Chandni Chowk To China Movie Review (CCTC)

After the super successful Singh Is King, Akshay Kumar is back with Chandni Chowk to China produced by Warner Bros, one of the largest production houses in Hollywood. The film directed by Nikhil Advani (Kal Ho Na Ho, Salaam-e-Ishq) also stars Deepika Padukone and Ranvir Shorey along with Mithun Chakraborty in a cameo. Chinese Martial Arts actors Gordon Liu (Kill Bill) and Roger Yuan are also a part of the movie.

The pre release hype has been huge, with talks of Akshay Kumar turning into a global sensation and extending his fan-following further. Trade pundits believe, with decent word of mouth, Chandni Chowk To China can in fact beat the Rs 200 crores (worldwide gross) record set by Aamir Khan’s Ghajini in less than 3 weeks. Does Nikhil Advani – Akshay Kumar deliver? Or do they need to? Welcome, Singh Is Kinng and many other Akshay Kumar comedies, being mediocre at best, have worked big time at the box-office.

Sidhu (Akshay Kumar) is an uneducated naïve yet a superstitious man hailing in Chandni Chowk, Delhi. Despite the kicks and advises from his Dada (Mithun Chakroborty), down on his luck this vegetable cutter from the paranthe wali galli visits all possible saint’s, tarot reader’s and baba’s in search of any form of luck. Just when he had given up all hopes of getting something out of the luck charms to make his life, two men from China come in search of him claiming him to be the reincarnation of a war hero from the past and with an offer to take him to China. Sidhu blissfully sets forth to China with Guru Chopstick (Ranvir Shorey) who instigates dreams of a delicious future and forgets to reveal the menace which awaits him. He dreams of a wonderful life with his dream girl, who he calls Ms. TSM (Deepika Padukone), on his way to china. Will this clumpsy weak man live to the hopes of the villagers in fighting against evil and buy them their freedom?

Chandni Chowk To China Review

Akshay Kumar himself claimed recently that the movie lacks sense. Chandni Chowk To China not just lacks sense but rather has no story. Unfortunately, the movie is poorly directed and mostly filled with over the top performances. The first half is a complete drag; the pace is extremely slow and the film is completely dependent on Akshay Kumar and his by now trademark antics to carry it along. But watching his previous 10 odd back to back films with the very same mannerisms, it’s getting awfully hard to sit through.

The second half is better, the action is great but the climax is as flat as a cola without fizz. After all the build up, which consumes the entire second half, a thrilling climax is the least you can hope for. You expect it to be a serious combat between the good and the evil, but the director has instead opted to make it funny. Funny it is, but convincing; it isn’t.

The action is top class, going by the standards of Hindi films. Choreography is brilliant and the way Tere Naina is picturized is nice. The music is good, the Chandni Chowk To China Title song and the S.I.D.H.U track stands out.

Akshay Kumar is getting extremely repetitive with his characters. It’s the same as what you saw in many of his previous films. He’s hilarious at times but while you watch him perform, you get the seen-those-a-million-times-before kind of feeling. Why can’t a capable actor, commanding super popularity, with many talented directors eager to sign him on; attempt something different?

Deepika Padukone looks stunning and has put in a lot of effort into those action sequences. In a negative role, as a Chinese, Deepika is brilliant. Mithun Chakraborty is fine in a short role. The talented Ranvir Shorey disappoints. The Chinese actors are good!

Overall, for a movie that has been hyped as one of the biggest release of the year, it has about 2 – 3 funny scenes and a couple of good action sequences! That’s about it. If that’s good enough to spend your hard earned money on the film, go for it.

Finally, with a hope that Akshay starts experimenting with his roles and tries something different for a change, I go with 2 stars for Chandni Chowk to China. Disappointing!

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Other Notes – The funniest thing about the film was the potato with the shape of the Hindu god Ganesha. Akshay somehow manages to hold on to it throughout the film. Bodies are broken, blood is shed, Akshay is thrown from the top of the Wall of China.. but through it all.. the potato manages to survive!

