Chatur Singh Two Star

 No, the rating has nothing to do with the title. Although, the joke doing the rounds is that the `Two Star’ suffix to the title has pre-decided critics’ ratings.
The film’s central character is Chatur Singh; the `2 stars’ refers to the badges of honour presented to able cops. Singh is terribly proud of the two stars he has earned that now adorn his uniform.
His sidekick’s name is Pappu Panther. Unlikely, but one wonders if it’s a sly wink to the film’s inspiration—Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther series. Chatur Singh’s character is borrowed from the iconic Inspector Clouseau character—a klutzy, overgrown Dennis the Menace, who works for the police and fancies himself as a detective.
Earlier essayed by Peter Sellers, and more recently by Steve Martin, the Indian version of the character is rendered by Sanjay Dutt. It’s a neat bit of casting, except here, Dutt appears out of sorts. Dutt shines intermittently, but isn’t given much to do anyway. How often can the same joke be laughed on?
So like Inspector Clouseau, Chatur Singh too drives his senior (Anupam Kher) up the wall. When not accidentally kicking him below the belt, Singh, on suspecting that someone’s overhearing their conversation, proceeds to tear down the curtains of the room. This scene is repeated further into the movie. Chatur Singh is assigned the security of a corrupt minister. He makes a mess of it as usual, but thinks get murkier as the minister is murdered and the prime suspect is his secretary Sonia (Ameesha Patel). Singh falls for Sonia and believes she’s innocent, even when his job is to put her in jail. The case takes them to South Africa, where a few songs are sung and the case predictably solved.
Directed by Ajay Chandok (Nehlle Pe Dehlla, Kisse Pyaar Karoon), the film is consistently uninvolving, especially in the second half. The premise of a bumbling cop-detective involved in a diamond scandal could have been great fun; but in this film it’s an opportunity wasted.
It wouldn’t be fair to write off the film completely. Ameesha Patel is effervescent, and once again, after Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd, displays a flair for comedy. Too bad, all she’s getting are hyper-glam, air-headed roles (that might change as she launches her own production company).
There are some genuinely hilarious moments—like the jailbreak and the spontaneous clap scene. The songs are upbeat, though it’s tad ungraceful of 52-year-old Dutt to cavort with the young firang dancers. (And he has the gall to rib Anupam Kher’s character about his age!)
But unfortunately these portions are too few; the duds are too many. The finale is a royal mess with characters dressed in animal costumes chasing the diamonds and what-not.
With a damp plot, sparse laughter-generating moments, and the character of Chatur Singh not endearing or memorable enough, the film barely chugs along.

Movie
Chatur Singh Two Star
    Director
Ajay Chandok
    Cast
Sanjay Dutt, Ameesha Patel, Suresh Menon, Anupam Kher, Satish Kaushik