Dinesh Kamath's Movie Column ' Movie Chhapaak shows promise of becoming a big hit' that was published in Newsband

Movie Column

Movie Chhapaak shows promise of becoming a big hit

By Dinesh Kamath

Laxmi Agarwal is the acid attack survivor. Deepika Padukone's first look in Chhapaak was released. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, the upcoming film based on real life story will hit the screens on January 10, 2020.

Laxmi Agarwal’s life as an acid attack survivor has inspired an upcoming Bollywood film Chhapaak. The Chhapaak actress unveiled her first look of the film and it was widely lauded by Bollywood including her husband actor Ranveer Singh.

A lot of make-up artistes changed a natural face to acid distorted face. They are finding beauty in an acid-burnt face. With Chhapaak, Bollywood is coming out with real stories. This is a good sign.

People are intrigued by Bollywood. A long time ago, a film named Tezaab came out. It spoke about beauty. Today, beauty through films is shown in a different manner and the youth will see and learn. The film Chhapaak shares the story of the acid victim’s struggle and survival.

The acid attack survivor was on her way back home from music class when a man, twice her age, threw acid on her for rejecting his advances when she was 15-year-old. Her face and other body parts got disfigured in the attack.

Directed by Meghna Gulzar, Chhapaak will hit the screens on January 10, 2020. Deepika Padukone, who is essaying the role of Malti in the film, will share the screen space with ‘A Death In The Gunj’ actor Vikrant Massey.

Many people are lauding her for taking on such a powerful role, inspired by acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Deepika revealed that she was not "emotionally ready" to take on such an intense film, after the challenging and emotionally draining Padmaavat. However, when director Meghna Gulzar came to her with the script of Chhapaak, which is based on the journey of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, Deepika was bowled over. In fact, she was so moved by the story that she decided to turn producer for the film. Before that she was really looking at doing a love story.

Laxmi's story and Meghna's conviction in this film was very similar to Piku. In just five minutes of meeting the director, Deepika knew that this is the film she wanted to do.

Chhapaak which also features Vikrant Massey in a pivotal role, goes on floors today and will primarily be shot in Mumbai and Delhi. It is scheduled to release on January 10, 2020.