On a serious note, CCTC is strictly for Akshay Kumar fans, others stay far away. What really baffles me is, why doesn’t Akshay try something different? Why is he stuck with his same old successful formula? You might argue that the same movies are working big time at the box-office. I don’t deny that, but wouldn’t an actor love to have a movie like Taare Zameen Par, Chak De India or a Jodhaa Akbar in his filmography? Hope things change with Eight by Ten directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, which I believe could be Akshay’s best movie in a long long time!! Leave your comments below on the (whatever you call it) CCTC / CC2C / Chadni Chowk To China Review

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187 Comments

  • indicine team:

    your review for RBDJ is a crap because RNBDJ is a superhit movie of 2008 and u know that,and 80 to 90% of people like this movie and still u r saying that it is a stupid movie .
    for ur information Ghajni,RNBDJ,Jodha Akbar,Rock on and Dostana are the biggest movies of 2008.
    so kindly try to change ur review now for RNBDJ and stop saying that it is a stupid movie even u know it is a big Hit of 2008.
    Thank You.

  • thanks for the review..

    so its better to watch GHAJINI again rather than CC2C

    WILL SEE GHAJINI ON SUNDAY AGAIN.. A Beautifull love story..

  • Movie was pathetic.deepika has no dialouges.no storyline.chinese irritating.i loved singh is king oso rnbdj even bits of ghajini but this was not tolerable.like a drona or tashan

  • Plz refrain frm dis movie.i cldnt laugh at all and sit thru it.it is waste of time.i lost it u dont.sum of u might hv liked golmaal returns.but this is hopeless.about ghajini if u watch tamil version i think u feel cheated and disappointed

  • Thought of seeing the preimere . waste of money.. utteer follish movie…. only stunts r gud(not by akshay kumar). i dont understand y is the movie worth 100 crores? rarely it can recover 1/4 of it. huh…. 1).RNBDJ 2).GHAJINI 3).CC2C. SO SRK THE TRUE KING

  • i doubt if warner bros will ever invest on akshay and also because of him i guess warner bros wont invest in bollywood. N PLEASE PLEASE DONT MAKE CC 2 AFRICA…… LOL

  • Thank you all for your comments. I was planning to watch this movie tomorrow as there are no new movies released but now I know I have to do something better and creative!!

    Thanks a trillion :-)

  • Hey Indian people: you always want to see such films like Sholay, Rang de basanti, Dil wale dulhan le jaya ge. What´s wrong with us. You always like the same story and same indian heros and villains.

    I saw today Chandni Chowk to China. I like the film very very much It will be Blockbuster in overseas and superhit in India. Because the Indian people don´t understand chinese. Because I can understand Hindi and Chinese. I found the film very good and it will be Blockbuster in oversea.
    You also want in a film an Indian hero and an Indian villain. If the villain does not belong to Indian or he speaks the other language than hindi. you don´t understand. That´s why they say Chandni Chowk to China is not a good movie.

    I said the movie will be Blockbuster in China and overseas, because they can understand hindi and chinese. And the storyline is different from the others indian´s film.

  • C.C.2.C Is a Comedy and Action Movie . Akki Is a Wonderful Actor But Script is too Weak . God Only Knws It would b a Hit Lyk Ghajini r not . Overall My Rating 2/5 . R.N.D.B.J Was Also Lyk C.C.2.C Type Movie Only . R.N.D.B.J Was A Blockbuster by Some S.R.K Fans n Dis May b Hit by Akki Fans . Bye .

  • Indicine Team: Who said that I hated DDLJ?! Neither I hated it nor I loved it so much or found it one of the best indian movies which I saw in my life!!

    I already explained my views about DDLJ and said that I consider Aditya Chopra’s Mohabbetain & Rabne.. better movies in direction. I consider KKHH even better, so why KKHH didn’t run this long time but DDLJ did?!! have u ever heard that any hollywood, or any other foreign language movies ran for this long period of time in cinemas?! And if u did hear that, didn’t u ask yourself: Why?! What’s so special about any movie to be in cinemas for 10 years or more?!

