Cheeni Kum
Encyclopedia
Cheeni Kum is an 2007 Bollywood
romance film
directed by R. Balki
, starring Amitabh Bachchan
as an 64 year-old man, opposite Tabu
, who plays an 34-year old who falls in love with Bachchan. Produced by Sunil Manchanda
, the film releasd on 25 May 2007.
). 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, and his only friend and confidante is his 9-year old neighbour, sexy (Swini Khara
). 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 life. Nina is a beautiful and charming Indian woman. Cool, calm, quiet, always smiling, but independent and strong willed. The two extreme in age, character, and attitude. Met and against all odds fell 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 only problem here is the fact that Omprakash is 6 years younger than Buddhadev.
Reviewers such as Indiafm rated this film 3 stars out off 5 with Joginer Tuteja quoting "'Cheeni Kum' turns out to be an enjoyable album which has its moments throughout its 7 track duration. While one never expected a musical from a film which told a love story that had never been seen before, 'Cheeni Kum' manages to throw in a nice-n-little pleasant surprise." Other sites such as Planet Bollywood, Sulekha
, and fellow internet bloggers have praised Raja's melodious tunes in comparison's to today's music given by Himesh Reshamiya or Anu Malik
.
Similarly Businessofcinema.com gave the album a 3/5 rating and mentioned that "sounds of the instruments and Vocals blend in harmony to provide a simple yet powerful score. This album is a must have, especially to play in between all those generated scores we are usually subjected to."
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
romance film
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
directed by R. Balki
R. Balki
R. Balakrishnan, better known as R. Balki, is Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of the advertising agency Lowe Lintas , an ad filmmaker and Hindi film director. He is best known for Cheeni Kum and Paa .-Career:...
, starring Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
as an 64 year-old man, opposite Tabu
Tabu (actress)
Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
, who plays an 34-year old who falls in love with Bachchan. Produced by Sunil Manchanda
Sunil Manchanda
Sunil Manchanda is an Indian film director, film producer, and advertisement producer.His most recently developed movie is Paa.-Career:On December 4, 2009, Paa was released in 34 countries worldwide. It was originally supposed to be produced by Manchanda and Director R Balakrishnan, but was instead...
, the film releasd on 25 May 2007.
Plot
Cheeni Kum focuses on Buddhadev Gupta (Amitabh BachchanAmitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
). 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, and his only friend and confidante is his 9-year old neighbour, sexy (Swini Khara
Swini Khara
Swini Khara is an Indian child actress. She became known for her role as the mischievous Chaitali in Baa, Bahu aur Baby. This was followed by roles in advertisements for ICICI Bank and Lakme- before acting with Amitabh Bachchan in the movie Cheeni Kum...
). 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
Tabu (actress)
Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
) walks into his restaurant and life. Nina is a beautiful and charming Indian woman. Cool, calm, quiet, always smiling, but independent and strong willed. The two extreme in age, character, and attitude. Met and against all odds fell in love, they decide to get married, and, like any Indian man, Buddhadev respectfully comes to ask Nina's father, Omprakash Verma (Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal is an Indian actor of Gujarati background.Making his film debut in 1984, he mainly played supporting and villain roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000 he has mostly played comic roles.- Family and early life :...
), who is a true Gandhian, living in Delhi, for her hand. The only problem here is the fact that Omprakash is 6 years younger than Buddhadev.
Cast
- Amitabh BachchanAmitabh BachchanAmitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
as Buddha-Dev Gupta - TabuTabu (actress)Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
as Nina Verma - Paresh RawalParesh RawalParesh Rawal is an Indian actor of Gujarati background.Making his film debut in 1984, he mainly played supporting and villain roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000 he has mostly played comic roles.- Family and early life :...
as Omprakash Verma - Zohra SehgalZohra SehgalZohra Segal is an Indian stage and film actress, who started her career as dancer with dancer Uday Shankar in 1935 and worked with him for the next eight years. She has appeared in many Bollywood films as well as English language films and television series...
as Buddhadev's mother - Swini KharaSwini KharaSwini Khara is an Indian child actress. She became known for her role as the mischievous Chaitali in Baa, Bahu aur Baby. This was followed by roles in advertisements for ICICI Bank and Lakme- before acting with Amitabh Bachchan in the movie Cheeni Kum...
