Chup Critics Review: By Komal Nahta, Taran Adarsh, Anupama Chopra, Rajeev Masand

Overall Ratings: 2.8/5 [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Director: R Balki

Cast: Sunny Deol, Dulquer Salmaan, Shreya Dhanwantri, Pooja Bhatt

Mumbai city, City of movies, Different types of movies, Good, bad, and good movies. Big-budget disaster movies here R Balki comes with Chup Movie which created a good buzz after releasing its trailer. Amazing small-budget movies. Junk movies with a five-star rating. Great movies playing in empty cinema halls. Irony in movies. Films made on irony. Overall, a dream business. Then comes the makers of those dreams. Filmmakers. And then comes the fraternity that rates those dreams. Critics. All these make up the Cinema Universe of Mumbai. And then there is an entry in this universe of a psycho killer. Did you find the matter interesting? We thought so. This is the setup of Sunny Deol, Dulquer Salmaan, Shreya Dhanwantri and R Balki’s film ‘Chup’. Full name: ‘Chup-Revenge of the Artist’. How did we like it? Let’s talk.

Chup Critics Review: Komal Nahta, Taran Adarsh, Anupama Chopra

Ratings: 2.5/5 Review By: Stutee Ghosh Site: The Quint

However, there are many other characters Chup focuses on and the proceedings become wobbly. One is never quite sure of the tone the film is trying to adopt. Is it a satire or a dark comedy critiquing a world that can’t take criticism? Or is it serious about sermonizing to critics about how to do their job? Not to be missed is Sunny Deol as the investigating officer who, fed up of his own restrained performance, screams “BASTARD” and takes a giant leap of faith metaphorically and literally to catch the killer. For this critic Chup remains an interesting, intriguing idea that couldn’t quite execute what it ambitiously set out to achieve.

Ratings: 3/5 Review By: Sukanya Verma Site: Rediff.com

Balki has the framework for a terrific argument if only it wasn’t so oblivious to publications and their politics, controlling the narrative and a thriving star rating system — one that the film industry equally enables across triumphant posters when the odds are in their favour. Attributing violent vendetta to psychological imbalance is an easy crutch to fall on when makers are reluctant to debate righteous anger over difference of opinion.

Ratings: 4/5 Review By: –  Site: The Guardian

Oh, the joy of watching a film about film reviewers! Actually, R Balki’s slasher film ‘Chup: Revenge Of The Artist’ is equal parts interesting and equal parts scary. Entertaining because it’s a refreshingly new story- which does a hat-tip to Guru Dutt and his last few films and manages to create an intriguing premise for the viewers. Scary because it has a psychopath killing film critics and giving them ratings based in their last review. I should probably word this article well, lest it is taken literally much like the film and my fate is decided accordingly.

Ratings: Positive Review By: Shomini Sen Site: The Guardian

Director R Balki must have got a kick out of writing this very enjoyable poison-pen letter to film criticism in which a Mumbai serial killer stalks the practitioners of our noble profession. Se7en-style, the killer tailors the murders to the critique; woe betide the hack who thoughtlessly writes: “A picture whose heart is in the right place, but whose other organs are all over the place.” Not only is this premise a droll kick up the arse for the Scream-style meta-slasher, it has to be the first film in which someone says “I need a critic” in the same imperative tone usually reserved for a Swat team or an elite hitman.

Ratings: Negative Review By: Komal Nahta Site: Filminformation

Balki’s direction is fair and one also gets to see glimpses of his brilliance at times but the fact remains that his choice of subject is so dull that the narration also loses impact. Amit Trivedi’s music and Swanand Kirkire’s lyrics are of a fair standard but the songs are not of the popular variety. On the whole, Chup has a weak premise and, therefore, stands bleak chances at the box-office.

Ratings: 2/5 Review By: Shubhra Site: Indian Express

Am I supposed to take this seriously, or laugh it off? Ultimately, it comes down to this: do you really believe that film critics have the power to kill movies? Especially in this digital day and age, when everyone is a critic, not just professional ones? It’s also true that good films always find their audience, but do bad movies deserve to die unsung? Towards the end, a character says : a film works because of word-of-mouth, not critics, and that straightaway undercuts the film’s premise. If indeed critics these days have less influence than doltish trolls, why take the trouble to go after them in the first place? There, I’ve said it: will I still be alive tomorrow?

Ratings: 2.5/5 Review By: Anna Site: Firstpost

Despite its positives, Chup’s aspirations to grandeur make it far less engaging than its uncommon theme might suggest. Balki’s film fails to grasp the essence of Guru Dutt’s magic, which was rooted not merely in the beauty of visuals and music, but in the ability to use both to capture the pain, mischief, sense of humour, love and longing of his characters with empathy. In contrast, Chup feels distant from its characters and uninvolved.

Ratings: 3/5 Review By: Ronak Site: Times Of India

At a concept level, Balki and his team of writers (Raja Sen and Rishi Virmani) have a virgin plot that focuses on the life of the film critics, whose vocation has never really been explored in Hindi cinema. He dedicates the first half in cooking up the story and building up the intrigue, quite brilliantly.Now, all you can do is wait for the big reveal in the end, but in a Bollywood thriller that is seldom rewarding. And ‘Chup’ is no exception.

Ratings: 2/5 Review By: Sonil Site: News18

The film surely gripped me till the interval. And then, the curse of the second-half struck. The explanation of the intriguing mystery was so lame that I refused to believe it. I hoped that Balki who wrote the story and the screenplay along with Raja Sen (a film critic himself) and Rishi Virmani would spring one final twist on us and redeem the film. But sadly, that never happened.

Ratings: 3/5 Review By: Bharathi Site: Lehren

It’s like the secret fantasy of every filmmaker come true – kill a film critic every Friday. Although the premise provided grounds for sound critics-bashing, Balki actually gets the space of a critic pretty well, even giving him a dash of respect. Chup is, of course, not perfect And the winding up which gives the killer an entire reel of sentimentality, offers no comfort or justification for the venomous brutality of the killings.

Ratings: 3/5 Review By: Hungama Site: Bollywood Hungama

On the whole, CHUP is a unique tale of a serial killer on the loose and boasts of some fine performances. At the box office, it’ll take a healthy start due to the reduced ticket prices on Day 1. From Day 2 onwards, word of mouth will play an important part in pulling audiences to cinemas, especially in urban centres.

Ratings: 3.5/5 Review By: Shubham Site: Koimoi

Chup comes from a team that immensely loves cinema and everything it represents, you must surrender to an idea that is untouched and brilliant. With some minor flaws, you should not miss watching his ode which is more than just a movie about a killer on loose.