Chaman Bahaar Movie Review: Jitendra Kumar is the meetha paan in this tale of a small town

Jitendra Kumar plays the lead role in Chaman Bahaar. It is directed by Apurva Dhar Badgaiyann.

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Chaman Bahaar Movie Review: Jitendra Kumar is the meetha paan in this tale of a small town
Jitendra Kumar in Chaman Bahaar.

"Bhai, kya dikhti hai, English bolti hai, half-pant pehenti hai, gadi kya chalati hai," a gang of teenage boys say while starring at Rinku's house, the new rich girl in their small town.

Billu, a paanwala, who has seen these guys follow Rinku to her home, listens to them talk about her with a poker face. He doesn't like the way they talk, but he has a business to run and, the arrival of the new girl in front of his humble shop, has brought a barrage of these nicotine suckers to his shop.

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Rinku's beauty has touched Billu as well. After all, he was the one who saw her before anybody else in the town did. Soon, he sees town's biggies, including a politician's son and a businessman, loitering behind Rinku. Does a paanwala stand a chance compared to these mighty beings? Maybe not, but this paanwala, who left a stable job to start his own business, isn't going to give up easily.

Like carom coins, Billu skillfully pushes these biggies into a dark hole and takes his chance with Rinku by throwing an "I love you" wala greeting card at her home. The end result, however, isn't pretty.

Chaman Bahaar makes for an uncomfortable watch, especially when you see grown-up men, one of whom is set to tie the knot, follow a minor girl. But those girls who have live in small towns, especially in three-tier cities, would be able to identify with this uneasiness. Towns where wearing shorts and speaking English is a big deal. And when men find this 'sarvagun sampanna' girl riding a scooty alongside them, they can't help but follow her everywhere, hoping she would notice and choose them from this sea of lonely men.

Director Apurva Dhar Badgaiyann walks a thin line here. He saves Chaman Bahaar from going down the Kabir Singh route by merely presenting reality as it is. He didn't glorify these men for following a minor girl. In fact, in a few scenes, he shows them getting throbbed for their wrongdoings. The only problem is that he hasn't given even a single dialogue to his female lead. Now that can't be pardoned.

From dialect to local lingo, Apurva has captured the essence of a small town quite well. These ignored towns are home to many interesting characters, and Apurva has brought them to fore deftly.

The film also makes comments on the class difference, dirty politics and the yawning gap that exists between the country's small and big towns, despite development being the mudda for years. It is a cleverly written film that subtly presents the hard-hitting facts of our society.

In one scene, while introspecting, Billu tells us about his childhood days when his watchman father didn't take him to a birthday party at his boss' house, thinking his son isn't worthy of sharing space with the elite kids. He cried all night. To make up for that, his mother whipped up a birthday cake for him from biscuits and called the kids from their mohalla to cheer him up.

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Chaman Bahaar has many scenes like this that will seep deep into your heart, and this wouldn't have been possible without Jitendra Kumar. The man who brought the paanwala in the background to the fore and made us fall in love with him. If you have been following Jitendra's work - Kota Factory, Panchayat, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, The Viral Fever - you would know that the guy is a gem.

Chaman Bahaar might not be as sharp as Panchayat, a show based on a remote village, but it is Jitendra's performance that would make you want to watch the film again.

In one scene, after getting beaten up by the police in front of the girl he secretly loves, emotions of anger, frustration and shame scream from his face. "I am a paanwala, I should have known my limits," his expressions say.

The film's supporting cast - Ritika Badiani, Bhuvan Arora, Dherendra Kumar Tiwari - are a delight too. Jitendra's Kota Factory co-star, Alam Khan, excels in the role of a pan-chewing politician's son. Just like the film, this review would be incomplete without mentioning the film's soulful music by Mangesh Dhakde and Anshuman Mukherjee. It sets the tone and holds it together.

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Chaman Bahaar is for those who love slow films. It stands tall on its actors' excellent performances and Apurva's eye for detail. For fellow small-towners, it is a must-watch.

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