Review: Chup - Revenge of the Artist (2022)
Chup: Revenge of the Artist, written by R Balki, Rishi Varman and critic Raja Sen, is a love letter to Hindi cinema that also highlights the love-hate relationship that makers share with film critics who with their writing and verdict can make it break a film and the hard work that goes behind making it.
It is not a surprise that Guru Dutt’s Kagaz Ke Phool, one of the brightest examples of self-reflection in world cinema (and his best and most personal work), serves as the plot of this crime thriller. With Dutt’s classic — which was panned by critics of the time — as the reference point, Chup, on the surface is about a psychopath maiming film critics for giving inappropriate ratings to films.
The film is not perfect, and it may not suit your taste if gore and graphic violence are not your thing, but the originality of the concept and the message the film intends to convey about the connection between the art and the artist is what stands out.
In a witty and distinct style, the film gives homage to the legendary filmmaker Dutt and his fate. Dulquer Salman shines as Danny, a florist in the suburbs of Bandra. Each time he arranges flowers, for his romance to ‘bloom’ for Dhanwantry, the score picks up on a SD Burman-Sahir Ludhianvi track, immediately transporting you into the world of the 90s.
Sunny Deol plays Arvind Mathur, the investigating officer who hunts down the serial killer committing the crimes. Shreya Dhanwnantry, after Scam 1992 and Mumbai Diaries, still plays a journalist, who believes that in order to feel alive cinema is imperative.
The film, which is focussed more on its craft than its content gets Amitabh Bachchan (playing himself) to assert that cinema needs critics for its growth, starting a conversation on how film criticism is similar to investigative journalism for society.
As an ardent watcher of the films of Guru Dutt (You’ll appreciate the film more if you’ve seen Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool), Chup is a meta-esque masterpiece. The lighting along with the production design, and DOP Vishal Sinha help enhance the film’s sequences to pay tribute to both Guru Dutt and his storied cinematographer V.K. Murthy, with replications of folkloric visual compositions from two of the duo's most celebrated collaborations - Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool.
SD Burman’s songs retain their old tune, with newer instrumental versions that have been seamlessly woven into the score.
There are a lot of layers to unravel in the film, which I’m sure will only get better with rewatches. In the meantime, as people with mobile phones who write about films, we can do some introspection about how we can help our cinema grow better, and at the same time acknowledge the fact that only an artist understands their relationship with the art they have created - neither the critics nor the audience.
