Release Date : 10 January 2020, Director : Meghna Gulzar, Budget: 39 Crores INR, Producers: Deepika Padukone, Meghna Gulzar, Govind Singh Sandhu
The Movie director, Meghna Gulzar who has made tremendous incredible movies like Filhall, Talvar, Raazi now came up with CHHAPAAK which is all about the aftermath of acid attacks. Coming to the film, Meghna Gulzar once again establishes why she’s one of the most dignified voices we have in the fraternity today. She takes subjects that are relevant and prevalent and infuses them with restrain. But the filmmaker treats all her narratives with a delicate touch. The film is based on the real-life story of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, who has become a symbol of strength and inspiration for many women. The film is a fictionalized account with Deepika Padukone playing the central character Malti, who is attacked in broad daylight on the streets of Delhi by a friend of the family, Bashir Khan aka Babbu and his aide.
Nevertheless, the film is clean and focused, and there are no subplots as such. The dialogues of the film are simple. The pace is slow, but then that’s what a film of this kind needs. CHAAPAAK’s story is mostly based on real-life incidents and is quite hard-hitting. It also turns out to be an eye-opener as many wouldn’t be aware of the seriousness of the situation and that acid is so easily available in India. Malay Prakash’s cinematography is appropriate. He treats the frames with a lot of care and at no point do you feel uneasy.
Deepika Padukone is the soul of the film, delivering a brilliant, immersive performance. Her characters feel real, particularly that of Vikrant Massey, who plays Amol, a young journalist driven by the desire to deliver justice to all the acid attack survivors. In fact, there are many scenes where her act will move you to tears –her piercing cry when she sees her face for the first time in a mirror after the attack.
On the whole, CHHAPAAK is a brave attempt at highlighting an issue and the crime that exists in our society.
Public Review
‘Heartbreaking to see the injustice the survivors have to go through. We need more such movies which create awareness. However I wish the story telling and screenplay were tad better, also the second half was not as interesting as the first. Also wished that the real survivors, the members of the NGO, the lawyers who fought the case were also shown in the end of the movie to establish more connect with audience.’ – Rishika Birla
‘A must watch! The honesty with which Deepika has played the character is beyond amazing. The music seamlessly blends with the film and creates magic. The movie wants you to make change, impacts you and empowers you. Meghna Gulzar, you genius woman.’ – Shevery kaur
‘This movie is tragic this brings you all in tears you get goose bumps at every moment each actor has done its job correctly especially both the leads.This movie can’t expressed. Everybody should actually go to the nearest theaters and watch the movie. You’ll adore it.’ – Paras behl
By – Mehak Chaturvedi
Street Paradise 
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