Nawazuddin Siddiqui is known for his intense roles and crime-infested films. But it’s a known fact that he has a great comic timing and if given an opportunity, can excel in such roles. After trying his hands in few such films in the past like FREAKY ALI [2016] etc, the versatile actor will now be seen in a similar space with MOTICHOOR CHAKNACHOOR. So does MOTICHOOR CHAKNACHOOR manage to entertain and give a good time to the audiences? Or does it fail to deliver? Let’s analyse.

Movie Review: Motichoor Chaknachoor

MOTICHOOR CHAKNACHOOR is a love story of two neighbours. Anita aka Annie (Athiya Shetty) resides in Bhopal and her only aim in life is to marry an NRI and settle abroad. However when she meets prospective grooms, she makes her demand clear and moreover she is bigmouthed. As a result, she gets rejected and in some cases, she rejects when she finds out that the guy is not going to move to foreign shores. Meanwhile, Pushpender Tyagi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) has just returned from Dubai after a hiatus. He stays with his family in the house next to that of Annie. Pushpender falls for Annie instantly but Annie doesn’t show interest. Just like Annie, even Pushpender wants to get hitched desperately. When an overweight girl agrees to marry him, he gives his nod though he doesn’t have feelings for her. Pushpender is 36 and he feels that he is way past the age where he can reject any girl. Hence he reluctantly accepts the proposal. Annie meanwhile gives up after rejecting and getting rejected. With no option in hand, her maternal aunt (Karuna Pandey) advises Annie to woo Pushpender. After all, even Pushpender works in Dubai, also a foreign place. Annie hence tries to serenade Pushpender. She tries to first break off his alliance with the overweight girl but her efforts prove futile. Thankfully for Annie, Pushpender’s mother (Vibha Chibber) calls off the alliance when the to-be-bride’s family refuses to pay dowry. Annie then straightaway tells Pushpender that she wishes to marry him. Pushpender is overjoyed but Annie is a bit reluctant as she can’t pay the kind of dowry that his mother is asking for. Pushpender promises Annie that he won’t ask for a single paisa and both get married on the same day! The families obviously are shocked but they relent eventually. Annie is extremely happy as her dream of marrying an NRI is fulfilled. However, Pushpender has a secret that can prove disastrous for Annie. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Debamitra Biswal’s story is very simple and nothing great but has potential for a fine and entertaining script. The screenplay however is not consistent. There are scenes that are great but those are few and far between. Also, the first half has more interesting scenes than the second half due to which the post-interval portions aren’t that engaging. Bhupendra Singh’s dialogues are very funny and clever, and raise laughs.

Debamitra Biswal’s direction has promise but falters due to several reasons. On the plus side, the setting looks straight out of life. The director has neatly explained the neighbourhood, the way the houses of Annie and Pushpender are next to each other. Some scenes are very well handled. On the flipside, the interest rises and falls throughout. Also, the second half portions are difficult to digest. Viewers are forced to accept that it’s Annie who was wrong for marrying Pushpender for the Dubai factor. Even Pushpender has hidden a fact about his employment which was also not acceptable at all. But Pushpender is not made a villain as such. Shockingly, in one crucial scene, he even slaps Annie. If that is not enough, then Annie’s father refuses to take her back in his house. One hopes that towards the end, both will profusely apologize to Annie for their behaviour. Shockingly, that never happens and only Pushpender says sorry, that too by writing a letter. Hence, it becomes difficult to root for such a character

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MOTICHOOR CHAKNACHOOR begins on a fair note. The setting and characters are well established. The situations seem comical but don’t really make viewers laugh. But after the initial 30-35 minutes, the film turns into a riot. The scene where Pushpender meets the overweight girl is well executed and written. Same goes for the scene where Pushpender is buying vegetables and gets confronted by Annie. The best part of the first half is when Pushpender beats his brother Hakim with his chappal. The intermission point comes as a bolt from the blue. Post interval, the interest and even the humour quotient dip. The situations become very unconvincing and even regressive to an extent. The climax is supposed to be funny but seems unimaginative.

Talking of performances, Nawazuddin Siddiqui seems a bit off but then gets in the groove. His comic timing as expected is bang on and even in emotional scenes, he is great. Athiya Shetty is a surprise of the film. From her accent to her performance to body language and to her understanding the character, she is spot on! Karuna Pandey gets to play a fine character and is entertaining. Vibha Chibber is decent. Abhishek Rawat (Hakim) is superb as Pushpender’s brother. Navni Parihar (Annie’s mother), Bhumika Dube (Hema), Devansh Kumar (Ikka) and Usha Nagar Dadi are okay.

Music gels well with the film’s narrative. ‘Crazy Lagdi’ is catchy followed by ‘Kaise Banegi Sarkar’. ‘Choti Choti Gal’ and ‘Aaj Jaage Rehna’ are soulful but drag the narrative. Abhijeet Vaghani’s background score however is terrific and unique.

Suhas Gujarathi’s cinematography is very nice. The film has been shot in unconventional locales of Bhopal, that one hasn’t seen in films before. Tariq Umar Khan’s production design is realistic. Shadab Malik’s costumes are straight out of life. Praveen Kathikuloth’s editing is nothing special.

On the whole, MOTICHOOR CHAKNACHOOR boasts of a very entertaining first half but the second half plays spoilsport heavily. At the box office, it will face a tough time due to the lack of buzz.