Aloo Chaat – Movie Review

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By Aparajita Ghosh

There’s almost every spice to suit the Indian palate in director Robby Grewal’s Aloo Chaat . The only bummer is that the story’s course and conclusion is downright predictable.

What do you get when you pitch the East-West-cultural-divide against the Hindu-Muslim wedge in a rom-com plus family drama that doles no moral messages on religious integration or acceptance of diversity and yet makes an indirect assertion regarding it in a lighthearted, entertaining way? ‘Aloo Chaat’.

Hands off! Tongues back to where they belong! Coz this one doesn’t make you drool. For you’ve known the taste too many times.

Nikhil ( Aftab Shivdasani ), a Punjabi munda back from the US, loves a Muslim girl Aamna ( Aamna Sharif ) but is sure that his traditional Punjabi family – comprising of his conservative, and authoritative Papaji ( Kulbhushan Kharbanda ), Mummyji and Mamaji – won’t accept her as the bride.

So he gangs up with his uncle, a sexologist, and hatches an ingenious plan. He gets a bikini-clad firangi gori ( Linda Arsenio ) to pretend as his fiancée while Aamna is left to win over the family’s heart by doing everything that’s considered right in a typical Punjabi family in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar.

We all know what the outcome is going to be, so the only way ‘Aloo Chaat’ could have got its viewers glued to the screen is by telling the story interestingly. And to be fair, there are some genuinely funny moments. Like the old granny suspecting Nikhil to be a gay after watching the movie “Toota Mountain”. Or Nikhil’s suspicious mama creating troubles. But these moments are few and fleeting.

Aftab Shivdasani is at ease in the skin of his character, while Aamna Sharif (carrying her traditional image forward from TV) makes a comfortable debut that doesn’t put much demand on her acting skills. Linda Arsenio chips in a lot of glam as the American gal who likes to sunbathe in Dilli ki dhoop. The supporting cast – Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Manoj Pahwa and Sanjay Mishra – is simple superb.

But for the title song, the music is no great shakes. The cinematography is strictly okay.

The movie, however, can be watched for some timepass fun.

Rating: **