Chandni Chowk to China
'Chandni Chowk to China" is Bollywood's all-singing, all-dancing, all-Hindi bid to conquer America. Backed by Warner Brothers, which is giving it the largest North American release of any Indian film to date, "Chandni Chowk" could, if successful, forecast a veritable monsoon of Bollywood imports. But only if American audiences can accept an action hero who talks to potatoes.
The tuber-loving Sidhu, played by the remarkable Akshay Kumar, works at a food stall in Chandni Chowk, an ancient bazaar in the walled city of Old Delhi. While chopping vegetables one day, he discovers a potato that resembles the face of Lord Ganesh, a Hindu deity. Sidhu carries the potato with him for the remainder of the film, which includes, among other things, a rags-to-riches plot, a mistaken-identity plot, a long-lost twin sisters plot, a long-lost father plot, an "adventures-in-China" plot, innumerable song-and-dance sequences, Jackie Chan-style slapstick comedy, kung fu fighting choreographed by Huen Chiu-Ku ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Kill Bill"), and a very grumpy Gordon Liu as the villain, Hojo. It's no surprise the film clocks in at over 2 1/2 hours (and even that attention-stretching length is considered short by Bollywood standards).
Although his shtick begins to wear thin in the film's third hour, Bollywood star Kumar delivers an energetic performance as a dim-witted cook mistaken for the reincarnation of a legendary warrior and recruited to defend a Chinese village from Hojo's depredations. Sporting a ponytail and a handlebar mustache and looking like a cross between Adam Sandler and Borat, Kumar dials his overacting up to 11 and keeps it there for the entire film. He laughs, he cries, he sings, he dances, he kickboxes, he talks to his potato - what more could you want from a Bollywood leading man?
The rest of the cast, including martial arts veteran Roger Yuan and Indian model Deepika Padukone, are left to watch from the sidelines as Kumar mugs his way through the film like a manic Jim Carrey. Although Americans may be overwhelmed by the dizzy mix of music, dancing, and kung fu, they should have no trouble appreciating the talent of this extraordinary entertainer.
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