By Taran Adarsh, 13 Jan 2012, 10:54 hrs IST

Released On: 13 Jan 2012

Directed By: Hriday Shetty

Starring: Naseeruddin Shah, Atul Kulkarni, Kay Kay Menon, Ravi Kissen, Shweta Bhardwaj, Rajesh Sharma, Zakir Hussain, Manoj Pahwa, Reetu Jain, Arbaaz Ali Khan

Naseeruddin Shah. Kay Kay Menon. Atul Kulkarni. Ravi Kishen. Zakir Hussain. A dream cast, isn’t it? When such talented actors, especially the very first name that I’ve cited, green-lights a project, the expectations sky-rocket dramatically. You can’t afford to go wrong. The talent has to be utilized to the optimum. Wasting it in an ordinary script would be sacrilegious.

On paper, after the actors must’ve read the script, I am sure they must’ve exclaimed, ‘What an idea, Sirji’! But interesting ideas don’t necessarily translate into interesting films. CHAALIS CHAURAASI proves it yet again. Problem kya hain? It’s an ordinary screenplay that relies on the customary masala to make things work. But when you cast actors of such calibre, you can’t afford to go for the tried and tested stuff. You’ve got to be innovative, you need to take risks, you need to walk the untrodden path, you need to defy the norms… which, unfortunately, CHAALIS CHAURAASI doesn’t.

The story revolves around four people — Sir [Naseeruddin Shah], Albert [Kay Kay Menon], Bobby [Atul Kulkarni] and Shakti [Ravi Kishan] — who see an opportunity to a great future when they are given a mission to pull off. Things take a twist when another cop [Rajesh Sharma] stops More >