Chaman Bahaar Review: A Whole Lot of Nothingness!

Chaman Bahaar, the new direct to Netflix release, directed by debutant Apurva Dhar Badgaiyann stars Jitendra Kumar and Ritika Badiani in the lead roles with Bhuvan Arora, Dherendra Kumar Tiwari, Alam Khan, and Ashwani Kumar as the supporting cast. The storyline commences with Billu (Jitendra Kumar), who aspires to dance to his own tune, opens up a paan shop on a supposedly busy road, which later becomes uncluttered due to the new regulations in town.

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As he spends most of his days’ spatting flies and listening to the old mundane tunes on the radio, his fate shifts when a teenage girl moves into the house opposite to his shop with her parents, and manages to bring him financial luck. Eventually, his shop named ‘Chaman Bahaar’ becomes a hotspot for every desperate guy in the town to have a tiny peek at the city’s most hot and attractive girl during her evening walks and while she is attending household chores. Subsequently, things turn upside down for all the obvious reasons, and the remainder of the movie details the trials and tribulations Billu went through during this phase.

Yoodlee Films, the indie film studio behind the recent Netflix streaming victor – Axone, once again managed to invest in new talent with a brand new director helming the project, and a cast filled with minimal prominent names. And the movie, throughout its entirety, represents that indie movie vibe without any elegance or grandeur a Bollywood production regularly maintains. The setting is pretty straightforward, uncomplicated, and very authentic from the production design, the limited shooting spots, and the casual dialogue that feels like the usual banter that we usually have daily.

However, the most uninteresting part of the film is its storyline that lacks appeal, charm, and entertainment. Most importantly, it lingers around the pit of nothingness at length and rushes the narrative with the conclusion, which seemed more anti-climatic, rather than satisfying. Nevertheless, to my surprise, I was able to get through the film without me having to throw my Chinese television out-of-the-window, primarily because of the setting and also the characters.

Moving on the characters, Jitendra Kumar, once again excels in his role, this time as Billu, an innocent and unassertive individual who falls for this unattainable beauty amid all the chaos. His body language, mannerisms, and the performance were flawless for the most part and suited his role splendidly. Ritika Badiani had nothing much to offer as her character only allowed her to look pretty, and ride her scooter with grace.

The remainder of the cast, especially Bhuvan Arora and Dherendra Kumar Tiwari, recalled some of the memories I had with my friends, and they managed to land a few laughs here are there with their antics. Also, a special shout out to the music director, Anshuman Mukherjee, who composed a few decent tunes, particularly the one sung by Sonu Nigam.

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Overall, Chaman Bahaar had very minimal things to contribute in terms of a decent and a captivating narrative. But, the micro-budget vibe, the characters, and the performances attempted to provide some appeal, which ultimately did not work for the most part. An easily forgettable film that you may not regret watching if you nothing else to do. Watch ‘Chaman Bahaar’ on Netflix here.

Rating – 2/5 | Grade – C

Images via Yoodlee Films