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Choona review: A clever black comedy glossed by quirky characters and interesting performances.
What: Choona review: A clever black comedy glossed by quirky characters and interesting performances.
Choona synopsis
Choona, written and directed by Pushpendra Nath Misra, encompasses a heist at the centre of its plot and an array of oddball, quirky misfits who execute this elaborate and shaky looking plan to exact revenge on their common nemesis - Avinash Shukla(Jimmy Shergill), a power-hungry and corrupt political honcho.
The misfits - a hot-headed youth leader, Ansari (Aashim Gulati), a fumbling chicken-ass constable and Ansari's chaddi-buddy, Baankey( Gyanendra Tripathi), his fierce sister and Ansari's love, Bela (Monika Panwar) , a Pandit (Atul Srivastava) under Shukla's payroll, a shape-shifting (read Behrupia) Triloki (Namit Das), and his ethical hacker girlfriend Jhumpa (Niharika Lyra Dutt) a slacker, JP Saab (Vikram Kochhar) and Shukla's mute saala (Chandan Roy) unite under unusual circumstances to loot ₹600 crore worth money from the astrology-obsessed Shukla who is desperate to overthrow the slum goes by the name Pathani Tola and build a state-of-the-art mall there.
Armed with a burlesque bodyguard Madan Singh (Joh kisiko chhodta nahin, bus Drop karta hai), a PA Asthana and few goons like Mintu Grenade , Shukla operates as the head of the Swachh Samaj Party, calls the shots and tries to influence Ansari who is an inhabitant of Pathani tola.
With a fascinating voiceover (by Arshad Warsi) that runs intermittently through all the eight episodes, Mishra curates a wonderful and a very intimate narrative rooted in hinterland India with quirky characters. The treatment shares it soul with Raj & DK brand of filmmaking where every character has a valuable story plugged into the core plotline.
Arshad Warsi, who is the spiritual sutradar of this show continuously peppers humour into the proceeding through the inventive commentary and Jimmy Shergill exerts power and prowess as the antagonist. His Shukla is fleshed out very interestingly - he is both evil and hopelessly superstitious when it comes to his Kundli, Graha and Nakshatra. Power has made him evil and insensitive, and his false beliefs lead him to the downward spiral.
Jimmy is one of the most underrated and versatile actors of our country and he is in terrific form in Choona - consistently endeavouring to keep his planetary motions in control.
His sequences with Namit who cons him as godman are hilarious and exciting - another talent who hasn't got his due.
The best part about the misfits is that they know they are the world's best lovers, yet they dare for the heist. Springing swagger and raw energy, Aashim Gulati yet again hits the bull's eye. The 'Taj' actor is on the roll with his unmistakable spontaneity and confidence. His scenes with Gyanendra Tripathi and Monika are first-rate.
The actress’s performances were impressive - especially, Monika- she has been a firebrand material since the days of Jamtara. Her Bela is intelligent, tough yet vulnerable.
Choona final words
Misra, who was probably on a self-imposed exile after directing the uninspiring and bland Ghoomketu, is back with a boom - and he said in one of his interviews that Choona Is nothing but a bomb of Five Losers.
I respect his humility, Choona has many explosions and keeps you cheerful through its dose of laughter.
I go with 3.5 stars. The web series is streaming on Netflix from 29 September 2023.
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee