Chhodon Naa Yaar Movie Review: A Letdown

Director Dilip Sood's Chhodon Naa Yaar is one of those films which suffer from a truly shoddy script. The end of the film leaves you as confused as does the name of the film. This one is not about friendship and buddies though the film does start off with a group of friends.

The film is about a group of friends, Ravi (Jimmy Shergill), Shiv (Kabir Sadanand) and Sunny (Farid Amiri>). The three of them are final year students from a Mass Communication college in Delhi. Being in their final year, they have to make a diploma film. The trio decides to make their film on a tale about a haunted temple and forests. This is a myth which belongs to the hills where the temple is nestled. The temple and the adjoining areas are supposed to be haunted by a spirit. The adventurous three decide on this subject for their film against the advice of their friends and professor, who thinks it's a dangerous topic. Rashmi (Kim Sharma) plays Ravi's girlfriend. She too tries to reason with Ravi, but is unable to dissuade him. Ravi goes ahead and plans the trip. But horror strikes the friends as they venture into the forest. What starts out as a fun trip turns out to be a nightmare.

The film belongs to the horror genre and the director does manage to create a suitable atmosphere. In fact, to give credit to the director, he does manage to throw in a surprise or two. But he is unable to escape the clich?s which prove to be detrimental to the film. There is a mysterious pujari and there is also the ghost. It happens to be a she-ghost and is appropriately clad in white. On reaching the area, strange incidents keep happening. Two of the three friends disappear and Ravi is the only one who survives to tell the tale. But he is none the wise. There are no explanations given for the disappearance of the two men. And the audience is left as puzzled and confused as the main protagonist.

This is where the shoddy screenplay and script play a major role. The film does not have a satisfactory ending. If it was the intention of the director to create a mysterious ending, one would have wished for a proper build up earlier in the movie. The mystery behind the spirit is never explained and neither is the disappearance of the friends. There are just too many loose ends and somehow it does not have the effect the director may have been aiming for. The director does not go for an out-and-out horror film. In the first half of the movie, the director has many other elements that he plays with ? there is romance, comedy and of course, the college campus. The horror starts somewhere midway, a little before the interval.

Another problem which plagues the film is the forced use of songs in the movie. By itself, the music of the film makes for very pleasant hearing. Numbers like Kasak and Talwar Re are very good. But somehow, their placement in the movie does nothing not to add value to the songs. Of course, Hindi films are replete with songs which, more often than not, are thrust into the narrative. Chhodon Naa Yaar happens to falls into that category.

The cinematography by Pushan Kriplani is quite noteworthy. The film has some very stunning visuals, specially the lush forests and haunted temple. In fact, the film scores with its cinematography and background score, both of which go hand in hand to create an eerie atmosphere.

Of the actors, Jimmy Shergill is easily head over heels above the others. This is one good actor who really needs a meaty role which he can sink his teeth into. Unfortunately Chhodon Naa Yaar is not one of them. The actor tries his best but is bogged down by the script. Kim Sharma, as Shergill's girlfriend in the film, does not really have too much to do in the movie. Kabir Sadanand too puts in a competent performance, as does Farid Amiri.

Chhodon Naa Yaar has its moments but they are too few and far in between. The film lacks consistency and therefore does not make for absorbing cinema. It fails to do justice to the genre and that is why one is left with a feeling of being cheated. A taut script would have worked wonders for the film.