  • Fathiya….. tu kuch bhi keh le King is king. Akshay will rock the boxoffice once again and u will see. See the box office collection and keep ur dirty mouth shut. Aur vaise bhi akshy is a king. Srk is over. Aamir has thrashed srk so badly..ahahahahahahahah. GO AND WATCH CC2C………

  • Akshay is the King and he will remain the King of Bollywood. This movie will be Blockbuster. This movie is not only for indian audience but also for world audience. It is totally the whole world movie. It will be super Blockbuster all over the world. Akshay rockssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss again.

  • I have seen it second time. My fun was bigger than first time. The movie is a Blockbuster. This not only for indian audience but also for whole world audience. My friends, Stefan, Kunkun houngan, Peter Müller, Chen, Chan , Zhang, Cheung, Chang, Teo, Wang , Dinesh , Sajid, Tariq and my girlfriend Sunita: They all said the movie is going to be Blockbuster all over the world.

  • public ek bar dokha kha sakti hai akshay bar-bar nahi.singh is king jaisi bekar film dokhe hit huwa to eska matlab sabi film hit nahi ho sakti.

  • singh is king jaisi faltu film ko hum public log hit karaye to eska matlab ye nahi ki hum sabi film ko hit kara de.apna image kharab mat karo akshay.hum kosis karenge cc2c bhi blockboster ho.

  • aryan,

    i agree with your first comment. if cctc is as crap as most people make it out to be with a shallow script, then this film should not have been portrayed to hollywood and the gora western audience.

    this film will totally give the wrong idea of what bollywood is about, and will put off any future hollywood producers from investing in bollywood. even more, akshay will not be considered favourably by hollywood and may not even get any future hollywood projects. and undoubtedly his career will be on the decline.

    this film will give hollywood the idea that bollywood is silly, uneducated, crap, with shallow actors and cannot be taken seriously. hollywood will have no respect for bollywood whatsoever, and look at it as a joke.

    this film was totally the wrong fim to be the first major bollywood international release.
    is this crap what bollywood has to offer ?? that is the question the western world will be asking, and all will look at bollywood as a joke.

    i haven’t seen the film yet, will see it tomorrow. but i had already predicted the film will be crap. i also think this film will only appeal to shallow minded people who only like nonsense time pass films and a bucket of popcorn.

    akshay kumar – you are a good actor and you work very hard and you are a superstar in the making – but dont spoil it for yourself by doing crap nonsense films. build up your career properly and dont take nothing for granted – otherwise you will find yourself way down the bottom of the pile, with all other actors taking over you. thank your stars for where you are today and dont ruin your career which you have worked so hard for.

    i think the film that would have been fitting as the first major bollywood international release, and good enough to portray to the western goras and hollywood, would have been aamir khans ‘ghajini’.
    this is one of the most powerful films ever with excellent technicals and direction, and hollywood would have been in awe.
    this film would have given a lot of respect to bollywood.

    what do you think people, do you agree with me ??

  • Wrong Raj ( I don’t know which Raj u are.. but I will reply to your comment as a new member here)

    Wrong wrong wrong.. absolutely wrong.. do u think that Hollywood would have any respect for bollywood if they watch Ghajini?!

    Ghajini is not a movie that hollywood would appreciate or find it good, the only movie which I though that might satisfy hollywood’s taste ( and I was wrong) was Taare Zamin Paar and it didn’t make to the oscar!
    Western people love realistic movies and Ghaajini is a masala and full of “flaws” which never satisfies them at all.
    Bollywood sent Eklaviya & Rang de Basanti but they were rejected by them, they might love some small budget movies and consider them as (great).
    In my opinion, the correct movies which should’ve been selected for oscar awards are as follows ( which I think it’d hv had some chances to enter the oscar nominations):

    1) Aamir ( a flawless movie and a realistic one)
    2) Rock On ( a western style with a very good script, direction and also a flawless movie)
    3) Fashion ( a new script which also a realistic movie and a very good script, a touching story)
    4) Jodhaa Akbar ( the best historical indian movie which I saw and based on a true story, with a good direction – except the very 1st scene of the movie)

    Mostly, Aamir, a small budget movie but a touching story and not a commercial one, with singing and dancing stuff.
    These kind of stories satisfy western people, and if u just try to get some foreign language movies which already won some oscar awards, during the past years, then you’d be able to recognize how western people think and which movies they value. They just value movies differently.. what u find strong and great they might find it cheap, crap and vice versa.

