Ultra Media & Entertainment’s Chhapa Kaata (Marathi) is the story of a brother’s love for his sister and the lengths he goes to to get her married to the boy she loves.
Namdev (Makarand Anaspure) is a noble soul who lives with his mother (Smita Oak) and sister, Archana (Reena Madhukar). Namdev has two more sisters who are already married. He is a man of modest means.
Namdev is keen to get Archana married to Sameer (Ruturaj Phadke) because she loves him. However, Sameer’s father (Jairaj Nair) wants to get Sameer married to a rich girl. Namdev, therefore, has no choice but to pretend to be wealthy, in front of Sameer’s father. Luck favours him when Shanaya (Tejaswini Lonari), a rich girl, enlists his support in hoodwinking her grandfather (Mohan Joshi) into believing that she is in love with him (Namdev) and wants to marry him. She does this because she has overheard her grandfather tell his friend (Arun Nalawade) that he would bequeath all his property to the hot-headed Shanaya if she marries the boy of his choice. Since Namdev fits the bill of an apt suitor because he is a noble soul and a simpleton, Shanaya’s grandfather approves of him as Shanaya’s life partner. Of course, the grandpa doesn’t know that the marriage would be fake and that there’s an arrangement (rather than love) between Shanaya and Namdev. The truth is that Shanaya loves Rahul (Sushrut Mankani). Unknown to Shanaya, Rahul is after the property of Shanaya’s grandfather. So, the arrangement seems like a win-win situation for all three — Namdev can look like a wealthy man so that he can get his sister married to her boyfriend; Shanaya can convince her grandpa that she is marrying the boy he has approved of; and the grandfather feels that Shanaya is getting married to a good person.
Anyway, as the drama progresses, Namdev marries Shanaya, much to the joy of her grandpa. Namdev then goes about the task of impressing Sameer’s father with his rich status so that Archana’s marriage can be fixed with Sameer. What happens thereafter? Do Shanaya’s grandfather and Sameer’s father get to know about Namdev’s reality? Does Shanaya’s marriage with Namdev last? What happens to Rahul? Does Archana get married to Sameer?
Sandeep Manohar Naware has penned a story of the kind which has been seen umpteen times on the screen. In other words, there is no freshness or newness in the story. The screenplay, written by Sandeep Manohar Naware and Prakash Bhagwat, is very routine. Predictable twists and turns make the drama so uninteresting that getting the audience to feel involved becomes an impossibility. The behaviour of Namdev (in treating his family members as his house-helps) when Sameer’s father comes to Shanaya’s bungalow is so uncalled for that the viewers wonder what’s going on and to what avail. And this is just one instance of a contrived drama. Prakash Bhagwat’s dialogues are ordinary.
Makarand Anaspure acts quite well as Namdev. Tejaswini Lonari does well in the role of Shanaya. Mohan Joshi provides decent support as Shanaya’s grandfather. Reena Madhukar is alright as Namdev’s sister, Archana. Ruturaj Phadke is so-so as Archana’s boyfriend, Sameer. Jairaj Nair is adequate in the role of Sameer’s father. Arun Nalawade makes his presence felt in a brief role as the friend and confidant of Shanaya’s granddad. Vijay Patkar is so-so as Sameer’s maternal uncle. Sushrut Mankani is alright as Rahul. Smita Oak (as Namdev’s mother), Pankaj Vishnu (as Shanaya’s friend, Raaj), Prakash Bhagwat and Sandeep Gaikwad (both as brothers-in-law of Namdev), Ashutosh Wadekar (as driver Ganpat), Urmila Dange, Sunayana Kadam and Pratibha Bhosale lend routine support.
Sandeep Manohar Naware’s direction is ordinary. Music (by Gaurav Chati, Ganesh Surve and Mukul Kashikar) is nothing to shout about and the same goes for the lyrics (by Shashank Kondvilkar, Shivam Barpande and Meghna Gore). Mukul Kashikar’s background music ought to have been better. Gaurav Ponkshe’s camerawork is average. Meenal Rakesh Mhadnak’s editing is loose.
On the whole, Chhapa Kaata is a flop fare.
Released on 15-12-’23 at Metro Inox (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PVR Inox Pictures. Publicity: dull. Opening: below the mark.