Chhatriwali (transl. woman with umbrella) is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language social comedy film directed by Tejas Deoskar and produced by Ronnie Screwvala. The film stars an Rakul Preet Singh, Sumeet Vyas, Satish Kaushik, Dolly Ahluwalia and Rajesh Tailang. The film was premiered on 20 January 2023 on ZEE5.[1]
The film aims to promote the importance of male contraceptives and safe sex.[2] It marked the last film of Satish Kaushik before his death on 9 March 2023.
Plot
Set in Karnal, the film is about Sanya Dhingra, a female unemployed chemistry genius, who is, looking for a job and at the same time she uses her skills to fight an important societal taboo of educating the youth about Sex Education.[3][4]
The shoot of the film started soon in November 2021. It was mostly shot in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.[5] The shoots were wrapped by December 2021. [6]
Critical Reception
The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
Avinash Lohana of Pinkvilla rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, and wrote, "Social comedies often face criticism for being preachy, however Chhatriwali manages to avoid that path by being entertaining and also conveying the message strongly". He concluded, "Overall, despite a few odds, Chhatriwali manages to entertain and is also able to convey a strong message with impact. Now, it’s rare for a film to pull that off, so I would highly recommend it".[7]
Archika Khurana of The Times of India rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and concluded, "Overall, it's a light- hearted film that is predictable and could have been packaged and delivered more creatively and uniquely. Despite this, Chhatriwali is watchable with the right intent".[8]Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and wrote, "Rakul Preet Singh delivers one of the best performances of her career. She also handles the lead role very well. And she has never looked so cute in a Hindi film at least".[9] Similarly, Phelian of The Quint rated the film 3/5, and described it as "Lackluster, despite earnest and crucial messaging"[10]
Rating the film 2.5/5, India Today critic Anindita Mukherjee wrote, "Rakul Preet Singh's Chhatriwali aims at imparting a strong message on sex education. While it does succeed mostly, the film tends to get preachy in parts." She concluded, "All in all, Chhatriwali is a decent weekend watch with predictable parts where everything falls into the right place towards the end. But did it deliver the message it wanted? That’s for you to decide."[11] In her review for Hindustan Times, Monika Rawal Kukreja wrote, "There are some flaws here and there, but with all the humour and lighter moments, they can be somewhat overlooked."[12]
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express was far more critical in her review. Rating the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, she wrote," Rakul Preet Singh has delivered a perky performance in a film hamstrung by a script that is afraid to fully embrace its message."[13]
The music for the film composed by Akhil Sachdeva, Rohan-Rohan, Sumeet Bellary and Durgesh R Rajbhatt. Lyrics are written by Tejas Prabha, Vijay Deoskar, Akhil Sachdeva, Satya Khare and Saaveri Verma.[14]
