Chopsticks, starring the supposed lesser of the Deols, Abhay, and YouTube pixie, Mithila Palkar, is a Netflix Original which means it’s a good film but, much to our chagrin, it rarely exceeds that. Those seeking frothy late night Hindi entertainment will love this slice of sunny Bombay pandemonium, but those hankering for a bit more cinematic sagacity should look elsewhere, perhaps to Chopsticks‘ main inspiration, Delhi Belly.
Like that underrated indie Hindi classic, Chopsticks’ plot revolves around a ludicrous crime orchestrated by a menacing Vijay Raaz (the man’s a Bollywood treasure) and an unassuming, everyday hero. In Delhi Belly, it was Imran Khan, in this movie, it’s the girl who makes harmless Indian YouTube drivel.
Mithila Palkar, usually seen as an urbanite whose got her shit together, plays the polar opposite to her typecast here – a timid, sansakari desi girl trying to make it in the big city – and she does it very, very well. The 20 something actress whose acting chops didn’t come to full view until the groundbreaking second season of Little Things, is a total delight here. As is her co-star Abhay Deol, playing a con artist whom Mithila’s character enlists to help her retrieve her stolen vehicle from Raaz.
It dawned on me while watching the film that Abhay’s never been given the opportunity to play a hero before – an adorable sidekick (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) – yes, a Wayward Nicholas Cage-esque Drunk – yes (Dev D) but a hulking Bollywood hero – never, which is surprising.
With his perfected eyebrow raise, his cool-as-a-cucumber demeanor and his tall-glass-of-water build (Twitter is already abuzz with Abhay thirst traps), Abhay Deol has the Bollywood hero shtick nailed. More than that, the scriptwriters have laced him with countless bon mots that’ll have you straight up laughing out loud.
Unfortunately, there’s very little else the scriptwriters have to offer. The interactions between the Yin and Yang Odd Couple are cute enough and Mithila’s final showdown with Vijay Raaz is a tear-jerking testament to the innate goodness of Mumbaikaars but again, Chopsticks, with its oftentimes hackneyed writing, is no main course.
And that’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with candy.