  • Fathiya, Lagaan was nominated for the oscars, was it a realistic film :) It had 8 songs.. singing and dancing et al. And make no mistake, it was Bollywood Masala at its best!

  • Well for the first time Bollywood movie is being released here at Brenden Theaters in Concord, CA. I’m going to go watch the movie tonight and I will be posting my view come Tuesday.

    Ghajini I watched 4 times already and watched the music videos over 50 times and listened to the track over 100 times…….Great music, can’t get enough of Ghajini….such a fun, loving, sad story, however, I love the story and love Aamirs 8 pak Abs….I love Asin she’s so gorgeous…Bollywood has me working out like crazy!!! I’m aiming for a Bollywood body……Forget Hollywood yo….

    CCTC looks like a good movie but that’s yet to be seen……Oh yeah, go get the soundtrack to Billu Barber….the music so rocks….love it….

    Regardless if CCTC is a flop or not, Bollywood is taking over, Akshay in Jumbo and the music in Jumbo rocks too……Akshay will stay on top no matter what the outcome is of this movie is because he rocks. He has so many movies under his belt that one movie will not do him any harm…..

    From not being an Akshay fan to being one of the biggest fans, I give him props for stepping up his game!!! Talk about a fantastic body and great smile…..We love you Akshay….

    Why does everybody have to be so negative and who cares about Hollywood!!! Hollywood is a flop in itself…..

  • I was born an American into Hollywood movies, turned 100 degrees back to my roots…Bollywood rocks…. Hollywood is no competition to Bollywood.

    People, open your eyes!!

  • it is not akshays fault it was the directors fault. but the movie was better than rab ne bana di jodi. akshay is the king of kings and always will be and srk doen’t have a chance.

  • i am with raj from michigan that is true akshay had nothing to do with it it was all the directors fault. that movie was a billion times better than rab ne bana di jodi. rab ne bana di jodi woulof ben nice if ark was not in it.

  • Hey Indicine team and all who donot like the movie:I went to watch yesterday afternoon ..I was scare by all the crictic what they said…but After watching the movie,I fell same what i felt in golmaal returns….It was nice and funny movie and action which was not seen in any bollywood movie…Ya Nikhil Advani is major dissapointed and we can conculde that He is one the worst director….If same story there was another way it will be greatest blockbuster…But still CCTC is all the akshay Show …He only deliver what we expected .////Even thought this movie will not do greatest collection…Akshay still is truely and diserve to be one of the better actor…I will not say the king og bollywood since Akki fan is not like that SRK fan who always say he is king of bollywood…….CCTC is nice film but not great……So it is just a old style masala film…….

  • I have watched the movie .itwas very good movie .
    people who are saying that this movie is not good they have to stop watching indian movies .
    2-there are some people they just want to wratite against akshay even before watching the film.
    CC2C is super hot movie .go and watch and enjoy

  • Indicine Team: I can say that Lagaan was just a special movie, different, among al these movies which were released in the past years. Was Lagaan a “fantasy” movie?! No.. it was partially true, which happened in India, and which way Indian people learned the criket game and the advantage British troops took to gain tax from the poor people..

    Even if it wasn’t 100% true, but it didn’t have those silly scenes like Ghajini which were completely unrealistic… no indicine team, u can’t compare Ghajini with Lagaan, actually Lagaan is one of the best movies which bollywood made so far and didn’t have 10 or 20 flawas in it.. like Ghajini!

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