Chalo Dilli

Rating : 3/10
Release Date : 29th April, 2011
Time : 116 minutes
Director : Shashant Shah ; Writer : Arshad Syed ; Music : Various
Starring : Vinay Pathak, Lara Dutta
Take every stereotype in the book. The Bong family that has to be carrying rasagullas. The Rajasthani goon who wears cool shades but also carry paan. The Delhi-ite who belches, farts, chomps noisily and eats gluttonously but has a heart of gold. And the Mumbai Miss Hoity Toity who runs a multi crore business, is strong / self dependent but eeks and shrieks at the sign of a cockroach. Now put it together in a road movie with a weak plot, stale jokes and clichéd situations. And you have a film that goes on and on and on before mercifully drawing to a close about 30-40 minutes too late.


Lara misses her flight to Delhi, has to catch one in cattle class which is diverted to Jaipur due to airport issues, and then when she hires a car to drive down to the capital, encounters a sleep-starved uncouth driver. In steps Vinay Pathak. Her co-passenger on the flight. Possibly the reason for her missing the earlier one. Surely the reason for her having to resort to music / headphones during the flight due to his loud chatter. And definitely the person who drives her up the wall as their journey encompasses an Ambassador, a bicycle, a camel cart, shared auto, a jeep and a train. Will they reach Delhi and what awaits them there is what is supposed to engross us through the film



An interesting premise is put to the sword here. A very weak script, a very poor dialogue writer (really cringe worthy, old jokes) and extremely amateurish production quality ensure that you see a film that feels like its been made on a budget. Acting by the lead pair is average but you feel for neither of them. Acting by everyone else is below average. The songs are very ordinary and the ‘Laila’ remix is downright awful, especially the crass video with Yana.


A piece of elastic can only be stretched so much and the film here tries to set a new record for doing so. Midway in the film you’re praying for the unlikely couple to actually reach their destination to relieve us. Or for them to be airlifted. Or for someone to come to their rescue. Anything but the amateurish sub plots that you see, all of which have been seen before.