Review
Channa Mereya
Movie
Channa Mereya Movie Review : People Walked Out Laughing At This Bad Remake Attempt!
Pankaj Bajtra's 'Channa Mereya' is a below average, senseless remake that has gone miserably wrong. It is difficult to believe that the director is Pankaj Batra, the same man who has given us gems like Bambukat and Channo.
Director - Pankaj Batra
Starcast - Amit Bhalla (Ninja), Payal Rajput, Yograj Singh, Amrit Mann, Karamjit Anmol, BN Sharma, Anita Devgn, and more
There were 3 debutantes in this movie and for those who follow us regularly, we did tell you that we're doubtful about Ninja's acting skills. Though Ninja is a fantabulous singer but there's still time before we can call him an actor.
Channa Mereya is a remake of the Marathi blockbuster 'Sairaat'. It is the story of Kainaat Dhillon (Payal Rajput), the daughter of an MLA (Yograj Singh) and Jagat (Ninja), the son of a farmer who has taken the same MLA's land on lease. The boy and girl fall in love, get caught during a secretive car kissing mode, get beaten, parted and finally succeed in eloping to Dalhousie. There they meet a man who offers them his house to live, his rehri to work and his life to exploit!
In the end, both of them are seen lying on the floor, covered in blood and a little boy running out of the door with blood on his tiny shoes.
The storyline seems to be from a 90s typical bolly film where an oonche ghar di kudi falls in love with a gareeb munda and then the parental melodrama starts but when in Punjab, one has to be extra cautious that these are the Punjabis watching and not the Mumbaikars or Marathis who will accept the fact that the boy and girl just don't care about their parents and those who love them.
The film started on a cricket note and Ninja was introduced from amongst sarson de khet, running behind a white MUV and then watching Kainaat get off the car and do her little yawning and unwanted chedchaad with a sleeping watchmen. Bus ehnak hee si cs ohde baad kudi kithe nazar ji ni ai. Then he is taken to the cricket ground where his team is losing the match and he comes, flaunts his make up kitiyan abs and with continous sixes makes them win. The guest of honour for the award ceremony are MLA sahb and their kakaji.
Okay, things progress and the duo keep seeing each other and confronting each other at various boring occasions. The same goes on till they finally confess that they're in love with each other and Kainaat decides to accept the offer of giving Jagat a kiss and that too in her car that is parked in her own vehda, while her brother's birthday is underway (Swaaah!). Bus fer ki..they get caught, beaten and that's where we expected that the film would bring in some swaad, but intermission hogya and we had some swaad jahe caramel popcorns (that was the only swaad I had throughout the film).
Chalo ji interval khatam and our eyes on the screen again. Things start moving again and people start thrashing each other and guns and dialogues flow from one person to another. Suddenly, the couple jumps in a local river and next we see them in a snow clad place and soon we get to know that they've reached Dalhousie (Hain??). They get sheltered by BN Sharma who offers them his house and life. 5 years pass and they have a kid but suddenly Kainaat decides to call her mother and that's where their life and the film ends!
Haaah!
Byjo, yes it sounds less boring here trust me..asi dekhi sanu pta ki ki horeha si usch jehda palle hee ni peya ke yaar aah kitho??
Points that boggled my mind were:
- How did Kainaat, a girl who's forever studied in Dehradun, get Jagat so love struck that he's all head over heels??
- Why was cricket introduced when the game had nothing to do throughout the movie?
- Why those teacher bashing scenes??
- Why that extra long love letter sequence??
- Why show a child being misused for such purposes?
- Why was Amrit Mann's romantic side shown??
- Why didn't the director show much connect with that friend of Jagat who got killed?? Why was the entire focus on Karamjit Amol's character?
- What was the point of Karamjit Anmol's character when there was nothing meaningful for him to do besides some comic scenes and a god forsaken one sided romance?
- Why did the three plan to take a bus when they had the money for even a flight's journey??
- Why did they get up and look out of the window as soon as the police official leaves the bus? Did they want to be seen?
- How come Jagat, after getting beaten up by the police with batons, comes running outside when Kainaat gets defensive? No bruises, no pain??
- What happens to Jagat's friend after he drops him midway?
- How come the couple, after jumping in deep waters, reach Dalhousie??
- They needed food, they needed shelter, didn't Dalhousie have a Gurudwara??
- Ultimately, je aram naal reh hee rahe si ta gharey phone krn di ki lorh paegai si??
- And lastly, how can a man, who's family has been badly thrashed by someone, come over and greet him as ssa bhaji, ssa ji??
Channa Mereya could have made sense to people living in UP, MP or places where people don't really have Punjabi culture but as a typical Punjabi child, I'd openly say that in Punjab, the youth has much more attachment with their parents and families, atleast ohnanu mrn lai chadke nahi bhaj jaange.
All the actors, including perfectionists like Yograj Singh, Anita Devgn and others were not upto the mark. It clearly showed that they're acting and not really into the character. Ninja was emotionless, his dialogue delivery was inexpressive and those abs were too made up. The direction was poorly done and the film lacked connect, and one could see a lot of top shots in places where they weren't even required.
Payal was good but she needs to put on some extra kilos to fit into the Punjabi mainstream picture and Amrit Mann was the better one out of all, though not exceptional.
The songs of this film are the only good thing about this Channa Mereya which has turned out as a dark Amavasya for us atleast.
Verdict - Totally Avoid! (People were seen walking out laughing and saying 'Agge ki hoega eh kal dsnge')
