'Chashme Baddoor' Review Roundup: A Worth Watching Remake

"Chashme Baddoor", remake of a 1981 film cult classic film of the same name, was released on Friday. The film directed by "King of Comedy" David Dhawan has received rave reviews from critics, unlike the last release "Himmatwala".

"Chashme Baddoor" features Ali Zafar, Siddharth, Taapsee Pannu and Divyendu Sharma in lead roles, while Rishi Kapoor, Anupam Kher Lilette Dubey and Bharti Achrekar play supporting characters.

The film had a good start at theatres across India.

Here is what critics have to say about the film:

Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters said: "Himmatwala seemed to be the clear contender for the worst film of the year so far. Who'd have imagined it would have such strong competition so soon? David Dhawan seems determined not to let Sajid Khan get away with the honour of the worst botch-up of a remake.

"So he takes what was a genuinely funny and memorable film and "remakes" it into a crass, unfunny and offensive film that serves just one purpose - it speaks volumes about the sharp decline in our sense of humour in the last three decades.

"To be fair, "Chashme Baddoor" is barely a remake of Sai Paranjpe's classic. Taking one iconic scene and the hint of the storyline doesn't mean that Dhawan has ripped off a classic film.

"This film could have be another of those puerile comedies that we are subjected to day in and day out. But calling it a remake of a classic film seems like a crime. Pick the old over the new this weekend." 

Ananya Bhattacharya of Zee News said: "Arz kia hai... Thus begins David Dhawan's modern day tale of friendship, romance and kaminapanti. Repartees, wittiness, caustic one-liners. 'Chashme Baddoor', this time around, is one hell of a journey!

"If Farooq Sheikh and Deepti Naval's love story back in the 1980s could have gained the status of a cult, Ali Zafar and Taapsee Pannu's is not very far behind on that ladder. The three friends - Jai (Siddharth Narayan), Sid (Ali Zafar) and Omi (Divyendu Sharma) - are college-going youngsters and barring the innocent Sid, are all been-there-done-thats in their respective fields. While Omi revels in making cheesy poetry out of everyday happenings, Jai dreams of being cast as an actor someday - just that he doesn't know where to draw the line. 

"The supporting cast consisting of Rishi Kapoor, Lilette Dubey, Anupam Kher and Bharti Achrekar is fabulous and Kapoor deserves brownie points for his tap dance! Rishi Kapoor, who flaunts his tattoos and twisted proverbs at every juncture, woos Dubey with aplomb - the two make for a beautiful couple and are competition to each other in every frame. A double dose of the comical Anupam Kher, symbolising the military and civilian brothers are hilarious to say the least. Bharti Achrekar as the animated mother brilliantly matches up to Kher.

"In Hindi cinema, there is a reason David Dhawan enjoys the epithet of the King of Comedy - and from the King's treasure chest, the film is a gem. Three stars for the re-loaded 'Chashme Baddoor' - not to be missed, this one!"

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama said: "CHASHME BADDOOR narrates the story of three friends who attempt to woo the same girl. While the girl sets her sights on one of the guys, the remaining two go on an overdrive to tear the love birds apart. 

"At the very outset, let me make it clear that David's adaptation is shades different from Sai's version. As different as chalk and cheese. As different as Rohit Shetty's BOL BACHCHAN was from its original source, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's GOL MAAL. Like I stated at the outset, this one's over the top, loud and very 'David Dhawanish', if one can use this terminology. But to give the credit where it's due, it's thoroughly engaging and entertaining.

"David has made a career out of comedies and at a point of time, was referred to as the successor to Manmohan Desai thanks to the dollops of entertainment he offered in his movies. With CHASHME BADDOOR, David steps into the comfort zone yet again.

"On the whole, CHASHME BADDOOR encompasses the spirit of the original, but has been customised to entice the present-day spectators. An entertainer with dollops of humour and wild situations thrown in, this one's a laugh-riot that should not be missed!"

Srijana Mitra Das of The Times of India said: "The answer's yes - love can be remade and so can a lovely film like 1981's Chashme Buddoor (CB). This version's as different as paapri chaat from a dhokla. But it retains the original's madness, masti and movie-mania. 

"CB's boy-band impresses with consistent acting. With his silky sleaziness, Sharma often steals the show while Siddharth's comic rhythm is a revelation. Zafar is endearing with his clenched-jaw charm, graceful as he dances, cute as he romances and rather hot when he throws a punch or two. Pannu's bubbly without being overwhelming while Kapoor and Dubey light up the screen with their little love story - hardcore CB fans, you'll find their romance does chamko! 

"But the star remains the story, spicily modernized, yet its salt still that passion for filmi fun, rainy moments, shared chattris, judwaa bhais, overpoweringMa's, red coats-yellow pants (Dhawan clearly enjoying a Govinda flashback), cheap shers, cheaper lusts and triumphant love.

"You will not like this movie if you don't like corny, occasionally."

Sneha May Francis of Emirates 24/7 said: "You'd think it's almost suicidal for any director to attempt to remake a classic as imposing as 1980s' 'Chashme Buddoor'. But, the flamboyant David Dhawan does the unexpected. He gives the original a menacingly, fun twist, something many, including me, wouldn't have thought him capable of.

 "While, it's incomparable to the original, it still manages to hold its own, and packs in sufficient amount of quirkiness, madness and poetry to leave us sufficiently tickled. It also emerges as one of Dhawan's more tolerable movies, with the director refusing to indulge in his staple, slapstick comedy drill and over-the-top drama.

"If anything, it's the tediously, dull dances that Dhawan is unable to shake-off from his narrative. He even borrows tunes from Bollywood's old-time hits to spike up the routine. It works in a few flashbacks, but overtime it gets tiresome.

"Barring this little resemblance, Dhawan has upped his standard, just enough to warrant a trip to the cinemas. It's definitely worth the extra helping of popcorn and coke."

Subhash K Jha of IANS said: "Dum hai, Boss! - the perky young Miss Congeniality in David Dhawan's Chashme Baddoor, a far cry from the shastriya sangeet trainee tutti fruti-eating Deepti Naval in Sai Paranjpye's film, exclaims whenever she is impressed by her loverboy's dialogue-baazi.

"Exclamation marks are the only punctuations in this seamless comedy of courtship played at an impossibly high octave, without getting shrill.

"'Farce' things first. Barring the core theme of two friends maliciously nipping the third friend's romance in the bud, and some mischievous sequences and characters from the original, which have been entirely re-interpreted as 'swines of the times', Dhawan's Chashme Baddoor is far(ce) removed from Paranjpye's original.

"This Chashme Baddoor moves wickedly at its own volition creating a crazy pattern of comic chaos that stops short of being anarchic due to the finely-tuned situational satire simulated in the writing out of a material that was created 30 years ago when there were no mobile phones and the height of male voyeurism was the Playboy magazine.

"This is David Dhawan's wickedest comedy of one-upmanship since Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. You can't miss it. The attention-grabbing chest-thumping gibberish-spewing rowdy boyz won't let you."