When the first trailer of Abhishek Pathak’s ‘Ujda Chaman’ came out, it showed promise. It released a few days after the trailer of ‘Bala’- another film, with a similar story and a bigger star playing the lead- yet ‘Ujda Chaman’ showed more potential of being a genuinely funny film with a social message.

A remake of Kannada film, 'Ondu Motteya Kathe', the film is based on a 30-year-old Hindi DU professor Chaman Kohli ( Sunny Singh) and his pursuit to find a suitable wife for himself and the story tries to highlight the obsession that we have for beauty. Those who do not fit into our notion of ideal beauty&nbsp;are often mocked at. Chaman is an underconfident man, primarily because of his premature balding. He lives with his over-enthusiastic and boisterous parents and younger brother in modest accommodation in West Delhi.

After looking for a suitable wife for the past 5 years, Chaman decides to take matters in his own hands and tries to hit on fellow colleagues at work and even briefly dates his student. When nothing works, Chaman sets up a tinder account, with a misleading photo and finds a match in Apsara (Maanvi Gagroo).

When they do finally meet, they realise they both are desperate for partners but judge each other for their appearances. He is bald, she is overweight and their match is not made in heaven. But their parents think otherwise.

While the film intends to deliver a strong message, the screenplay derails it quite a bit. The first half is spent concentrating on a sullen face Chaman and his quest to find love. He teaches in a college where he is subjected to constant ridicule by students and colleagues alike and being the insecure, underconfident person that he is – he never really fights back. The ridicule and the taunts become repetitive after a point and it seems writers lose track in the first half just trying to establish Chaman and his story.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ls7RHTnCuiY" width="560"></iframe>

Maanvi Gagroo appears right before the interval and it's her presence that lifts the second half to a great extent. Gagroo plays the charming, sweet Apsara effortlessly and brings in freshness to a very predictable plot. She also plays the inner voice to Chaman's character who with deep insecurities of his looks makes fun of her weight. Gagroo's character is perhaps the most well-written character in the film and the actress does justice to her role.&nbsp;

Grusha Kapoor and Atul Kumar play Singh’s over-enthusiastic parents and the film’s best moments are reserved for their one-liners. But the actors only help the film to a certain extent and bring in a few laughs in a film that keeps meandering and never really manages to pull up its sluggish narrative. &nbsp;Neither do quirky lines come together fully- creating a half-hearted attempt at making a socially relevant slice of life film.

It's exactly two hours long but the first half seems unending as not much is happening. The second half somewhat redeems itself but the makers only address the issue at surface level and never delve deeper.

Sunny Singh, who has shown immense potential in ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnaama 2’ and ‘ Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety’ before, keeps a straight face throughout. His Chaman is not the most exciting person to&nbsp;know, and Singh underplays the role. Chaman is shallow, insecure and under-confident and while a lot of time is spent on focussing him, his eventual transformation and change of heart seem out of the blue and rather forced. Singh’s expressions barely change over two hours. He sulks almost the entire film making his character appear unidimensional.&nbsp;

The concept of beauty and flawed notion about it has been explored in films before. So 'Ujda Chaman' does not really tell us anything that we don't know already. Yes, it does tackle premature balding and how the society reacts to it- a topic that remained untouched all these years, but ultimately it delivers the same message more or less which is not a problem provided it was packaged well. Most of the jokes and jibes at Chaman fall flat and you chuckle more at the middle-class family trying to live their daily lives than at Chaman or his plight. Neither does the film have a defining moment that stays with you after the film is over. Ultimately,' Ujda Chaman' appears to be quite bland and underwhelming.&nbsp;

When the first trailer of Abhishek Pathak’s ‘Ujda Chaman’ came out, it showed promise. It released a few days after the trailer of ‘Bala’- another film, with a similar story and a bigger star playing the lead- yet ‘Ujda Chaman’ showed more potential of being a genuinely funny film with a social message.

