Saturday, May 20, 2017

Chi va Chi Sau Ka

Directed by Prakash Mokashi, Chi va Chi Sau Ka is a film about a host of love stories, none of which use the textbook formula for love. In fact, if one word could describe this film, it would be ‘experimentation’.
Satya (Lalit Prabhakar), a manufacturer of solar panels, is determined to do his bit to save the planet. Savitri (Mrunmayee Godbole), on the other hand, is a veterinary doctor, an obsessive animal lover and quite understandably a vegan who detests all non-vegetarians. When they come face to face in an arrange marriage scenario, they decide to live together for a couple of months before tying the knot. 
The expected scuffles follow but it is refreshingly good to see that the economic disparity between the two families is not highlighted even once as a deciding factor. In 2008, in Sanai Choughade, there are some important discourses about ‘lok-laaj’. Barely a decade later, CVCSK beautifully shows how our society is now open to change. Also, the couple’s Kung-fu romance and actually doing something meaningful for each other is much more appealing than the cliché red-rose-romance.
Starting with the opening frame of the film, few scenes are directorial masterpieces. However, Mokashi seems to let his horses loose in a few others and it thoroughly disappoints the viewer. The characters, like the title, are slightly offbeat but completely relatable in today’s day and age. Having a sutradhar has worked well in some films but doesn’t seem necessary in this one, it interrupts the flow rather than providing the weaving thread. Barring a few over-the-top scenes, humour is rightly placed.
If you expect another masterpiece from the director of Harishchandrachi factory and Elizabeth Ekadashi, you are going to be disappointed, but if you are looking for a new age rom-com, Chi va Chi Sau Ka is the film for you.