'Chhichhore' Review: Sushant Singh Rajput-Shraddha Kapoor's film takes you on a nostalgia trip with minor hiccups!

Film: Chhichhore; Critic's Rating: 3.5/5; Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Shraddha Kapoor, Varun Sharma, Prateik Babbar, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Naveen Polishetty, Tushar Pandey, Saharsh Kumar Shukla; Director: Nitesh Tiwari; Written By: Nitesh Tiwari, Nikhil Mehrotra, Piyush Gupta; Music: Pritam; Duration: 2 hours 45 minutes; Language: Hindi (U/A)

Story:

Unable to cope with the tag of being called a 'loser' son to his rank holder (now divorced) parents Aniruddha Pathak (Sushant Singh Rajput) and Maya (Shraddha Kapoor), on not being able to clear the engineering entrance exams, a teenaged Raghav attempts to commit suicide. He survives but is in a crtitical condition with 'no desire to live'. Aniruddha aka 'Anni' decides to take matters in his hands and goes down the memory lane to narrate how he himself was one of the losers among his bunch of other loser friends in college. This not only leads to an emotional reunion of all the 'losers' but also bridges the gap between the very definition of a 'winner' and a 'loser'.

Review:

The very opening scene of Chhichhore with a bunch of engineering hostel students engaged in a 'tub fight' in the middle of the night is enough to tell you that you're in for a fun ride. The tragedy hits within the first 20 minutes of the film but kudos to director Nitesh Tiwari for striking the perfect balance while oscillating between the present unfortunate situation and the memoirs of the past hostel/college life. It's evident that the film is a heartfelt tribute of the helmer to the days he spent in the campus of IIT Bombay as a student. 

Though, the film does seem to have a hangover of movies like 3 Idiots, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and even Student of the Year (minus the gloss and sheen), and the major plots twists do become a bit predictable for a few, it doesn't disappoint owing to some cleverly written dialogues and one-liners that leave you in splits at regular intervals. It's interesting to see Tiwari almost touching the periphery of Raju Hirani-esque humour at several junctures. Mad props to Tiwari for capturing the minutest details in depicting the era of 90s -- be it the chipped paint on the hostel walls or the bottles of Campa Cola and Gold Spot in the college canteen. 

Several scenes like the one in which a cook from the hostel mess is made to pretend to be a Kabaddi coach during GC (General Competition including a number of sports between the hostels), the ragging portions, the various tikdams that these bunch of losers apply in order to win the GC, among others will have you laughing your hearts out. They do get a bit stretchy in parts but what the heck, we're not complaining as they're executed pretty well. Full marks for the clever writing by Nikhil Mehrotra and Piyush Gupta along with Tiwari, that the long duration of the film doesn't really become a drawback as you don't mind spending some more time with these chhichhoras in the theatre. 

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Coming to the performances, Sushant Singh Rajput is top notch in his portrayal of the earnest 'Anni' with a boyish charm in the hostel sequences and a 40-something father with a receding hairline and slouching body in the present day. Shraddha Kapoor shines as the Halley's Comet of the college and manages to do with the little that she could as Raghav's mother. Even as she weeps for her son, her eyeliner remains bang on point though. 

But Chhichhore's strength lies in the sheer brilliance of its supporting characters. Sexa (Varun Sharma) wins you over with his impeccable comic timing as the porn-obsessed good-at-heart cutie while Derek (Tahir Raj Bhasin) leaves quite an impression as the intense, brooding senior who's been trying to cut off the tag of a 'loser' since the past three years. However, it's ‘Acid’ (Naveen Polishetty) who shines in a role that seems to be tailer-made for him. You might recognise him from several AIB videos (if not, do yourself a favour and go watch him nailing his act there as well), which seem to have been prepping him for his finale performance in Chhichhore. ‘Bevda’ (Saharsh Kumar Shukla) and ‘Mummy’ (Tushar Pandey) bring the utmost sincerety in their flawed characters with their earnest performances. Special mention to Pratiek Babbar who plays the antagonist with aplomb (how we wish we'd get to see him more often on screen)! Once again, Nitesh Tiwari deserves applauds for managing to extract such performances from the huge cast and giving each of them their moments of glory while telling us that life's not about whether you win or lose, it's about how you play the game!

Chichhore however, is not without flaws. The movie feels a bit of a drag in the first half, but picks up pace once the college sports competition is set in motion. At about two hours and 45 minutes, the film tries to pack in a lot of stuff -- there's a divorced couple with differences, a tragedy involving their son, a reunion of friends followed by a nostalgia trip to college, a bunch of underdogs who want to be the winners, parental pressure on their kids to do academically well and the list goes on. The make-up department could have done better particularly in portions where the actors have aged -- almost all the men cannot be having receding hairlines and balding condition as they grow old while Maya's long tresses (with two grey strands), remain in perfect shape throughout (may be that's what they call aging 'gracefully'). One particular scene in which one of the friends calls up his son towards the end after Anni breaks down, felt a bit preachy and could have been done away with. The music by Pritam doesn't stay with you (surprisingly). I couldn't go back to any of the songs after the movie was over. It was the performances that stayed with me!

Verdict:

Book yourself a date with these Chhichhoras this week and go on a nostalgia trip, while learning a thing or two about life!