ChikPapa Very disappointed :(

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Srinivas G Phani Cheeni Kum boasts of a peculiar tagline 'Sugarfree Romance', the never paired Tabu and Amitabh Bacchan and also Illayaraja's superb music. Cheeni Kum is one of finest works till date with superb performances, good storyline and everything one wants in a perfect entertainer. Comparisons with RGV's Nishabd make no sense at all. That one is completely different.34 year-old Neena Verma (Tabu) meets the 64 year-old short-tempered chef of an Indian Restaurant in London, Spice 6 - Buddha Dev Gupta (Amitabh Bacchan). Love blossoms between them and Buddha travels all the way to Neena's residence in Delhi and asks her father (Paresh Rawal) for his daughter's hand. But there's one problem – Neena's father is just 58, six years younger than Buddha.The story promises lots of laughs, drama and fun. The screenplay is superb. A number of sequences catch your attention in the first half – 1. Zafrani Pulao incident and Amitabh telling sorry to Neena. 2. Neena introducing Jesin as her boyfriend and the birthday party. 3. The relation Amitab shares with his mother. 4. 9 year-old cancer affected neighbor, Sexy's interest for Adult movies and the way she talks like grownups. But the second half of the movie is not as indulging as the first. But still the movie is fine there too – for instance, Buddha looking out for different chances to ask for his daughter's hand. The end is a bit stretched but still, it is perfect. The film could have been edited by at least 15 minutes for better impact. But the situations described in the film are quite hilarious.Coming to the performances – Tabu stands first. She is superb. Her camera presence is bound to be noticed. She teases Amitabh throughout the film and deserves mention for that. She is under the skin of Neena. Despite having a dominant actor as her co-star she makes her presence felt. Amitabh gets a fair chance to prove himself too. He plays the character of 'angry old man' this time. He mainly does well in the final reels. He and Tabu make a good pair. Waiting to see more of them. Zohra Sehgal as Buddha's mother is first-rate. The sequence where she talks with Tabu for the first time is well filmed. Swini Khara as Sexy is equally good. Her expressionless face works. She delivers dialogues with tremendous ease (though I doubt if she actually knew the meaning of what she spoke in the film). Paresh Rawal as Neena's father is too good. He enters in the second-half and dominates it mostly. Paresh Rawal delivers something new in every film and is very true to the work appointed. Other supporting cast is adequate.Debutante director R. Balki shows his expertise in directing. The direction is very good and so is the production design. Cinematography is good. The posh locales of London and Delhi spice up the goings-on. Background music by Illayaraja is too good. The theme music deserves applause. Songs are good too but they take a backseat. Baatein Hawa Hai is hardly there while Cheeni Kum comes now and then in the background. Sooni Sooni's only first two lines are featured towards the end. Jaane Do Na is the only song that is actually there. The costumes are perfect – especially that of Tabu are a treat to the eyes.On the whole, Cheeni Kum is a decent entertainer. Must watch it at least once.

Sanjeev Kumar I recommend readers to watch this movie (if they have not seen already). It is a great movie indeed, very funny dialog and some great acting by Mr Bachchan, Tabu & Paresh R. This is a kind of movie u can ask your friends to watch, who r not used to Indian movies (foreigners, or those who think Indian movies r not good enough).A great work by the director, Mr Balki and the entire team. I hope u will find it more interesting to watch this movie than reading my comment. Happy watching...;-)

aanilk Sugarless romance...interesting tag line. The movie actually centers more on an Umbrella, DVDs, Sugar, condom, age of the hero and many such unrelated words that become part of a delicate, funny story line in the hands of director Balki.Don't be influenced by some negative reviews of this movie. It is akin to Hindi movie "Lamhe" - a movie which was a hit with the Home video users, but not at movie theaters. Creativity is at the heart of many scenes in the movie. The director's creative background(Balki is a veteran ad maker) constantly pulls at the characters and the way they interact with each other. Tabu, the heroine, is a revelation in this movie.

RAHUL DATTA CHEENI KUM is a rare recent film which defies stereotypes and entertains you thoroughly from start to finish .It has excellent performances by an eminent cast and brilliant soundtrack by the maestro Illaiyaraja . Dialogues are one of the "stars" of this film. Wit and humor seen here has a certain freshness about it. Also , except some moments in the second half , where you feel there is a slackness in the pace and proceedings , you don't feel like going out of the auditorium even during songs. R.Balki , an adman , creative director of LOWE India , who has made some memorable ads in his career , has made a brilliant debut.Way to go Balki! And all those cine fans out there, go watch it. You won't be disappointed