Chandni Chowk to China

[thatguy]

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--tg

[Drunk Monk]

...and you know where to get info on kf flicks: http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/sh...hp?t=52608

[Drunk Monk]

http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/ar...rticle=800

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

I promise to say it's not Bollywood. But in the trailer there is that scene where they are floating above a faux city holding onto an umbrella while they duet.

The least you could do would be to give out the website to broaden the discussion: CC2C

[Drunk Monk]

it's on the kfm thread.
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/sh...ostcount=3

[Drunk Monk]

...this is definitely not for everyone.

For Bollywood fans, it's another fun romp. I saw it at Naz cinema, an Indian multiplex where you can get samosas with spicy chutney and decent tea at the snack bar. I was the only non-Indian, much to the amusement of my neighbors, who asked me if I understood Hindi. They also asked me how I was liking it during intermission and shared popcorn. The older Indian lady with the warmest grin said proudly "Let's see Hollywood make a movie like that!" after to me.

You really got to see Bollywood with an Indian audience to *get* it. These are family events. There were kids and babies in the audience at the 10Pm showing, which given the length, didn't let out until 1 AM. Indians whistle and cheer when the stars first appear. They stand up and shout approval when the film's moral is declared - surely something about true love, familial loyalty, respecting tradition, honoring your word and/or patriotism. Moreover, they laugh hysterically at anything over-the-top, especially the scenes played for the heartstrings. The tearful interludes aren't supposed to be serious, despite some fine performances and well-overlaid plot devices. Those are totally meant to be funny. In one totally preposterous romantic flying scene, the audience reacted with 'oohs' first because it was so saccarin and should have been totally predictable given the foreshadowing and then laughter at how totally absurd it was. Ashkay plays like a Ben Stiller character who looks like Borat with a goofy mustache and then transforms into George Clooney after his kung fu enlightenment. It's a fair display of dramatic range. The film references James Bond (or Askhay's own Indian version Khiladi), classic Bollywood and Ashkay's own hits. Ranvir Shorey kept reminding me of a young Nic Cage. Roger Yuan is the Mako of the new millennium. Ironically, the dance numbers were fairly lackluster, played mostly for laughs, but I confess, I'm still humming the theme song.

As a kung fu movie, it's painfully in the wake of Kung Fu Hustle, to the point of homage in many early scenes. But it's not as rapid-fire absurd as KFH, muddled with an extra hour's worth of Bollywood sentimentality. Gordon Liu is relentless in his portrayal of Hojo. It's a good to see him in action in such a strange masala mix. He's so still got it. Deepika comes from a pro-badminton family and had the opportunity to turn pro, so she has the quick reflexes to handle her scenes and the good looks that make us overlook the mediocrity of her fights; still, she's better than Charlie's Angels or D.O.A. Ashkay was a former martial arts teacher, is in great shape and has a decent roundhouse. Who can fault him for wanting to fight Liu, the Master Killer himself? It's reminicent of Lee wanted to fight Shek Kin in ETD. Of course, Ashkay's no match for Liu, so they default to a lot of wire work and CGI. Even in the Good, Bad, Ugly pre-final-fight eye duel stare down, Liu trounces Ashkay with eyes that have stared down a hundred such matches before - to his credit because Indian stars really work their eyes more than anything else, I'd venture. The choreography is pretty par for the course in cinema nowadays - lots of wires, lots or dramatic cinematography, fair choroegraphy overall. And still, there are some fight moments that are almost fresh. If you're a follower of the genre, it's worth checking out.

As an American release, I doubt it will do well. It's too long, too odd, and will be taken too seriously by those who have no foundation in Bollywood. I'm glad to see it get a large release, but I think it will put most Americans off of future ventures in this direction, if there are any.

As a Chinese release, it might work. The Chinese actually speak Chinese and there's a lot of narration that could easily be swapped into Chinese. They just need to change that and the narration, which would be easy switches, much easier than trying to get U.S. audiences to sit still for 2 1/2 hours. That's the key in CC2C's success. It can tank here in the states, but if it does well in India and in China, a trend will follow.

If you see it, see it with an Indian audience if you can. There will be moments when everything seems really serious, sad, or poignent - some crazy soul baring moment where the actor really starts to deliver - and the audience will start laughing uproariously, and you'll realize that it's just meant to be entertaining. And be sure to get the mint chutney on the samosas.

[Drunk Monk]

Been toying with renting this from iTunes for $3.99 but then found it at Logos used for $3 and just couldn't resist. I own it now - the disc has a rental sticker but is in pristine condition which leads me to believe it was hardly ever rented.

It's not nearly as good out of context (my bungalow is not a substitute for Naz cinema at midnight), but it's still quite enjoyable. It achieves exactly what it sets out to achieve, a fusion of the Kung Fu and Bollywood genres, so of course, I'm gonna enjoy it. I suspect that only CF might get it here as he has had experience with both genres. I really wouldn't recommend it for Bollywood virgins.

Dhoom has sent me down the Bollywood rabbit hole.