Movie Review : Chopsticks

Friday Night lightness

Movie : Chopsticks
Language : Hindi
Runtime : 100 minutes.

The lockdown has me craving for some light hearted wholesomeness. After a rough rumble and tumble through the work week, Friday nights provide the first respite from the onslaught of zoom calls, emails and slack pings. Chopsticks is a welcome break from the weekday universe.

’Chopsticks’ tells us the story of Nirma, an innocent and apprehensive girl, who buys a car only to have it stolen on day 1. She enlists the support of ‘Artist’ (Abhay Deol), a suave trickster from the neighborhood to track it down. The rest of the story is the two of them discovering their characters while hunting the car.

There’s a steady pace to the screenplay. Not too fast and rushy on the details and not too slow and making us drown in an elaborate character building exercise. Just about right, like the salmon that Artist cooks up. The lively and unique characters cast in the movie make it an enjoyable watch. There is Vijay Raaz as Faiyaz Bhai, a gangster with a love for old hindi music, Bahubali the Goat that has Animal Planet swooning to name a few.

Is the movie going to rack up nominations in the award season ? Probably not. There are some preachy exchanges that Artist and Nirma that makes for uneasy viewing, but they are far and few. It’s a simple story with a well crafted screenplay that hums along and enough depth in the characters to make it work.

‘Chopsticks’ provides the comfort of a fluffy blanket, satisfying a need that all of us have in these times. Wrap it around yourself, relax and not drown in the details.



Cheers,
Anerudh