Chandni Chowk to China
User Score
5.5 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 24
  3. Negative: 9 out of 24

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  1. VishalG.
    Jan 18, 2009
    10
    Wonderful movie, akshay has proved himself one again that he is the undisputed No 1 of Bollywood.
  2. Irustima
    Jan 18, 2009
    7
    I loved the movie. It's funny and the story moves fast. I even liked the special effects very much. The short quips through out the movie kept me giggling. Must watch despite the critics trying to put the movie down. I believe that there are Bollywood lobbies working to tarnish the Akshay image.
  3. udayp
    Jan 22, 2009
    9
    This is one of the BEST movies indian cinema has ever produced...that I have seen in decades!...This one's a right call to the Oscar's....Right from sleek camera work, enchanting music score & all....the performances by its lead actors - namely akshay kumar & deepika gets your money's worth right away!...what was the name of the film which ran for a decade or so?...sholay or was it hum aapke hain kaun?...or was it ddlj?....I tell you guysss---this masterpiece makes all the above-named look like horse crap!!!...It's got a phenomenal repeat value which makes it a Super Duper rocking HIT..Right from the word GO!...So you GO!,...& watch the movie of the decade!!!!...worth every penny...sit back...watch..enjoy!...Thanks Nikhil!… Expand
  4. SidS
    Feb 13, 2009
    0
    Useless Garbage!
  5. dineshs.
    Jan 17, 2009
    10
    Nice movie with action of akshay & deepika, i like it very much.
  6. amandar
    Jan 19, 2009
    0
    Deepik was really bad in movie please tell her to learn how act.
  7. FatFat
    Jan 20, 2009
    4
    I had high hopes from this movie, Akshay being my favorite actor, I was bound to be biased. Despite all this I was very disappointed with the movie. The movie was indeed a drag to sit through and I couldn't wait till it was over. Horrible characterization, in short a bizzarre film.
  8. KarnB
    Jan 20, 2009
    1
    Hojo...Meow Meow..what crass! Am giving 1 cause its got Deepika Padukone. I couldn't even sit through the whole movie let alone give you a complete feedback! Akshay Kumar is spoiling his career and I think will eventually fizzle out like Govinda did. The best part of the movie was
  9. GauravJ.
    Jan 17, 2009
    3
    Being an Indian and a good connoisseur of Hindi cinema really this is one of the worst movies. For those critics who have mentioned this movie reflecting Indian cinema I would completely disagree. An average avid Indian movie goer would go asleep in this kind of movie. The only thing good about this movie are the stunts and kung fu. All it makes me wonder is what made Warner Bros. pick this project to enter Indian market ? And really are they coming up with a sequel to this Chandni Chowk to Africa. Please no.… Expand
  10. NookieB.
    Jan 18, 2009
    9
    I have no idea what you guys are talking about. Being some one who speaks hindi and was born in china, this movie is fantastic. It is really fun, the jokes are funnying and you should understand and flying around in the movies are all metaphor. Chainese believe that once you master kung fu you can take energy from the element around you and use it as a force that can vanish your enamies. Therefore you need to understand a little bit of chainese cinema and also chainese culture to appreciate this movie.… Expand
  11. MoyK.
    Jan 18, 2009
    0
    Its unfortunate to start a year with this kind of movie .. Nikhil Advani should be banned to make movies ... he is disgusting and the movie is worst than horse crap.
  12. IndianGeekGeeks
    Jan 18, 2009
    7
    Hmmm, Its a good movie but not an Excellent one! It actually a comedy and action movie and as Parul has said , Akshays comedy is not very effective this time! He has tried ,many times to make people laugh but never worked! And action is fine ! Though not good as Ghajini! While Comparing CCTC to Ghajini and Rab Ne , I feel Rab Ne and Ghajini is Better and if you haven't seen Rab Ne/ Ghajini , go see them first and then see CC2C ,if you have money/time left! If u like comedy genre movies then maybe CC2C is worth watching once!… Expand
  13. sakets
    Jan 19, 2009
    10
    Good best comedy and action. it is truly nice akchay is rocking.
  14. DaleP
    Jan 29, 2009
    6
    To Nookie B. Pretty damn sure you weren't born in China as you mispelled "chinese" three times. I didn't watch the movie though and couldn't post unless i had a rating, so i gave it a neutral six.
  15. StevenB.
    Jun 24, 2009
    9
    Funny Fast and has Kung Fu. Its a little too long the reason why I rated it down one. But apart from that it is a brilliant film. Watch if you like silly comical films but can also put up with length (2hr+).
  16. Thegodfatherson
    May 14, 2013
    4
    Chandni Chowk is a historic market place in the walled city of old Delhi, so now you understand the title of "Chandni Chowk to China," and because the plot is simplicity itself, there is nothing else to understand but its origins. This is the first Bollywood movie to get a North American release from a major studio, and was chosen, I suspect, because it is a slapstick comedy containing a lot of kung fu. That, and maybe because it stars Akshay Kumar billed as "the heartthrob of Indian cinema and current reigning king of Bollywood."