When the first trailer of Abhishek Pathak’s ‘Ujda Chaman’ came out, it showed promise. It released a few days after the trailer of ‘Bala’- another film, with a similar story and a bigger star playing the lead- yet ‘Ujda Chaman’ showed more potential of being a genuinely funny film with a social message. A remake of Kannada film, 'Ondu Motteya Kathe', the film is based on a 30-year-old Hindi DU professor Chaman Kohli ( Sunny Singh) and his pursuit to find a suitable wife for himself and the story tries to highlight the obsession that we have for beauty. Those who do not fit into our notion of ideal beauty are often mocked at. Chaman is an underconfident man, primarily because of his premature balding. He lives with his over-enthusiastic and boisterous parents and younger brother in modest accommodation in West Delhi. After looking for a suitable wife for the past 5 years, Chaman decides to take matters in his own hands and tries to hit on fellow colleagues at work and even briefly dates his student. When nothing works, Chaman sets up a tinder account, with a misleading photo and finds a match in Apsara (Maanvi Gagroo). When they do finally meet, they realise they both are desperate for partners but judge each other for their appearances. He is bald, she is overweight and their match is not made in heaven. But their parents think otherwise. While the film intends to deliver a strong message, the screenplay derails it quite a bit. The first half is spent concentrating on a sullen face Chaman and his quest to find love. He teaches in a college where he is subjected to constant ridicule by students and colleagues alike and being the insecure, underconfident person that he is – he never really fights back. The ridicule and the taunts become repetitive after a point and it seems writers lose track in the first half just trying to establish Chaman and his story. Maanvi Gagroo appears right before the interval and it's her presence that lifts the second half to a great extent. Gagroo plays the charming, sweet Apsara effortlessly and brings in freshness to a very predictable plot. She also plays the inner voice to Chaman's character who with deep insecurities of his looks makes fun of her weight. Gagroo's character is perhaps the most well-written character in the film and the actress does justice to her role. Grusha Kapoor and Atul Kumar play Singh’s over-enthusiastic parents and the film’s best moments are reserved for their one-liners. But the actors only help the film to a certain extent and bring in a few laughs in a film that keeps meandering and never really manages to pull up its sluggish narrative. Neither do quirky lines come together fully- creating a half-hearted attempt at making a socially relevant slice of life film. It's exactly two hours long but the first half seems unending as not much is happening. The second half somewhat redeems itself but the makers only address the issue at surface level and never delve deeper. Sunny Singh, who has shown immense potential in ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnaama 2’ and ‘ Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety’ before, keeps a straight face throughout. His Chaman is not the most exciting person to know, and Singh underplays the role. Chaman is shallow, insecure and under-confident and while a lot of time is spent on focussing him, his eventual transformation and change of heart seem out of the blue and rather forced. Singh’s expressions barely change over two hours. He sulks almost the entire film making his character appear unidimensional. The concept of beauty and flawed notion about it has been explored in films before. So 'Ujda Chaman' does not really tell us anything that we don't know already. Yes, it does tackle premature balding and how the society reacts to it- a topic that remained untouched all these years, but ultimately it delivers the same message more or less which is not a problem provided it was packaged well. Most of the jokes and jibes at Chaman fall flat and you chuckle more at the middle-class family trying to live their daily lives than at Chaman or his plight. Neither does the film have a defining moment that stays with you after the film is over. Ultimately,' Ujda Chaman' appears to be quite bland and underwhelming.

'Ujda Chaman' review: Sunny Singh's film is a bland affair

Makers of 'Ujda Chaman' and 'Bala' have been emroiled in a bitter war of words as both the films are based on the saem theme. The trailers of the two films came out around the same time and Abhishek Pathak, the director of 'Ujda Chaman' had earlier even <a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/makers-of-ujda-chaman-planning-to-take-legal-action-against-bala-producers-255330">threatened to take legal action against 'Bala'&nbsp;</a>as the latter preponed its release date in order to clash with the former.&nbsp; 
 
'Bala's' leading man Ayushmann Khurrana recently opened up about the controversy to a news agency and said, "We were the first ones to have this idea in the Hindi cinema and moreover it was shot first, our teaser also came first." 
 
