'Chhello Show' Review: A Glorious Tribute to the Art of Cinema and Human Spirit

To everything, there is a beginning, a middle, and an end. And in between these constricting brackets are stories. 

Chhello Show (The Last Film Show) is one such story – of a young boy Samay (Bhavin Rabari) who nurtures his love for cinema in the dark projection room of a nearby theatre and a friendship with the projectionist, Fazal (Bhavesh Shrimali).

The young boy who works as an assistant at his father’s (Dipen Raval) tea stall at a train station often skims off the day’s earnings to sneak off to the theatre, almost bribing the projectionist with the delicious dishes his mother prepares.

Nothing is too loud in Pan Nalin’s film, which has been nominated as India’s official entry to the Oscars. Visually, every frame is striking (with due credit to cinematographer Swapnil Sonawane) with some perhaps being too beautiful and too pristine, in a jarring contrast to their surroundings.

The influence of several notable filmmakers is evident in the film. Samay using labels from matchboxes to create a story is reminiscent of the work of Lev Kuleshov and Sergei Eisenstein, the earliest pioneers in film.

One of the most effective parts of Chhello Show is the one where Samay watches the old film equipment (times are changing to digital) be hammered and destroyed. Chhello Show is above all a tribute to the rich tapestry of Indian cinema and to the indomitable human spirit in the face of change.

Pan Nalin believes in letting his audience decode his message, opting for bright lights and languorous explosions of colour to tell Samay’s story. Samay is supported by his rag-tag bunch of friends, each of whom is a delight on the screen.

The boys come together to essentially invent cinema in a hidden shed.

Even as Samay lets himself be consumed and devoured by cinema, his circumstances never overpower him. His father’s insistence on standing in his way and his mother’s quiet support often expressed in actions over words, culminate finally into a fitting climax to Samay’s story.

Chhello Show is a reminder of what happens when film evolves into cinema.