''Chori Chori'' () is a 2003 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language romantic

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by

Milan Luthria Milan Arjun Luthria is an Indian film director who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. He is best known as the director of Ajay Devgan ''Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai'' (2010). Personal life Milan is the biological son of Raj Khosla. He was born o ...

. Produced by Lalit Kapoor and Raju Narula, it is inspired by the English film '' Housesitter'' (1992). The film stars

Ajay Devgn Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director, and producer. One of the most prolific actors of Hindi cinema, Devgn has appeared in over Ajay Devgn filmography, 100 films and ha ...

Rani Mukerji Rani Mukerji (; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of multiple accolades, including eight Filmfare Awards. Mukerji has featured in listings of the leading and hi ...

and

Sonali Bendre Sonali Bendre Behl (born 1 January 1975), known professionally as Sonali Bendre, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Hindi and Telugu films. Considered as one of the leading actresses of the 1990s and early 2000s, Bendre s ...

Plot

Khushi is a happy-go-lucky orphan living in Delhi. She meets Ranbir Malhotra through a chance encounter one day before she is fired from her job. He tells her about a dream house that he has built in Shimla. After being dismissed from her job, she locates the bungalow and moves in, informing everyone that she is Ranbir's fiancée. There she meets Ranbir's family and Pooja, Ranbir's love. When Ranbir returns, at first he is outraged at Khushi's intrusion in his life but then decides to play along with her to make Pooja jealous and fall in love with him. Khushi and Ranbir end up falling in love. However, Khushi's close encounter with reality and Ranbir's old commitments hold them back for a long time before they finally listen to their hearts.

Cast

as Ranbir Malhotra *

as Khushi Chandran *

as Pooja Narayan *

Kamini Kaushal Kamini Kaushal (born as Uma Kashyap; 24 February 1927) is an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films and television. She is regarded as one of the finest actresses of Hindi cinema. She is noted for her roles in films such as (1946), which wo ...

as Beeji, Ranbir's grandmother *

Tiku Talsania Tiku Talsania (born 7 June 1954 ) is an Indian actor, known for his work in Hindi films. He is primarily known for his comic roles in popular comedy films. Apart from acting in films and television serials, Talsania also performed as a freelan ...

as Chachaji, Ranbir's uncle *

Kulbhushan Kharbanda Kulbhushan Kharbanda (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi and Punjabi films. He is best known for his role as the antagonist Shakaal in '' Shaan'' (1980), Starting off with the Delhi-based theatre group ' Yatrik' in the ...

as Mr. Malhotra, Ranbir's father *

Smita Jaykar Smita Jaykar (born 29 June 1964) is an Indian actress known for playing supporting roles in Hindi movies and TV shows. She is currently working on a theatrical adaptation of '' Devdas'' with Ashvin Gidwani Productions (AGP World). A native o ...

as Simran Malhotra, Ranbir's mother *

Sadashiv Amrapurkar Sadashiv Dattaray Amrapurkar (11 May 1950 – 3 November 2014) was an Indian actor, best known for his performances in Marathi and Hindi films from 1983 to 2013. He acted in more than 300 movies in Hindi, Marathi, and other regional languages ...

as Chacha, Khushi's uncle *

Shashikala Shashikala Saigal (née Jawalkar; 4 August 1932 – 4 April 2021), better known by her first name, was an Indian film and television actress, who played supporting roles in hundreds of Bollywood films beginning in the 1940s. Early years Shas ...

as Chachi, Khushi's aunty *

Satish Shah Satish Ravilal Shah is an Indian actor. He is best known for his comic roles in films like '' Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro'' (1983), '' Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi'' (1984), '' Sarabhai vs Sarabhai'' (2004), '' Main Hoon Na'' (2004), ''Kal Ho Naa Ho'' (2003), '' ...

as Ranbir's boss *

Mushtaq Khan Mushtaq Khan (born December 31, 1959) is an Indian film and television actor and comedian who has worked in several Bollywood, Hindi films in a career spanning three decades. He is best known for his roles in films like ''Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke ...

as Khushi's boss *

Manav Gohil Manav Gohil (born 9 November 1974) is an Indian actor. He has been active in the Hindi film industry for more than two decades and is best known for his roles in Hindi television shows, including the soap opera '' Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii'', the ...

as Ranbir's friend

Production

and

were cast as the leads Ranbir and Khushi, in their first project together.

was cast as Pooja, in her fifth film with Devgn. It marks director

's second film with Devgn, after directorial debut ''

Kachche Dhaage ''Kachche Dhaage'' () is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Milan Luthria and starring Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, and Manisha Koirala. The film features Devgan as a smuggler, delivering goods across the Rajasthan-Pak ...

'' (1999).

Soundtrack

The music was composed by the duo

Sajid–Wajid Sajid–Wajid was an Indian Bollywood Hindi film music director duo consisting of brothers Sajid Khan and Wajid Khan, the sons of Sharafat Ali Khan, a tabla player. Wajid Khan, the younger of the two brothers, died on June 1, 2020. Members ...

, while all the lyrics were penned by

Anand Bakshi Anand Bakshi (21 July 1930 – 30 March 2002) was an Indian poet and lyricist. He won Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist 4 times during his career. He wrote over 6000 film songs in more than 300 films. Early life Anand Bakshi (Bakshi Anand Pr ...

Reception

Sukanya Verma Sukanya Verma is an Indian journalist and film critic. She has been the principal movie reviewer with web portal '' Rediff.com''. She has written a number of columns as a freelance writer for ''The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English ...

of ''

Rediff.com Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...

'' wrote, "Chori Chori is a Rani Mukerji film all the way. All the other actors have done their parts perfectly. The climax would have been better if wasn't so melodramatic and didn't have to carry the weight of two songs. What makes ''Chori Chori'' likeable despite its shortcomings is that it has a 'heart' -- the prime ingredient for any love story."

Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media, as well as his reviews for Bollywood Hungama. Career Taran Adarsh started his journ ...

of ''

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...

'' wrote, "Although ''Chori Chori'' has an interesting storyline, it suffers on account of a hackneyed screenplay. A story like this may've worked a few years ago, but it holds minimal appeal in the current scenario. The film starts off pretty well, but runs out of steam in the second half, mainly because too many songs have been incorporated forcefully."

References

External links

* {{Milan Luthria 2000s Hindi-language films 2003 films Films directed by Milan Luthria Films scored by Sajid–Wajid