Chhorii
RATING
Introduction
As mentioned in my review of Mulshi Pattern, this weekend is a weekend of remakes! Yesterday, we have covered Drushyam 2 which was the Telugu remake of the original Malayalam film Drishyam, there are a couple of remakes of Marathi films lined up – One is Antim which we will try covering over the weekend and the other is Chhorii which is the Hindi remake of the Marathi film Lapachhapi whose review you will also find on Popcorn Reviewss. And I finished watching Chhorii last night on Amazon Prime. Is it worth your time, stay tuned.
Story & Screenplay
An official Hindi Adaptation of the original Marathi film Lapachhapi, Chhorii follows the story of a pregnant woman who experiences strange occurances when she shifts to a remote village along with her husband. For those who have watched the original would know that this is a high concept horror that is socially relevant too. The screenplay here is almost a frame to frame copy of the original which is good news. It definitely helps when the makers of the original are closely involved in the remake. Having said that, the horror elements wern’t as scary as they could have been although there were a few jumpscare moments. The focus was on the atmospherics and about creating the atmosphere of being secluded. Ofcourse the social element which is still prevalent was indeed well intentioned and did bring out the right kind of messaging. But for people like me who had watched the original, the element of surprise was missing because you do know how the film is eventually going to unfold. The initial 10 odd minutes was something added to the screenplwy which wasn’t present in the original. But apart from that this is another faithful remake that will keep you invested throughout. Only thing is keep a tab on your expectations related to horror – the horror quotient is slightly less as compared to the original.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are true to the area where the story is set in and they leave a lasting impact. At times, certain scenes will make you angry too and some credit for it needs to go to the dialogues. The music is good, the BGM is slightly loud. It could have been slightly more subtle and allowed the silence to do the talking. Director Vishal Furia who had also directed the original Lapachhapi, has done a pretty good job once again tackling a socially relevant issue and coupling it with horror.
Performances
The performances are pretty good too. Rajesh Jais as Kajla is decent in the limited screentime that he gets. I was very impressed with Yaaneea Bharadwaj who is quite brilliant as Suneni. I wish to watch more of her going forward. Pallavi Ajay as Rani is equally effective and does a fine job. Saurabh Goyal as Hemant does a pretty good job although I feel he can do a little better with his expressions. Mita Vasisht as Bhanno Devi for me was the pick of the actors. Each time she came on screen she commanded your attention. Her heavy accent was the highlight and she truely delivers a masterclass here. Nushrat Bharucha as Sakshi is truely improving her acting chops in each film. This is perhaps her best performance of her career so far and I am sure she’ll keep getting better in many more films to come.
Conclusion
Chhorii is a high concept horror and another one of those near faithful remakes. It can be watched if you haven’t yet watched the original Lapachhapi. Available on Amazon Prime.