    I would need to see Kumar in something other than this to understand his fame. He comes across here as a cross between Jerry Lewis and Adam Sandler, but less manic than Jerry and not as affable as Sandler. What I can understand is that his co-star, Deepika Padukone, abandoned a promising start as a badminton champion to become a model and actress. She is breathtaking, which of course is standard in Bollywood, where all the actresses are either breathtaking or playing mothers.

    The story plays as though it could be remade as a Sandler comedy with no changes except for length. When you go to a movie in India, you get your money's worth, in what takes the time of a double feature. As my Mumbai friend Uma da Cunha told me, big Bollywood movies give you everything: adventure, thrills, romance, song, dance, stunts, the works. In India, when you go to the movies, you go to the movies. "Chandni Chowk to China" plays at 168 minutes, having been shortened, I learn, for the American release. It would be safe to say few viewers will complain of its brevity.

    Kumar stars as Sidhu, a lowly potato and onion chopper in his father's potato pancake stand. He adores his Dada, despite the old man's propensity for kicking him so high over Delhi that he's a hazard to low-flying aircraft. As eager to please as a puppy, he has a gift for getting into trouble, but all that changes the day he finds the image of a god on one of his potatoes. This image, to my eye, makes the eBay portraits on grilled cheese sandwiches look like Norman Rockwells.

    No matter. He exhibits the potato and collects donations, which are stolen by the nefarious Chopstick; meanwhile, in China, a village is menaced by an evil hoodlum named Hojo, no relation to the U.S. pancake vendor. Two villagers happen upon Sidhu in Chandni Chowk and are convinced he is the reincarnation of the mighty kung-fu warrior who saved them from bandits in times long past. Sidhu is soon lured to their village, being promised wealth and voluptuous pleasures, but is now expected to defeat Hojo, who uses his bowler hat as a flying guillotine and may plausibly be related to Odd Job.

    Enter the ravishing Deepika Padukone, in a dual role of Sakhi and Meow Meow, an Indian home shopping network hostess and Chinese tigress. Kissing in public is severely frowned upon in India, so that the greatest tension in all romances comes as a heroine is maybe, just maybe, about to kiss someone. This illustrates my maxim that it is less erotic to snoggle for 60 minutes than spend 60 seconds wondering if you are about to be snoggled.

    Sidhu becomes involved with both Sakhi and Meow Meow, whose surprise relationship might have been more surprising had they not been played by the same actress. There are lots of martial-arts sequences, and of course several song-and-dance numbers, including an Indian rap performance. It's done with great energy but with a certain detachment, as if nothing really matters but the energy.

    "Chandni Chowk to China" won't attract many fans of kung fu or Adam Sandler, for that matter. The title and the ads will cause them to think for a second, an unacceptable delay for fanboys. It will appeal to the large Indian audiences in North America and to Bollywood fans in general, who will come out wondering why this movie, of all movies, was chosen as Hollywood's first foray into commercial Indian cinema. I don't know a whole lot about Bollywood, and even I could name some better possibilities.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
44 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 22
  3. Negative: 5 out of 22
  1. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: David Chute
    20
    Alas, Chandni Chowk to China, directed by Nikhil Advani, is asymmetrical in the extreme: shapeless, shameless, and slapdash.
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  2. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    63
    For those with an adventurous and offbeat cinematic appetite, Chandni Chowk to China offers its shares of enjoyments, although there are plenty of "downs" to go along with the "ups."
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  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    It will appeal to the large Indian audiences in North America and to Bollywood fans in general, who will come out wondering why this movie, of all movies, was chosen as Hollywood's first foray into commercial Indian cinema.
    Read full review
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