Chandni Bar will only compound the blues that dog a Sunday evening so whatever you do, gentle reader, don't make the mistake I did. This reviewer, a fan of decent Cinema, never known to tear up during a flick found herself slobbering into a patiala peg by the time the titles rolled at the end of Chandni Bar.

Mumtaz , played flawlessly by Tabu, a small town UP girl, following communal riots leaves Meerut for Bombay. Her greedy and lecherous uncle coaxes and forces her to become a Beer Bar dancer, a move she loathes but accepts out of desperation and resignation. A brief ray of hope that comes in the form of a promise of domestic bliss is soon put out. Atul Kulkarni as Pothia the over sexed ruthless gangster husband of Mumtaz brings a dangerous intensity to the role.

Soon Mumtaz finds herself back at the beer bar, a single mother raising two kids, a boy and a girl in the corrupt environment of a Bombay Chawl. She tries to shield her children from the evil influences but tragedy dogs her path and stoic and unbending she goes on. Her son, framed for a crime he did not commit, is sent to a remand home where he is sodomised by two young inmates of the prison. Forced into prostitution to raise the money needed to grease the palms of corrupt police officers, Mumtaz crumbles when she sees her teenage daughter retracing her steps and becoming a Bar dancer.

Made on a shoestring budget, this film sticks closer to reality than most others in the genre. Rajeev Ravi's cinematography pleases with its drab treatment of interior and exterior shots in keeping with the mood of the film. The background score by Raju Singh is not intrusive; it serves, instead to enhance the bleak scenes. Silences thankfully are given due respect.

This tale of woe is so utterly devoid of hope and happiness, so full of despair, a ray of hope for hapless bar dancers would have made it a little more plausible. Nevertheless, worthy effort.

The end is particularly grisly, the language crude and explicit, sometimes uncomfortably so. Chandni Bar is not recommended for children.

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