Right at the start of the movie “Chaman Bahar”, when our protagonist Billu aka Prem Kumar Yadav (Jitendra Kumar) is introduced to the audience, the radio plays a classic Bollywood song from the 90s. That’s exactly when the audience are subtly told that the film will take them back to the ‘90s situation’ where boys stalked girls out of sheer wantonness, with most of them not even letting the girls know of their intent. Might sound offensive to the current generation, but in those days, when sources of entertainment and communication were limited, the typical Indian concept of eve teasing was a popular ‘time pass’ for many youths.
The story of Chaman Bahar—in a nutshell—is about a Billu who opens a paan (betel leaves) shack in a small town in Chhattisgarh, India. In doing so he goes against his father who wants him to be a security guard at the local District Forester’s Office, a duty the men in the family have been doing for generations.
An adamant Billu buys a small paan shop on a ‘busy’ roadside. But he immediately finds out that he has been tricked. The shop is actually on a deserted section of the town with no traffic. A pair of local unemployed youth—Somu (Bhuvan Arora) and Chotu (Dhirendra Tiwari)—enter the scene, giving him the bad news and also promising help.
All is not well for Billu until the vacant house across the road sees new tenants. The family has a teenage daughter Rinku (Ritika Badiani) whose entry in the town creates a sensation among the local boys. Her teenage schoolmates and even older men in their 20s start stalking her and wait outside her house just to get a glimpse of her. They make Billu’s little store their junction and in no time, business is booming for him.
The presence of the ‘fair maiden who wears shorts’ also attracts the attention of a local political aspirant Shila (Alam Khan) and business heir Ashu (Ashwani Kumar) who are constantly at odds with each other. Billu profits from the group of boys hanging out at his store. They buy cigarettes and tobacco from him all day. But only until he too is bitten by the love bug for Rinku—and hence the complications in his life start.
The simple, rooted story of Chaman Bahar is also packaged into a grounded movie that despite being produced under the banner of the multi-million dollar Saregama India emulates the stylistic simplicity of a low budget, independent film. The cast, the location, set design, the overall presentation, nothing is overboard.
Actor Jitendra Kumar, whose crossover from web series to Bollywood has earned him praises from critics and audiences alike, justifies the hype he has been getting. Jitendra is real, believable, lovable, and easily gains the audience empathy as he gets into one mess after another in his pursuit of Rinku’s love.
Writer-Director Apurva Dhar Badgaiyannhave also creates his own version of the ‘Shakespearean fool’ in the form of Somu and Chotu. The duo constantly outwits the powerful, and manipulates the situation to their advantage, while also keeping the humor quotient up.
While the movie has a lot going for it, the 1hr 51mins length is perhaps overkill for this plot that could otherwise have been turned into an excellent short movie, or an episode in a series. Although conflicts and resolutions are aplenty, the film somehow feels stretched.
Also, with the 18-year-old actress Ritika Badiani looking way below her age, grown men stalking her seems problematic. But again, this is reflective of those times and in a way shows the ugly side of eve teasing.
Who should watch it?
Despite the length, Chaman Bahar is mostly an entertaining movie. Without evident malice, violence and explicit scenes, it is a movie to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages.
Chaman Bahar
Rating: 3.5 stars
Genre: Drama
Length: 1hr 51mins
Director: Apurva Dhar Badgaiyannhave
Actors: Jitendra Kumar, Ritika Badiani, Bhuvan Arora, Dhirendra Tiwari
