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Chandni Chowk to China (Hindi: चाँदनी चौक टू चाईना, Urdu: چاندنی چوک ٹو چائنا, Chinese: 從印度到中國/从印度到中国) is a Hindi film which released on 16 January 2009. It is directed by Nikhil Advani and stars Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles, with Hindi cinema veteran Mithun Chakraborty and Hong Kong action cinema veteran Gordon Liu among the co-stars. In addition to being shot in China, many parts of the film were shot in Bangkok, Thailand,[2][3] although some of the China scenes were shot in sets in the Shanghai Film Studio.[3] Distributed in the U.S. and co-produced by Warner Bros., it is the third Bollywood movie made and distributed in partnership with a major Hollywood studio, following Sony's Saawariya (2007) and Walt Disney Pictures' animated feature Roadside Romeo (2008).[4] It is Warner Bros. Pictures' first Hindi film.[3]
[edit] PlotSidhu (Akshay Kumar) is a lowly vegetable cutter at a roadside food stall in the Chandni Chowk section of Delhi. He longs to escape his dreary existence and looks for shortcuts with astrologers, tarot card readers, and fake fakirs, refusing to believe in himself despite his foster father Dada's (Mithun Chakraborty) best efforts. When two strangers from China claim him as a reincarnation of a war hero in the past and take him to China, Sidhu, thanks to devious translations by his con-man buddy Chopstick (Ranvir Shorey), believes he will be taken to an exotic land and feted as a hero. In actuality, the Chinese men want him to rid their Chinese village of the vicious smuggler Hojo (Gordon Liu). Sidhu blissfully sets forth to China with Chopstick. Along the way he meets Sakhi (Deepika Padukone), the Indian-Chinese spokesmodel known as Ms. Tele Shoppers Media, or Ms. TSM, who is travelling to the land of her birth and of her presumed-dead [who is still alive] father and her twin sister, Suzy. Suzy, also known as the femme fatale Meow Meow, works for Hojo, not knowing Hojo tried to kill her father. Sidhu, through a series of lucky coincidences, initially manages to sidestep being beaten by Hojo's men, but Hojo eventually catches up with him and exposes him as the buffoon he really is. Hojo kills Dada, and a disgraced Sidhu, left for dead himself, vows revenge. He encounters an amnesiac vagrant who turns out to be former Police Chief Chiang (Roger Yuan), the father of Sakhi and Suzy. Chiang recovers his memory, with his Kung Fu skills still intact. Sidhu wishes to learn cosmo Kung Fu. Chiang takes Sidhu on as his apprentice, and after months of training, Sidhu sets off to defeat Hojo, free the village, reunite the sisters, and win Sakhi's love. [edit] Cast
[edit] ProductionThe film, earlier known as Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo and also Made in China,[5] is written by Sridhar Raghavan. Shooting began in January 2008 and included a schedule in China.[6] The music is by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy. The film also features music by Kailash Kher, Bappi Lahiri-Bappa Lahiri and a rap song sung by Akshay Kumar and composed by Punjabi rapper Bohemia. The soundtrack album was released 2 December 2008. The film was rated PG-13 by the MPAA, for violence and martial arts action. [edit] Release[edit] Box office receptionChandni Chowk to China earned INR 330 million (210 million net) in its opening weekend.[7] [8] The film's total North American box office in the four weeks of running was $921,738.The film has earned $15 million(approx) equalling INR 75 crores worldwide making a modest profit.[9] The film was rated a major flop at the box office. [edit] Critical receptionThe movie received mixed reviews. It received a low 46% ratings on the film-critics aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes [10] and a 44 out of 100 score from Metacritic.[11] Claudia Puig of USA Today said, "This Indian/Chinese cinematic hybrid is likable and entertaining but overlong and occasionally hokey", and that star Akshay Kumar's "physical humor brings to mind Jim Carrey".[12] John Anderson of Variety wrote, "If "Chandni Chowk to China" were a person, it would need Valium", and found that "everything is fast and furious, hilarious, hysterical and frantic. Some of the sequences ... are quite beautiful and, in the case of the dance numbers featuring Padukone, stunning. But it's the fight scenes ... that truly take off".[13] Frank Lovece of Newsday wrote, "Less a Bollywood bonbon than a pan-Asian fusion dish, this combination of Indian musical and Chinese chopsocky is, nonetheless, delicious fun".[14] Steven Rae of The Philadelphia Inquirer stated that, "Chandni Chowk is entertainingly goofy for about 30 minutes. And then, for the next two hours-plus, it's agony."[15] Scott Tobias of The Onion described the film as "crass, schizophrenic, culturally insensitive, horribly paced, and shameless in its pandering to the lowest common denominator",[16] while Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly said, "This galumphing elephant of a chopsocky revenge-of-the-nerd quasi-musical lacks the lyrical choreographic beauty that has marked such Stateside Bollywood releases as the gorgeous Lagaan".[17] Michael Philips of the Chicago Tribune called the film "a massive and rather tiring showcase for Bollywood action hero Akshay Kumar".[18] Indian critic Taran Adarsh gave the movie 1.5/5 stars, calling it "a big, big, big letdown".[19] Rajeev Masand of IBN termed it a tiring watch, while praising Kumar's performance.[20] The film has so far received one award nomination, with Deepika Padukone being nominated for Best Actress at the 3rd Asian Film Awards held in March 2009.[21] [edit] ControversyIn Nepal, there were protests against the film due to a passing claim that Buddha was born in India; Lumbini, which is the birthplace of Buddha, is located in Nepal. Several shows were cancelled due to heavy protests from students and youth groups.[22] Protests included threats by Buddhists to burn movie theaters that screened the film, and racial slurs like "Dhoti" (the Indian term for a form of traditional clothing which is used as a derogatory racial slur against Indians in Nepal, see Usage of Dhoti in Nepal) hurled at the Indian embassy in Katmandu.[22] The protests continued for several days, despite the Nepali distributor editing out the piece of narration that mentioned Buddha in the copies of the film shown in Nepal. On Thursday, 22 January Nepali cinemas stopped screening Chandni Chowk to China.[23] [edit] Music
The music of Chandni Chowk to China was released on 2 December 2008. The album features composers as diverse as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Kailash-Paresh-Naresh, Bappi Lahiri-Bappa Lahiri and Bohemia (musician). [edit] ReceptionJoginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama.com rated it 3.5/5, claiming, "Chandni Chowk to China is clearly the next musical hit in the making."[24] [edit] TracksThe album consists of the following eight tracks:
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[edit] External links
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