At the climax of Rumi Jaffrey’s engrossing thriller Chehre, Amitabh Bachchan delivers a rousing 13-minute monologue on violence against women. This plot takes the narrative to another level. We can,t imagine who can best utter these dialogues in precise English, with the correct emotion and the perfect posture. Only a few actors, with Amitabh Bachchan topping the list.
The movie will gain the attention of the viewers. Think of ‘Chehre’ as a thriller with a long monologue attached to it, with the Bachchan voice emphasizing the various ways in which justice has failed us as a society, whether it is rape, acid attacks, or terror Or think of it as a monologue with a thriller attached to it.
Chehre has many of them. Dhritiman Chatterjee, who makes even the most mundane dialogue sound meaningful; Annu Kapoor with good acting skills; Raghubir Yadav, playing a version of his best act, the sad clown; and Emraan Hashmi, who has left his serial-kissing image far behind and gaining up solid performances every time he makes a screen appearance. We can even see Rhea Chakraborty in the movie. But above all is Amitabh Bachchan who still gets the kind of opening scene reserved only for reigning superstars.
Because it is a Bachchan movie, there has to be a message. The monologue, dialogue by Amitabh Bachchan which seems an extension from the one in ‘Pink’ (2016), where again Bachchan played a lawyer. Is it worth a visit to the theatre? Yes, just to remind ourselves that there is more to Bachchan than the KBC Uncle or Alexa’s voice.
