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Chingari
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'Chingari' Lacklustre

By Nikhil Kumar
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

A few good acting performances can raise a film, but not make one.

Kalpana Lazmi’s latest movie ‘Chingari’, like her previous films, is based on a women-centric theme. But such stories inspiring the empowerment of women, no matter how noble in intent, are a bit off-sync with the present tastes of movie buffs.

In

‘Chingari’, Lazmi tries to walk the middle-path between art and commercial cinema. The story, its setting and the transformation of characters have hues of realism enmeshed with commercial elements. But overall, ‘Chingari’ ends up neither here nor there. That is to say, it neither really stirs you with the idea of women empowerment, nor it entertains you.

Chingari’s main stars are Sushmita Sen, Mithun Chakraborty and Anuj Sawhney.

The movie is set in a village called Rangpur in rural India. In the aptly named Laalbatti area in the village, lives and works prostitute Basanti (Sushmita Sen), along with many girls and women of the same profession.

An outspoken woman, Basanti caters to her customers without letting anyone trample upon her dignity. She finds love in Chandan (Anuj Sawhney), the village postman.

But this love does not go down well with the village priest Bhuvan Panda (Mithun Chakraborty).

Panda is a powerful but phoney priest feared by many and revered by few. Beneath his saintly saffron garb lies a sinner who exploits others for money, sex and influence.

Spurned by Basanti, Panda tries to crush her pride by getting rid of Chandan.

Basanti refuses to bow and vows revenge. This is when the prostitute turns into a chingari, a spark that will burn the fake godman’s house down.

Sushmita Sen is the only light of ‘Chingari’, arguably delivering her best acting performance till date. She puts many shades into her character Basanti. She is charming, outspoken, mellow, rude, crass, self-esteemed, lovable and fearful. Her sequences with Mithun and particularly the transformation of her character in the second half lift the movie from its sombre trot.

Her acting in the pre-climax portions when she breathes fire and avenges her foe is remarkable.

Having said that, ‘Chingari’ still remains an uninteresting and uninspiring movie.

Even if the lethargic pace into which the movie gears time and again be discounted, the progression of the story and its predictable conclusion fails to grip a viewer. The transformation of a hapless woman into the goddess Durga-esque avatar is something we have seen in Lazmi’s previous films as well. This one just happens to have a different story.

The music in the movie is plain mediocre. The dialogues and the use of crude, obscene language in certain portions is realistic, but it won’t go down well with family viewers.

Newcomer Anuj Sawhney adds a few light moments into the movie and gives a notable performance. Mithun impresses in some sequences and over-acts in others.

In a nutshell, ‘Chingari’ is all spark and smoke without any real flame. The movie is well intended, but fails to make any substantial impact.

Lacklustre.

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