Indian movies

The title should always summarize the content of a film. Besides, the promotion should always send out the right signals vis-à-vis what the film has to offer in terms of content. With a title like CHHODON NAA YAAR, you expect a film on male bonding, a la DIL CHAHTA HAI. Also, with songs like 'Kasak' and 'Talwar Re' being beamed on channels 24 x 7, you expect CHHODON NAA YAAR to be an entertainer with emphasis on music.

But the viewer is in for a surprise as CHHODON NAA YAAR belongs to the horror genre. Yes, the story is about a bhatakti aatma and how she continues to haunt a temple and the surrounding jungles.

To give the credit where's its due, director Dilip Sood does succeed in scaring the daylights out of you in a couple of scenes, especially at the intermission point [when the spirit appears in front of the three friends]. Also, a few sequences in the second hour do send a shiver down your spine.

But the problem is, CHHODON NAA YAAR is an incomplete film, in terms of writing. It leaves a vital question unanswered: What's the mystery behind the spirit? Does it ever get solved? There's a moment when you feel that Jimmy, Kim and the pujari of the temple will solve the mystery, but the end credits begin to roll abruptly. Kya hua, Director sahab?

In a nutshell, CHHODON NAA YAAR is letdown by its writing!

Ravi [Jimmy Shergill], Shiv [Kabir Sadanand] and Sunny [Farid Amiri], three final year students from a Delhi Mass Com College, decide to make their diploma film about a myth prevalent in the northern hills of India.

Against the wishes of his girlfriend Rashmi [Kim Sharma] and college professor, who think that the subject is too dangerous for a college project, Ravi plans the trip. But as they go deeper into the jungles, a startling incident changes their lives…

As mentioned above, the writing is the culprit here. Besides the questions that continue to haunt you vis-à-vis the aatma, the character sketch of the three friends is also weird. The film begins with the three posing as actors, then participating in an item song for a film and then, we're told, they're students who aspire to be film-makers. Really hard to digest!

The second problematic area is the inclusion of songs even when not required. Songs [Anand Raaj Anand], though tuneful, have been added to supplement the romantic track ['Kasak'] or increase the glamour quotient ['Talwar Re']. In fact, it wouldn't be erroneous to state that the popular tracks lose their sheen because of wrong placement in the narrative.

The technical aspects are much better. Pushan Kripalani's camerawork is eye-pleasing. The dense forests are well captured on celluloid. The background score is interesting as well.

Jimmy Shergill makes a sincere attempt and strikes a chord. Kabir Sadanand's dialect is jarring, although his performance is sparkling. Farid Amiri is miscast. Kim Sharma has no role. Vinod Nagpal is okay. Mahek sizzles in the item song. Vallabh Vyas [Kabir's father] is functional.

On the whole, CHHODON NAA YAAR stands on a faulty script and with no face-value to magnetize cinegoers, it will find the going very tough.