Chikku Bukku Review

Arya-Shriya starrer Chikku Bukku, produced by Media One Global Entertainment, is finally in theatres. The film, directed by Manikandan (who assisted late director Jeeva.), also marks the onscreen debut of Preetika (sister of Amrita Rao) in a prominent role. Many thought that the film may be a triangular love story as it has two heroines, but the director has come up with a new twist. Earlier the director has promised that the film would be a never-before attempt and a new concept in Tamil film industry. He has shot a major part of the film in Austria, the first time a Tamil film is being shot there. Interestingly for the first time in his career, Arya plays two roles on screen!

What is in it?

Chikku Bukku narrates two stories simultaneously; one is about Shekar, an aspiring police officer in the 1980′s and Arjun (Shekar’s grandson), a stylish DJ born and brought up in London. And obviously there are two love stories, narrated in flashbacks, in the film.
Arjun (Arya, stylish and super cool), DJ cum engineer, lives a carefree life with his grandmother in London. Then there is bubbly girl Anu (Shriya Saran) who is doing her higher studies in London. On a fine day, both Arjun and Anu decides to visit Karaikudi for different reasons. When they reach Bangalore, they find out that all the flights to Tamil Nadu have been canceled due to technical problem. So the duo decides to go by train, that too on a fake ticket. And their Chikku Bukku journey begins!!!

Unfortunately the TTR finds out about the fake ticket and he asks them to get down half the way on a remote village. So how will they reach Karaikudi? The rest of the story is about their interesting journey and of course the beginning of their love story.

On the other hand there is one more story (that of Arjun’s grandfather) narrated in flashbacks. Interestingly, Arjun finds out Shekar’s story from an old diary. Shekar (Arya, dressed in 80′s style), an aspiring police officer, comes to his village (near Karaikudi) to celebrate his grandparents’ (Ravichandran and Sukumari) 60th wedding anniversary. Shekar belongs to an orthodox joint family. Here he meets Meenaal (Preetika Rao), educated daughter of the village’s headmaster.

When Shekar expresses his wish to marry Meenal, his family refuses so he decides to go away from his family forever. Before leaving the village Shekar asks Meenal to come with him, but considering her father’s pride she refuses. Will they ever meet again? Watch out Chikku Bukku, which also has a main twist in the climax!!

The Performances

For the first time Arya is seen in a dual avatar on screen, however the actor succeeds in both the role. Arya’s has portrayed the role of ‘simple’ Shekar and ‘stylish’ Arjun with equal importance. Arya dialogue delivery has a unique style and there is no denying the fact that he is one of the most promising actors in Kollywood today. However Chikku Bukku cannot be considered as his best because we have already seen his potential.

Shriya Saran looks very pretty with her curly hair and the bubbly nature. But in many scenes the lip syncs goes missing, which makes it very artificial. Preetika Rao looks good in traditional attire and has done a pretty decent job in her first outing. Though Santhanam appears only in few scenes, he provides the much needed comedy relief. The rest of the cast are OK, as they don’t have much to perform.

The Technicians

As director Manikandan rightly said, Chikku Bukku is a travelogue which begins in London and ends in Karaikudi. The idea of narrating two stories simultaneously with flashbacks is highly appreciable however there are continuity problems in many scenes. The film has a very elegant and breezy first half where all the four main characters are established but the second half is predictable and clichéd. Music by Colonial Cousins ( Hariharan-Leslie Lewis) and Pravin Mani is good, but the songs comes as a speed breaker at many places. Cinematography by R. B. Gurudhev is elegant but editing (especially the first half) could have been better. The second half needs urgent trimming to increase the pace of the film.

Arya’s costume as a modern DJ is stylish and appealing but the usage of sherwanis and lehangis during the 80′s era (that too in a village near Karaikudi) is unacceptable. Shriya Saran has undergone a complete image makeover; she looks very different and beautiful in this new avatar. Newcomer Preetika Rao (look alike of Amrita Rao) is good but we wonder why the director cast her as a village belle!

Overall if you are looking for some good weekend entertainment, then Chikku Bukku is the right choice!