CHHALAANG

 #FinalVerdict: PASSABLE

Rating: 2 stars

On paper, the concept of Chhalaang sounds interesting and you expect the film to score a century like several films churned out by director Hansal Mehta. But the problem is its writing, which is tame and mediocre.

The romantic moments between Nushrratt Bharuccha and Rajkummar Rao lack fizz. Even the assorted characters like Jatin Sarna, Ila Arun and Saurabh Shukla contribute nothing to the film.

Chhalaang has a patchy script. It's interesting initially but takes the beaten path later. The film stagnates just when you think everything is going fine. The graph of the film is erratic. It goes up and down at regular intervals. Things take a dip in the second hour. After an easy-on-your-senses first hour, you expect a certain culmination to the story, but what you receive is not what you desire. Chhalaang isn't great cinema. It isn't bad either. It floats in between.

Fine, director Hansal Mehta has executed a number of sequences with panache, but the film is not as invigorating in toto. The screenplay (Luv Ranjan, Aseem Arora and Zeishan Quadri) lacks meat in the second hour. And that takes Chhalaang a few notches down.

Also, the humour in the first half compels you to flex your facial muscles quite often. But the film faces roadblocks thanks to the half-baked story (Luv Ranjan). Hitesh Sonik's music is good. Eeshit Narain's cinematography is lucid.

Hansal Mehta's direction is satisfactory. Though the viewer is well aware of what the ending would be, the climax is well executed. Unfortunately, the final speech by Rajkummar Rao is outright predictable. Chhalaang would've benefitted with an innovative end.

Chhalaang belongs to both Rajkummar Rao and Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub. As always, they deliver sparkling performances. Nushrratt Bharuccha is highly competent. Jatin Sarna, Saurabh Shukla, Ila Arun, Rajeev Gupta and Suparna Marwah are wasted. Satish Kaushik and Baljinder Kaur are first-rate.

On the whole, Chhalaang is strictly average!