Chachi 420 - Movie Review

Published: July 28, 2010

By EKTA R. GARG

Starring Kamal Hassan, Tabu, Amrish Puri, Om Puri, Johnny Walker, Paresh Rawal

As one of many Bollywood remakes of Hollywood films, Chachi 420 is a charming desi adaptation of the Robin Williams movie, Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). While Williams brought his own special talent to the role of a divorced man who cross-dresses as a nanny to be close to his kids kept away by a court order, director Kamal Hassan's Bollywood version is arguably much better that the original.

Hassan also plays the main character, Jai, an assistant dance director for films. He has a whirlwind romance with Janki (played with just the right amount of tartness by Tabu) that leads to marriage, but once the headiness of the honeymoon wears off, restlessness sets in. Hassan doesn’t spend much time showing exactly how disgruntlement breaks the pair apart, but the film’s opening scenes in divorce court are convincing enough. Janki (a lawyer herself) wins full custody of their young daughter, Bharti, and when Jai gets visitation once every two weeks, he almost can’t stand it. A series of misunderstandings leads to the cancellation of the visitation, and Jai is determined to find a way to be with his daughter.

Jai spots an ad in the newspaper listed by his ex-wife, stating that a nanny is needed for Bharti. Jai calls and speaks to his former father-in-law—with whom Janki and Bharti now live—and manages to get an interview for the job. Since he has connections in the film industry, Jai turns to a makeup artist friend, Joseph (played with perfect nonchalance by Indian actor, Johnny Walker, in his last film role). Joseph turns Jai into Mrs. Laxmi Godbole, and Jai heads off to his father-in-law’s home to get the nanny position.

In tailoring the original story for Indian audiences, Hassan did a remarkable job of assembling an incredibly talented supporting cast. The late Amrish Puri plays Janki’s father and provides just the right amount of stern presence; the immensely funny Paresh Rawal plays Jai’s prickly landlord; and Om Puri plays a personal assistant who can’t seem to get things right. Famed Indian lyricist and poet Gulzar wrote dialogues that are spot-on; the deadpan comedic timing of Hassan makes for laugh-out-loud fare. And the particularly Indian twists in the story will make fans wonder why the Robin Williams original didn’t have one or two of these subplots.

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