Chukkallo Chandrudu (2006)

Spoilers ahead:

First of all, how dare they cast Waheeda Rehman and then kill her off within 10 minutes of the movie?? Not that ma'am wasn't totally one of the best things about the movie, but my god, this was such an injustice. If they wanted a plot point that would have enabled ANR & Sid to come to India, it could easily have been accommodated within "old couple intensely misses motherland and wants to go back". Can you imagine, cutest elderly couple Waheeda & ANR being extra cute in a village setting??? CAN YOU IMAGINE THE IMPACT THAT WOULD HAVE HAD???? So yes, I was pretty enraged from the 10-minute mark onwards, especially when there was yet another needlessly heterosexual sequence starring Sid (no hate for him, but his character was a grade A dickhead) and one of his childhood sweethearts.

Secondly, this is one of my favourite Sunil performances, hands down. He was a comedy genius in every single scene, and more importantly, a welcome respite from the raging heterosexuality that honestly got very tiring after a while. In fact, the only reason I will rewatch this movie is to die laughing at his scenes all over again. They were really that golden. The pizza scene will always have a special place in my heart and soul. Another source of comedy and wholesomeness in the movie was ANR, the cuddliest teddy bear. When Sid called him "cutie" in that voice, I really truly felt that. I especially loved how he just vanished from Germany, that is #goals right there. Oh, and let me not forget to pay tribute to Queen Charmy, the feminist backbone of the movie. Honestly, Sandhya's story was the best and most interesting one, and I would have easily watched an entire movie based on her life. I loved how she very clearly and firmly demarcated her boundaries, and how she didn't need Sid's preachings at all. She was five steps ahead of Sid, which is why she had to end up with Prabhu (pun intended). 

Speaking of Prabhu, Sid honestly had more chemistry with him in that one (very, very) lit dance than with any of his heroines. As always, it has been proven that raging heterosexuality is just a mask for the raging homosexuality beneath. Never forget the pizza scene. (Yes, I know I have mentioned it twice, kindly take the hint.)

Coming to the #feminism- I appreciate that they showed Shalini putting her career first, but I do not appreciate that it took 2 borderline toxic men to make her realise that. Sis was a tennis queen, and she should have owned it without these men coming off as saviours. Also, the April Fools' Day joke was the worst. Stop belittling my birthday like that ffs. Shravani's storyline was just peak "boy helps girl realise that she's WORTHY AND BEAUTIFUL" aka peak Indian rom-com. I don't even want to go there. It's 2020, for crying out loud, I don't need to explain the obvious anymore. 

In conclusion, Chukkallo Chandrudu suffered from a severe ANR deficiency. Not cool. But I'm just happy that dear Charmy finally got the happy ending she deserved!!!!! We love to see a queen thrive. And TFI please, for the love of god, make a funny gay romantic movie already.

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