Chhupa Rustam Review

For stars, movies like this are something of an embarrassment, but for non-starters like Sanjay Kapoor and Mamta Kulkarni, they are nothing but grim reminders of their utter lack of talent. And for the audience, they are just non-starrers. The amazing thing about this movie is that Manisha Koirala chose to star in it, but by the looks of it this one's from the Saudagar days. What else could explain Mamta getting more screen time than her?

Sanjay Kapoor plays a dual role - Raja, the punk, and Nirmal Chenoy, the owner of a tea estate (unfortunately, you don't get much variation around here). SP Gupta sets Raja up to take over from Nirmal Chenoy to get control of the estate. Nirmal gets blown up by his stepmother and conniving relatives, but Raja somehow steps in to take control. From one inanity to the other, this one's a numbing experience.

The songs test your patience - that is, if you can't enjoy watching Mamta throw her now immense weight around in them. Manisha Koirala does the mistake of taking her character too seriously, as she puts in all energy to ham like she never did or ever will (hopefully). As for Sanjay Kapoor, he has just enough talent to entertain us as Anil Kapoor's look-alike in some countdown show or something (and that too if he stops taking himself seriously in that and agrees to grow a stubble). He does look like his brother and has a voice like him, but it's at best funny to watch him emote.

With a script that has been borrowed from David Dhawan's Bol Radha Bol, director Aziz Sajaawal does a good job of making a terrible film. But, at least he can't be accused of blowing up great talent that neither he nor anyone from the unit possessed.