46. Chamak; movie review

CHAMAK
Cert 12A
145 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent moderate violence

Sunday afternoon and Mrs W and I found ourselves in Harrow watching a Kannada film.
Yes, dear reader, you are not the only ones who find our weekend activities a bit strange - I had to reassure one chap that he wasn't in the wrong cinema when he saw us in the second row.
I still find it a pity that we are still a novelty at Indian movie screenings and other white British people don't immerse themselves in the culture of others.
The more we know about each other the quicker the walls of mistrust are broken down.
Anyway, less of the soapbox and more of Suni's romantic comedy which gave a sold-out crowd a right good giggle.
Chamak stars Ganesh as a doctor who enjoys his social life so much that he has been wriggling out of any potential marriage.
But, under pressure from his parents, he alights upon a plan to present himself as throughly decent, go ahead with a wedding and surreptitiously continue to behave like a playboy.
However, the plan has a flaw because his beautiful doting new wife (Rashmika Mandanna) is not quite what she seems.
Much of Suni's film is as light as a feather with the scenarios so absurd that they should definitely not be taken seriously.
However, the longer it goes on the more serious it becomes, culminating in a final 30 minutes which are out of keeping with the rest of the film.
Both Ganesh and Mandanna are engaging in the lead roles - full of fun for the most part but dramatic when needs be.
I have to say the major setback was that I just didn't believe either would have been the alcoholics they were portrayed to be - especially Ganesh's doctor character.
But, hey, Indian films are known for their exaggerations rather than spot-on authenticity.
Nevertheless, Chamak is another example of how far regional Indian cinema has come in a very short time.
Its production values were certainly high enough for it to be mistaken for a Bollywood film and I am delighted that we could enjoy it thanks to subtitles, which would not have been available a few years ago.

Reasons to watch: engaging romantic comedy
Reasons to avoid: some of its elements lack authenticity

Laughs: a couple of chuckles for us, plenty of laughs for the audience
Jumps: none
Vomit: yes
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 6.5/10

The big question - Has regional Indian cinema become as good as Bollywood?

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