''Chamku'' is a 2008 Indian
action thriller
The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
film written and directed by
Kabeer Kaushik. It stars
Bobby Deol
Vijay Singh Deol (born 27 January 1969), better known by his screen name Bobby Deol, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. A member of the List of Hindi film families#Deol family, Deol family, he is the younger son of actor Dha ...
in the eponymous role. It also co-stars
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is India's highest-paid actress and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards and fiv ...
and
Irrfan Khan.
Riteish Deshmukh and
Danny Denzongpa appear in supporting roles. The film was released worldwide on 29 August 2008.
Plot
The film tells the story of Chandrama Singh, who was raised by Baba, a
Naxal leader based in the southern interior of
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
, after his family was brutally murdered. He later gets picked up under a covert government program jointly conceived by
RAW and the Intelligence
Bureau to carry out political assassinations. He falls in love with Shubhi, a kindergarten teacher, and decides to lead a reformed life, but a chance encounter entangles him in the world of crime once again.
Cast
*
Bobby Deol
Vijay Singh Deol (born 27 January 1969), better known by his screen name Bobby Deol, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. A member of the List of Hindi film families#Deol family, Deol family, he is the younger son of actor Dha ...
as Chandrama "Chamku" Singh
*
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is India's highest-paid actress and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards and fiv ...
as Shurbhi Gupta
*
Irrfan Khan as Vishal Kapoor
*
Ritesh Deshmukh
Riteish Deshmukh (born 17 December 1978) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and television presenter who predominantly works in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Marathi cinema, Marathi films. Known for his comic portrayals, Deshmukh is a recipient of several ...
as Arjun Tiwari
*
Danny Denzongpa as Baba
*
Rajpal Yadav as Hussain Ahmed
*
Arya Babbar as Shreedhar
*
Akhilendra Mishra as Thakur Mahendra Pratap Singh
*Rachna Khanna as Subhi Friend
Production
Kabeer Kaushik, the director of the film had approached
Bobby Deol
Vijay Singh Deol (born 27 January 1969), better known by his screen name Bobby Deol, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. A member of the List of Hindi film families#Deol family, Deol family, he is the younger son of actor Dha ...
to play the lead role in his debut film,
Sehar, which was eventually played by
Arshad Warsi. Despite liking the script Deol turned it down because he was not prepared to work with a debutant director and also felt that the plot was similar to some other film.
The song "Gola Gola" from the film picturised on the festival of
Holi
Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...
was released exclusively on radio stations on 21 March 2008, to coincide with the festival of
Holi
Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...
. Rosa Catalano features in a dance number in the film titled ''Trance''.
Soundtrack
Monty Sharma has composed the soundtrack for the movie, and the lyrics have been written by
Sameer. The soundtrack was released on 29 July 2008 under the label of
T-Series.
Reception
Taran Adarsh of
IndiaFM gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5, writing, ″On the whole, CHAMKU rests on an outdated plot and given the blood-gore-brutality in the film, will face an uphill task. Businesswise, it has some chances in the U.P.-Bihar region.″
Sukanya Verma of
Rediff.com gave the film 1 star out of 5, writing, ″director Kabeer Kaushik disappoints big time. It seems like Sehar and Chamku were directed by two different entities. His work here is utterly amateurish and rushed-up. The screenplay is shoddy whereas the dialogues are an excuse for mandatory exchange (which by the way are so sluggish in temperament they scream for a pair of scissors).″ Gaurav Malani of
The Economic Times
''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. Owned by The Times Group, ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961 and it is sold in all major cities in India. As of 2012, it is the world's secon ...
gave the film 1 star out of 5, writing, ″Bobby Deol carries the same jaded expression throughout the film. For Riteish Deshmukh, its clearly one of those films that you do as a favour for industry friends. Priyanka Chopra substantiates how worthless heroines are to male-centric cinema. Irrfan Khan shows more screen presence in his 20-second Vodafone commercials. Arya Babbar is relegated to the rank of a junior artist. Danny dies before you notice him. Alas, Chamku fails to shine. Rather it bears the blemish of an outdated 70s revenge drama."
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamku (Film)
2008 crime drama films
2000s Hindi-language films
2008 films
Indian crime action films
Films about Naxalism
Films shot in Bihar
Films shot in Mumbai
Indian crime thriller films
2000s spy action films
Films about the Research and Analysis Wing
Vijayta Films films
Indian action thriller films
Films set in Bihar
Films about mass murder
Indian films about revenge
2008 crime thriller films
2000s crime action films