"But apart from that, it should be all positive. We are not here to pinpoint on others, or talk behind their backs," said the actor.&nbsp; 
Earlier Abhishek Pathak had claimed that his film 'Ujda Chaman' was an official remake of 2017 Kannada film 'Ondu Motteya Kathe' and he had acquired the official rights for a remake.&nbsp; 
 
Khurrana's co-star in the film Yami Gautam called 'Bala' relatable. "If I go back to Vicky Donor, then I think we got to know that the audience is ready for a change. They want to watch films and cinema with which they can relate themselves and talk about it," said `Uri: The Surgical Strike` star. 
 
"Bala I think has been made at the right point of time as the problem of hair loss in men problem is so much prevalent but nobody wants to speak about it. We all know it as it`s about complex and our insecurities and I think the change has come," she added. 
Known for travelling long distances to fit into the shoes of his character, Ayushmann who had used prosthetics for the film recollected his theatre days when he went completely bald for a play. 
 
"I remember I had shaved my head during the initial days of acting when I was doing theatre. I did a play called Kumara Swami where I went completely bald and not just me there were 12 other boys who underwent this transformation because the director felt that it would visually appeal to the audience," he shared jokingly. 
 
Adding, the National Award winner said, "I can still recollect entering the house while wearing the helmet and getting badly scolded from my father. In fact, for 'Bala', I was ready to go bald but since we had to show different stages of receding hairline, I just couldn`t."&nbsp;

(With inputs from ANI)

Makers of 'Ujda Chaman' and 'Bala' have been emroiled in a bitter war of words as both the films are based on the saem theme. The trailers of the two films came out around the same time and Abhishek Pathak, the director of 'Ujda Chaman' had earlier even threatened to take legal action against 'Bala' as the latter preponed its release date in order to clash with the former.

Makers of 'Ujda Chaman' and 'Bala' have been emroiled in a bitter war of words as both the films are based on the saem theme. The trailers of the two films came out around the same time and Abhishek Pathak, the director of 'Ujda Chaman' had earlier even threatened to take legal action against 'Bala' as the latter preponed its release date in order to clash with the former. 'Bala's' leading man Ayushmann Khurrana recently opened up about the controversy to a news agency and said, "We were the first ones to have this idea in the Hindi cinema and moreover it was shot first, our teaser also came first." "But apart from that, it should be all positive. We are not here to pinpoint on others, or talk behind their backs," said the actor. Earlier Abhishek Pathak had claimed that his film 'Ujda Chaman' was an official remake of 2017 Kannada film 'Ondu Motteya Kathe' and he had acquired the official rights for a remake. Khurrana's co-star in the film Yami Gautam called 'Bala' relatable. "If I go back to Vicky Donor, then I think we got to know that the audience is ready for a change. They want to watch films and cinema with which they can relate themselves and talk about it," said `Uri: The Surgical Strike` star. "Bala I think has been made at the right point of time as the problem of hair loss in men problem is so much prevalent but nobody wants to speak about it. We all know it as it`s about complex and our insecurities and I think the change has come," she added. Known for travelling long distances to fit into the shoes of his character, Ayushmann who had used prosthetics for the film recollected his theatre days when he went completely bald for a play. "I remember I had shaved my head during the initial days of acting when I was doing theatre. I did a play called Kumara Swami where I went completely bald and not just me there were 12 other boys who underwent this transformation because the director felt that it would visually appeal to the audience," he shared jokingly. Adding, the National Award winner said, "I can still recollect entering the house while wearing the helmet and getting badly scolded from my father. In fact, for 'Bala', I was ready to go bald but since we had to show different stages of receding hairline, I just couldn`t." (With inputs from ANI)

Ayushmann Khurrana on comparison between 'Bala' and 'Ujda Chaman': We were the first ones to have this idea in Hindi cinema

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'Ujda Chaman' review: Sunny Singh's film is a bland affair

Ayushmann Khurrana on comparison between 'Bala' and 'Ujda Chaman': We were the first ones to have this idea in Hindi cinema