Chopsticks — A Netflix Film About Incongruous Characters and Traits
For someone who routinely spends half an hour to find a movie for a 10 minute-dinner, Chopsticks was a refreshing find.
It is the story of a timid 25-year old girl Nirma (played by Mithila Palkar). She works at the Taj Hotel as a Mandarin translator and is repeatedly passed over for attractive assignments because… she’s timid. The movie starts with her buying a new car. Her mom advices her to take the car to a temple. Her car gets nicked at the temple and after getting an unsolicited recommendation from a thief, she gets in touch with Artist.
Artist (played by Abhay Deol), is a character of his own. He is a squatter, a chef by hobby and a safe cracker by profession. Artist’s mannerisms are peculiar, his methods are efficient and he is the Yoda to Nirma. Nirma and Artist in their quest to get back the stolen car, clash with a hilarious gangster Fayaz Bhai (played by ever-brilliant Vijay Raaz). Fayaz Bhai is in the business of stolen cars, but also has an unhealthy obsession with his fighter-goat Bahubaali. These three characters paint Chopsticks in a smoothly painted movie.
The key form of humor in the film is incongruity. Artist is a squatter, living in a beaten up building, but has a shiny kitchen with all the latest and greatest equipment. He has a pet dog, with an interesting name. In the course of finding the stolen car, Nirma is introduced to a UK(Udhan Kathola) Bhai . UK Bhai runs a Chillar business, in which the coins collected by the beggars is methodically put in cartons (with complex serial numbers) and sent to banks to earn a profit enough for him to have an iPhone and a pair of AirPods. The banter between Nirma and Artist is funny, although Palkar has overacted her innocence in some scenes. And then, there are quotes on the back of Bombay’s iconic Kaali Peeli taxis like “One Mistake and Game Over” which foreshadow the plot.
Chopsticks is a fresh movie in every way. You have a light low-stakes comedy set in an authentic Bombay setting with hugely interesting characters. Artist played by Abhay Deol is mysterious and charming, and movie did an injustice by not completing his character arc. This is the first Netflix Original Indian movie (Netflix commissioned this movie, instead of buying the exclusive rights to the movie like they did with Rajma Chawal, Love Per Squar Feet, Soni etc), and if Netflix’s next Indian movie projects are anything like this, I’d love watching them!
