{"id":5803,"date":"2016-04-16T10:29:22","date_gmt":"2016-04-16T04:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5803"},"modified":"2026-07-17T21:51:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T16:21:53","slug":"thirty-years-of-chalbaaz-sridevi-good-comedy-gender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5803","title":{"rendered":"30 Years of ChaalBaaz: The Sridevi Classic is Proof that Good Comedy Has Nothing to Do with Gender"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

M<\/span>y earliest memory of Pankaj Parashar\u2019s ChaalBaaz<\/span><\/i> is getting yelled at for loudly singing \u201cAaj <\/span>Sunday<\/span><\/a> hai, toh din mein daaru peene ka day hai,\u201d \u00e0 la Rajinikant\u2019s Jaggu almost every weekend as a child.\u00a0It was my favourite Sunday anthem long before I had any concept or understanding of alcohol or the weekends. Two decades later, it still remains my family\u2019s favourite way to announce our giddiness over the arrival of a happy, work-free Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That Sunday song is not the only thing about ChaalBaaz<\/span><\/i> that has aged surprisingly well. When I sat down to watch it again the other day, I intended to skim through the movie just so that I can remind myself of the parts that I had forgotten about and finish it in a few minutes. Yet I ended up taking three hours to watch the two-hour long film. Once, I started watching, skipping any second of it ceased to be an option. As a <\/span>kid<\/span><\/a>, I remember watching Sridevi paint Amba\u2019s face (a mohawked, menacing, and surprisingly funny Rohini Hattangadi) on repeat. As an adult, nothing has changed.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"chalbaaz\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chaalbaaz is not a Rajinikant movie or a Sunny Deol movie. It is instead a Sridevi movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lakshmi Productions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watching it again, I found myself surprised by how lenient my parents were to allow me repeated viewings of the violent ChaalBaaz<\/span><\/i>. Unlike <\/span>Seeta aur Geeta<\/span><\/i> \u2013 its predecessor with a similar plot \u2013 <\/span>ChaalBaaz<\/span><\/i> boasts of graphic depiction of <\/span>abuse<\/span><\/a>, viscerally brought to life by Sridevi. As a child, her torment disturbed me but as an adult, I found myself vaguely appreciative of an \u201980s film willing to delve deep into the trauma of a domestic abuse victim, instead of brushing it under the carpet or burying it under the bravado of a male saviour.<\/span>

Every frame in ChaalBaaz seems to be designed to pay homage to the sheer variety of Sridevi\u2019s acting.<\/blockquote>
Every frame in ChaalBaaz<\/span><\/i> seems to be designed to pay homage to the sheer variety of Sridevi\u2019s acting. She is indeed the superstar, the good old \u201cMichaeli Jacksoni\u201d (as she refers to herself in one of its funniest drunk sequences) who single-handedly drives the movie through her impeccable comic timing. It\u2019s complemented by her penchant for depicting a whole lot of emotions that range from gut-wrenching fear to playful romance with her signature deft touch. <\/span>Sridevi<\/span><\/a> had the rare gumption to eke humour out of naivet\u00e9 as efficiently as she pulled off the loveable tapori<\/span> act without making it come across as overbearing. The sequences that involve physical comedy \u2013 traditionally a\u00a0<\/span>male bastion in Hindi cinema \u2013 are the ones where she shines the most, showing finesse that would have made the likes of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin proud.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although, ChaalBaaz\u2019s<\/span><\/i> deceit of twins who are separated at birth is hardly unique, it stands out for knowing how to elevate an old trope besides creating villains that are both scary and hilarious (<\/span>Anupam Kher<\/span><\/a>\u2019s rabbit-toothed Tribhuvan and Shakti Kapoor\u2019s Balma are two of the most iconic comic villains). Perhaps, the cult of <\/span>ChaalBaaz<\/span><\/i> can be best explained by the film\u2019s adeptness in treading the thin line between slapstick comedy and narrative humour. When I first watched <\/span>ChaalBaaz <\/span><\/i>for instance, I had no idea about who Rajinikant was. But I did not need to. I fell in love with his clueless, confused, funny guy act anyway. That was the charm of the film: it completely managed to take you into its world.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though the film precedes the advent of mainstream feminism, unlike most movies from its time, it manages to avoid being problematic. Given its time and context, it wouldn\u2019t be wrong to state that ChaalBaaz<\/span><\/i> is remarkably progressive, putting together a universe where the heroine getting drunk is a norm minus any reproach or judgment. That two of the most <\/span>macho heroes<\/span><\/a> of the times are made to play second fiddle to a heroine is arguably its biggest strength. <\/span>Chaalbaaz<\/span><\/i> is not a Rajinikant movie or a Sunny Deol movie. It is instead a Sridevi movie. For me, it will remain extra special, especially on Sundays, because it is ultimately a reminder that good comedy never had anything to do with gender.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ChaalBaaz is not a Rajinikant movie or a Sunny Deol movie. It\u2019s instead a Sridevi movie. She is indeed the superstar, the good old \u201cMichaeli Jacksoni\u201d, who single-handedly drives the movie through her impeccable comic timing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":212,"featured_media":5806,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3114],"tags":[5083,1590,710,2592,3932,1440,1955,1897],"class_list":["post-5803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bollywood","tag-30-years","tag-anupam-kher","tag-feminism","tag-gender","tag-rajnikant","tag-shakti-kapoor","tag-sridevi","tag-sunny-deol"],"yoast_head":"\n30 Years of ChaalBaaz: The Sridevi Classic is Proof that Good Comedy Has Nothing to Do with Gender<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ChaalBaaz is not a Rajinikant movie or a Sunny Deol movie. 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