's father. Omprakash is horrified when Buddhadev asks his daughter's hand and refuses. He attempts to dissuade his daughter by going on a Gandhi like starvation act. Omprakash finally realises his mistake and lets Nina have her way.

Cast

Soundtrack
Cheeni Kum
Soundtrack album by
Ilayaraja
ReleasedMay 2007
Recorded2006–2007
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelEros Music
ProducerIlayaraja

The score and soundtrack were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The songs had their tunes re-used from the composer's earlier songs in other languages, while the arrangements were fresh.

Track NoSongSinger
1"Cheeni Kum"(Female)Shreya Ghoshal
2"Baatein Hawa"(Duet)Amitabh Bachchan, Shreya Ghoshal
3"Jaane Do Na"Shreya Ghoshal
4"Sooni Sooni"(Male)Vijay Prakash
5"Baatein Hawa"(Solo)Shreya Ghoshal

Reception

Critical reception

Martin D'Souza of Glamsham gave the movie 4/5 stars, concluding that "There's a dash of sweetness (Tabu), the right amount of spice (Amitabh), a proper dose of lime (Paresh Rawal), perfect quantity of salt ('sexy') and tadka (provided by Zohra Sehgal). A clean entertainer which can be watched by the entire family."[1] Raja Sen of Rediff gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, stating that "This isn't a groundbreaking film, but it didn't set out to be. It's a maturely written film with great characters, tremendous performances and some fantastic moments. It could have been perfect, but the lesser said about that end the better. Watch it. A brilliant sequence involving the chef, a chemist, chhatris and chachas is absolute movie magic, and in itself well worth the price of admission. Bravo."[2] Naresh Kumar Deoshi of Apun Ka Choice gave the movie 3/5 stars, saying that "The movie, featuring Amitabh Bachchan in yet another brilliant performance, not just entertains you with its sarcastic humour, it also touches your heart with its emotional moments. Do not miss this sugarfree spread."[3] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the movie 3/5 stars, concluding that "On the whole, CHEENI KUM is absorbing in parts. A lackluster first half gets a boost with a much energetic second half and that elevates the film to the watchable level. At the box-office, CHEENI KUM is targeted at the multiplexes mainly. Clever promos and feel-good vibes should ensure a positive run at the multiplexes."[4] On the contrary, Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the movie 2/5 stars, stating that "So I'll go with two out of five for R Balki's Cheeni Kum, it's an average entertainer at best. If you're a die-hard Bachchan fan, do give it a shot because he doesn't disappoint. How you wish the film didn't either!"[5]

Box office

Cheeni Kum was a hit at the box office, grossing ₹237.5 million (US$3.3 million), despite taking a poor opening. The movie collected ₹169.7 million (US$2.4 million) net in its lifetime.[6]

References
  1. D'Souza, Martin. "Cheeni Kum Movie Review". glamsham. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. Raja Sen. "BigB-ittersweet Symphony". Rediff.
  3. Naresh Kumar Deoshi. "CHEENI KUM MOVIE REVIEW: Sugar-free Sarcasm". Apun Ka Choice. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012.
  4. Taran Adarsh. "Cheeni Kum Hindi Movie Critic Review by Taran Adarsh – Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama.
  5. Rajeev Masand. "Masand's verdict: Cheeni Kum". CNN-IBN.
  6. "Box Office 2007". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013.
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