Kathmandu

The just-released Chankhe Shankhe Pankhe tries to show the epitome of friendship through the expression of nationalism, powerful dialogues, acting skills and a little ‘inspiration’. Hero(es) fighting corruption, trying to bring peace and eliminate poverty is not a novel idea, yet the movie presents them without boring the audience.

Shailesh aka Shankhe (Prem Puri), Champak aka Chankhe (Subash Thapa) and Prasiddha aka Pankhe (Sudarshan Thapa) befriend each other after they meet one another on a blind date when Prasiddha plays a prank on them. The friendship becomes so intense that they can’t shun one another. Frustrated by life and the situations around, these youngsters try to commit suicide. Their antics to commit suicide make the audience laugh out loud. The reasons for their suicide attempt are narrated in a flashback technique where the mystery unfolds one after the other. A carefree life and the attitude of these youth change all of a sudden. The transition of these youth to fight corruption makes one remember the scenes of Rang De Basanti. But what is the turning point in the movie? One needs to watch the movie.

The speed at which the film moves and the sequences are not boring. How do the characters maintain their friendship despite all those ups and downs? The movie tries to answer it in a convincing way.

Puri being a debutant actor has presented himself as a professional. He is good in making people laugh with his rhythmic dialogue delivery. Subash does not disappoint the audience. His confidence in presenting himself as a lover boy, a responsible citizen and the fluent dialogue delivery make him a real actor. One can see an improvement in Sudarshan’s acting as compared to Ajhai Pani. He is able to present himself as a spoiled brat, a romantic lover and a friend in need. However, presenting Pooja Sharma as a crime reporter doesn’t match her role. Is it always essential to present reporters in spectacles? Her husky voice and the way of reporting crime scenes is not convincing. However, Nandita KC’s role as a call girl is appealing. Pramod Agrahari as a police officer makes the audience laugh with his mania for English language.

The songs are fun to watch. Facebook Le is placed at the right time as per the need of the story which generally doesn’t happen in Nepali films. Had a few scenes not been inspired — a la Rang De Basanti — the film could have been scored higher. Yet a slight change in the ending gives it fine tuning.

Raising some serious issues, the movie tries to give a message on the urgency to curb corruption.