Film: 'Chal Chalein'; Director: Ujjwal Singh; Cast: Mithun Chakravorty, Kanwaljeet, Rati Agnihotri, Tanvi Hegde, Shilpa Shukla, Anoop Soni; Rating: **
Seldom has there been an instance in Bollywood when two films revolving around teenagers release at the same time. While 'Teree Sang' looked at teen pregnancy, 'Chal Chalein' challenges the parental pressure on children to be No.1 in studies.
In this context, first time director Ujjwal Singh raises a valid point. Should all children turn into engineers, doctors or bureaucrats? Or should they be free to explore opportunities in arts or literature as well? That's the question asked by a bunch of students -- six boys and a girl, most of whom have a tough time balancing school, coaching classes and pressure at home.
Since the film deals with a topical issue, it's not an easy task to make it entertaining enough. Of course there are the likes of 'Taare Zameen Par', but such films come once in a decade perhaps.
But director Singh does try to tell an honest story despite the fact that 'Chal Chalein' does appear to be an amateur attempt at times.
It's a subject one can relate to. Kids being punished by their parents for not getting the highest marks in the class, teenagers being slapped for voicing their opinion, school principal not being available for his students, coaching classes pressure, comparison with other children pursuing admission to the IITs or aiming for the civil services -- all of this is life-like and shows that Singh has his heart at the right place.