Saturday, January 31, 2009

'Chandni Chowk...' gets lukewarm reception from U.S. media

American mainstream media has given a lukewarm reception to Chandni Chowk to China, the largest-ever release of a Bollywood movie in North America, calling it "a genetic experiment" and a "genre-mashup overkill".

"A veggie-slicing galoot from Delhi goes to China to realise his destiny as a martial arts master -- and just from the synopsis, I'm on board with Chandni Chowk to China," says Time magazine reviewer Richard Corliss.

But "the results of this genetic experiment are mixed. Chandni Chowk to China is probably a decent sampler for Americans who've never seen a full-out Bollywood musical since it goes heavy on the action scenes and light on the big dance numbers", he says.

The film "has the feel of one of many Indian glosses on American films, not of something fresh and foreign. For a really thrilling amalgam of Bollywood and Hong Kong, I'm still waiting", says Corliss.

The New York Times says: "Genre mixing is mother's milk to Hindi films, so it's no surprise that 'Chandni Chowk to China' can so seamlessly add Kung Fu to the usual blend of comedy, dance and melodrama."

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