as Sexy - Vinay Jain as Sexy's father
- Alexx ONellAlexx ONellAlexx O'Nell is an American actor and musician who is based in India and has appeared in numerous films and television programs in English and Indian languages....
as English Waiter
Soundtrack
Music composer Ilayaraja has composed seven tracks. The reaction toward this album was generally positive. Fans of the composer have praised Raja's efforts in spreading the Tamil tunes and modernizing it in Hindi. Although some fans have panned that Raja should have created some more tunes and should have created an original soundtrack rather than recycle his old Tamil and Kannada tunes.Reviewers such as Indiafm rated this film 3 stars out off 5 with Joginer Tuteja quoting "'Cheeni Kum' turns out to be an enjoyable album which has its moments throughout its 7 track duration. While one never expected a musical from a film which told a love story that had never been seen before, 'Cheeni Kum' manages to throw in a nice-n-little pleasant surprise." Other sites such as Planet Bollywood, Sulekha
Sulekha
Sulekha.com is an Indian Internet and Mobile company offering local commerce services enhanced by social media interactions in 46 Indian and 16 North American cities. Adopting the slogan “Find. Buy. Sell. Share...
, and fellow internet bloggers have praised Raja's melodious tunes in comparison's to today's music given by Himesh Reshamiya or Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
.
Similarly Businessofcinema.com gave the album a 3/5 rating and mentioned that "sounds of the instruments and Vocals blend in harmony to provide a simple yet powerful score. This album is a must have, especially to play in between all those generated scores we are usually subjected to."
Soundtrack
| # | Title | Singer | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheeni Kum | Shreya Ghoshal | Adapted from "Mandram Vantha" from the Tamil film Mouna Raagam Mouna Raagam Mouna Raagam is a 1986 Tamil film directed by filmmaker Mani Ratnam. The score and soundtrack are composed by Ilayaraja, and the film's cinematography is by P. C. Sriram. This movie turned out to be an important milestone in Tamil cinema and yielded Mani Ratnam the much needed breakthrough. The... |
| 2 | Sooni Sooni | Vijay Prakash Vijay Prakash Vijay Prakash , is a playback singer from Mysore who moved to Mumbai in 1996. He has sung in Hindi films such as Blue, Yuvvraaj, Swades, Kaal, Lakshya, Matrubhoomi, Tere Naam, Cheeni Kum, Raavan and Force. He has also performed in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies... |
Adapted from "Mandram Vantha" from the Tamil film Mouna Raagam Mouna Raagam Mouna Raagam is a 1986 Tamil film directed by filmmaker Mani Ratnam. The score and soundtrack are composed by Ilayaraja, and the film's cinematography is by P. C. Sriram. This movie turned out to be an important milestone in Tamil cinema and yielded Mani Ratnam the much needed breakthrough. The... |
| 3 | Baatein Hawaa | Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades... , Shreya Ghoshal |
Adapted tune from Kuzhaloodhum kannanukku’ from the Tamil film Mella thirandhadhu kadhavu |
| 4 | Jaane Do | Shreya Goshal | Adapted from ‘Jotheyali Jothe Jotheyali’ from Kannada film, Geetha Geetha (film) Geetha is a 1981 Kannada film in the romance genre starring Shankar Nag and Akshata Rao in the lead roles . The film has been directed and written by actor Shankar Nag and produced by Pramod Narayan . "Music Meastro" Ilayaraaja has composed the soundtrack and the background score... (1981). A later version of the same is "Vizhiyile Undan vizhiyile" from Tamil film, Nooravadu Naal (1984) |
| 5 | Baatein Hawaa Without | Shreya Ghoshal | Adapted from 'Kuzhaloodhum kannanukku’ from the Tamil film Mella thirandhadhu kadhavu |
| 6 | Theme Music | Various | |
| 7 | Saxophone Instrumental | Various | |
Awards
Cheeni Kum got one award and four nominations, including the Apsara Award for Best Movie (2008)Reception
Cheeni Kum mostly met with an average feedback. The acting has been universally praised. Also, the film's bold theme met with critical goodwill. However, the rather slow story lead some to label the film "boring" and the rather repetitive final part of the film met with some concern from reviewers and audiences alike.External links
- Cheeni Kum: informational site
- Cheeni Kum at BharatMovies.com
- Cheeni Kum at SPICE
- Cheeni Kum at moviechamber.com