Article Updated 08 May, 2004 05:31:50 PM IST   'Charas' - Welcome to Dope land! By Prema K. ©2004 Bollyvista.com   'Charas' is an action thriller and is set in a place near Kulu Manali. Unlike what the title suggests, it is not about addiction to the drug but is about drug cultivation. One sees more foreigners than locals in the village. But the locals are said to be making money by growing 'charas' instead of vegetables and are assisted by the foreigners. It is well-organized and is controlled by the Italian Mafia. An English boy, Sam Higgins (Adam Bedi), a student of Botany, disappears from Himachal one day. His parents being well connected in the political circles manage to send an Indian cop from the Scotland Yard, Dev (Jimmy Shergil), to India for investigation. An Indian cop (Uday Chopra), who pretends to be a vagabond, is assigned the duty of keeping a watch on Dev. Both become friends without revealing their true identities to each other and go up to the mountains in search of answers. A mysterious blonde-haired drug don, who is an e-cop, Policeman (Irfan Khan) calls the shots. En route they run into an assortment of characters; a hitch-hiking school-teacher (Hrishita Bhatt), and a junkie (Namrata Shirodkar) who is hooked on to ice creams. Later we discover that the ice cream slurping junkie is a journalist, but does nothing to expose the shady dealings in the valley. Hrishitaa claims to be a school teacher but turns out to be an accomplice of drug dealers. The latter's character hasn't been well-developed. Even the romantic track (Jimmy-Namrata, Uday-Hrishitaa) is not developed. One of the downers of the film is the fact that it has too many tracks and subplots. However, the backdrop of the place gives the film an authentic feel. The viewer is completely hooked on to a world that he may have heard about, but not witnessed. The flashback portions are really good. Irfan is excellent as the cop. But why does the hard-hitter commit suicide in the end? Although the film gives no scope for songs, the songs are fun. Brilliant cinematography! The hilly locales of North India look enticing. Action by Allan Amin is first-rate. Probably it is high expectations from the maker of 'Haasil' and Irfan Khan but the latter fails to make an impact like he did in 'Haasil' and 'Maqbool'. Jimmy Shergil is good in yet another subtle performance. Uday Chopra is good except when he decides to imitate Shah Rukh in some sequences. Namrata Shirodkar has never looked so hot and chirpy. Hrishitaa Bhatt doesn't really get much scope. Varun Badola is wasted in a brief role. Kabir gets a few scenes and he does leave an impression as usual. Anup Soni is wasted in an insignificant role. But despite all its flaws, surprisingly the film does keep you engrossed! **1/2 (TWO AND HALF STARS) *poor; **average; ***good; ****very good; *****excellent   close   Print this Article http://www.bollyvista.com   http://www.bollyvista.com/article/a/29/2537