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Cheeni Kum
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	R. Balki
Written by	R. Balki
Produced by	Sunil Manchanda
Starring	Amitabh Bachchan Tabu Paresh Rawal Zohra Sehgal Swini Khara
Cinematography	P. C. Sreeram
Edited by	Chandan Arora
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Production company	MAD Entertainment Ltd.
Distributed by	Eros International
Release dates	21 May 2007 (2007-05-21) (Cannes) 22 May 2007 (2007-05-22) (Leicester Square) 25 May 2007 (2007-05-25) (India)
Running time	140 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹11 crore
Box office	est.₹32.03 crore

Cheeni Kum (transl. Less sugar) is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by R. Balki and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Zohra Sehgal, and Swini Khara.

Cheeni Kum premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2007, and premiered at the Leicester Square on 22 May 2007 and it was released theatrically on 25 May 2007. Made on a production budget of ₹11 crore, it grossed a total of ₹32.3 crore at the box office, thus proving to be a commercial success. It received positive reviews from critics upon release, with praise for its direction, story, screenplay, dialogues, soundtrack and performances of the cast.

At the 53rd Filmfare Awards, Cheeni Kum received 1 award – Best Actress (Critics) (Tabu).

Plot

Buddhadev Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan) is the 64-year-old owner and executive chef of Spice 6, London's top Indian restaurant. He lives with his 85-year-old mother (Zohra Sehgal), and his only friend and confidante is his 9-year-old neighbour, 'Sexy' (Swini Khara), who is diagnosed with cancer. Buddha is arrogant and egocentric, often rude to his chefs and sarcastic to those around him. His confidence is crushed when during a dinner service one evening at his restaurant, a hyderabadi zafrani pulao gets sent back for being 'sweet', leading Buddha to humiliate the woman who ordered the dish, arguing that his restaurant is the finest in London. When she sends her pulao to Buddha's restaurant, made arguably better than at Spice 6, Buddha eventually finds the chef who prepared the dish incorrectly and fires him.

Buddha runs into the woman once again after she decides to come back to his restaurant, 34-year-old Nina Verma (Tabu) from India. He tries to apologize but is unable to. They slowly fall in love despite their glaring contrast in age, character, and attitude. They decide to get married, and Buddha goes to Delhi to meet Nina's father, Omprakash Verma (Paresh Rawal), conveniently leaving out the detail that Buddha is older than him. He quickly finds out and is horrified, and he attempts to dissuade his daughter from marrying Buddha by going on a Gandhi-inspired hunger strike until she relents. Buddha and Nina argue over this constantly, being the main hang-up in their relationship, and Buddha leaves their home feeling heartbroken, only to also find out that Sexy has now passed away from cancer. In the meantime, Omprakash has begrudgingly agreed to Buddha and Nina's relationship, at which an overjoyed Nina comes to find Buddha at the Qutub Minar, where she finds out about Sexy as well. She consoles Buddha while he grieves his best friend and gently lets him know that her father has changed his mind.

The final scene shows Buddha and Nina having brought Buddha's mother and Nina's father to Spice 6, and Buddha bonding with Omprakash over a cricket match playing near them.

Cast

• Amitabh Bachchan as Buddhadev Gupta
• Tabu as Nina Verma
• Paresh Rawal as Omprakash Verma, Nina's father
• Zohra Sehgal as Mrs. Gupta, Buddhadev's mother
• Swini Khara as Sexy
• Alexx O'Nell as the English waiter

Soundtrack

The score and soundtrack were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The songs had their tunes re-used from the composer's earlier songs in other languages, while the arrangements were fresh.

Reception

Critical reception

Martin D'Souza of Glamsham gave the movie 4/5 stars, concluding that "There's a dash of sweetness (Tabu), the right amount of spice (Amitabh Bachchan), a proper dose of lime (Paresh Rawal), the perfect quantity of salt (Swini Khara) and a spoonful of tadka (Zohra Sehgal). A clean entertainer which can be watched by the entire family." Raja Sen of Rediff gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, stating that "This isn't a groundbreaking film, but it didn't set out to be. It's a maturely written film with great characters, tremendous performances and some fantastic moments. It could have been perfect, but the lesser said about that end the better. Watch it. A brilliant sequence involving the chef, a chemist, chhatris and chachas is absolute movie magic, and in itself well worth the price of admission. Bravo." Naresh Kumar Deoshi of Apun Ka Choice gave the movie 3/5 stars, saying that "The movie, featuring Amitabh Bachchan in yet another brilliant performance, not just entertains you with its sarcastic humor, it also touches your heart with its emotional moments. Do not miss this sugar-free spread." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the movie 3/5 stars, concluding that "On the whole, CHEENI KUM is absorbing in parts. A lackluster first half gets a boost with a much energetic second half and that elevates the film to the watchable level. At the box-office, CHEENI KUM is targeted at the multiplexes mainly. Clever promos and feel-good vibes should ensure a positive run at the multiplexes." On the contrary, Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the movie 2/5 stars, stating that "So I'll go with two out of five for R. Balki's Cheeni Kum, it's an average entertainer at best. If you're a die-hard Bachchan fan, do give it a shot because he doesn't disappoint. How you wish the film didn't either!"

Box office

Cheeni Kum was a hit at the box office, grossing ₹237.5 million (US$2.8 million), despite taking a poor opening. The movie collected ₹169.7 million (US$2.0 million) net in its lifetime.

Accolades

Notes

1. Awards, festivals and organizations are in alphabetical order.
2. Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

1. "Cut the fluff, just love me". LiveMint. 19 May 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
2. "Cheeni Kum Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
3. "Cheeni Kum to premiere at Cannes 2007". BBC. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
4. "Spotted: Amitabh at a premiere in London". Rediff.com. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
5. D'Souza, Martin. "Cheeni Kum Movie Review". glamsham. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
6. Raja Sen. "BigB-ittersweet Symphony". Rediff.
7. Naresh Kumar Deoshi. "CHEENI KUM MOVIE REVIEW: Sugar-free Sarcasm". Apun Ka Choice. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012.
8. Taran Adarsh. "Cheeni Kum Hindi Movie Critic Review by Taran Adarsh – Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014.
9. Rajeev Masand. "Masand's verdict: Cheeni Kum". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012.
10. "Box Office 2007". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013.
11. "Winners of 53rd Annual Filmfare Awards". Bollywood Hungama. Bollywood Hungama News Network. 23 February 2008. Archived from the original on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
12. "Nominations for the IIFA Awards 2008". Bollywood Hungama. Bollywood Hungama News Network. 16 April 2008. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
13. Bollywood Hungama News Network (14 March 2008). "Nominations for 3rd Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 21 September 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
14. "Nominees for 14th Annual Screen Awards". Bollywood Hungama. IndiaFM News Bureau. 2 January 2008. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
15. "Winners of 14th Annual Star Screen Awards". Bollywood Hungama. Bollywood Hungama News Network. 11 January 2008. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
16. "Nominations for Max Stardust Awards 2008". Bollywood Hungama. Bollywood Hungama News Network. 25 December 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
17. "Nominations for the Zee Cine Awards 2008". Bollywood Hungama. Bollywood Hungama News Network. 1 April 2008. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2022.

External links

• Cheeni Kum at IMDb
• Bonobology.com: "6 Bollywood movies where the lead characters have had a huge age difference"

• 2007 films
• 2000s Hindi-language films
• 2007 romantic comedy-drama films
• Indian romantic comedy-drama films
• Films set in London
• Films shot in London
• Cooking films
• Films set in Delhi
• Films directed by R. Balki
• Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja
• 2007 directorial debut films