First big flop of 2009

Film: Chandni Chowk to China (Hindi)

Director: Nikhil Advani

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Ranvir Shorey, Mithun Chakraborty, Gordon Liu, Roger Yuan

Theatre: PVR, Fame, Fun, Innovative Multiplex

Rating: '

By Namita Gupta

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Review: Akshay Kumar plays dumber than dumb Sidhu, a vegetable cutter at a roadside eatery in Chandni Chowk who takes refuge in dada (Mithun Chakraborty). Tired of working and not gaining any riches, he is keen on changing his destiny, which can happen by listening to the local quack baba Chopstick (Ranvir Shorey). When Sidhu finds a potato with an imaging of Lord Ganesha, he adopts the vegetable as a lucky charm. For illogical reasons, two Chinese insist that Sidhu is a reincarnation of their slain hero and can save their village from the evil Hojo (Gordon Liu; simply superb).

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Chopstick in the greed of greener pastures convinces him to fly to China. They keep running into Sakhi (Deepika Padukone) who models cheesy commercials like a learn-how-to-dance ankle gadget, or a bullet-proof umbrella that's also a parachute). She's there to pay tribute to her Chinese father and sister she believes were killed by Hojo. And then we see her transformed into a Kung-Fu expert Meow Meow who the cops are chasing, not realizing that it's her twin sister, who works with Hojo. All roads lead to dreaded villain Hojo since then.

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Verdict: The films lacks everything that a good Bollywood flick should u00e2u0080u0093 there are no good songs and dance sequences, the storyline is baseless interspersed with outlandish Chinese nonsensical dialogues and an intended slapstick humour is not worth a wee bit of chuckle. Infact, its desperate attempt to send down the tickles makes it even more downright forlorn. It should be nominated for the Oscars for the worst film category. The film has nothing at all to offer. Even Deepika's frantic attempt at her martial arts stint couldn't save the movie.