Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii

Synopsis

Karan (Zain Khan) is a thirteen-year-old boy who lives in a dilapidated orphanage owned by a stern, uncouth warden, John "Hitler" Kakkad (Rajesh Khera). Karan has two dreams: one is to have parents and the other is to be a big Cricketer. His inspiration is Kapil Dev, since he has been brought up on the motivating stories of India's 1983 World Cup win by the orphanage caretaker, Bholu Dada (Sushil Parashar), a loving and a gentle old man. Karan's best friend in the orphanage is Daboo (Dieptiman Chowdhury) who often lends his gentle ears to the aspirations which Karan lives on. His dreams take a turn when one day, he lays his hands on an old cricket bat which Karan is convinced is the bat that Kapil Dev used to win the 1983 World Cup; for him, the bat becomes a magic bat. One day by a stroke of luck, the coach of the Indian cricket team spots Karan playing cricket and is highly impressed by his batting skill. At that point in town, the Indian cricket team has been going through a "rough patch". Karan and his magical bat are inducted into the Indian cricket team as the opening batsman along with the captain, Varun (Rahul Bose). When Karan marches onto the pitch and wins the match for India, he soon becomes the nation's heartthrob. Although he was formerly rejected by adopting couples, he is now the most sought after kid in the country. However, Raghav (Raj Bhansali), the orphanage bully, hates him and feels that if Karan did not have the magic bat he would have never made it to the cricket team. Raghav now wants the magic bat at any cost. Karan and Varun develop a strong emotional bond deeper than fellow cricketers. Karan has no parents and Varun has parents, but is estranged with his father and does not want to accept him. Karan strongly believes that parents are the best gift endowed by God and succeeds in uniting Varun with his father. At the final 5th one day match between India and Pakistan, events spiral out of control and Karan's magic bat is destroyed by Raghav. Karan is a nervous wreck, but Varun makes him realise that the bat actually never had any magic but it was in the players viz. Kapil during 1983 World Cup and now Karan himself. With Karan's help, India wins the match. After the match, Karan decides to stop playing and re-join the team when he is older. Varun and his girlfriend, Malini (Meera Vasudevan) decide to adopt Karan.

Cast

Music

1. "Phir se aa gaya Sunday" – Armaan Malik, Sharavan Iyer, Kaustav, Chorus
2. "Jhatka Phatka" – Kailash Kher, Vijay Prakash, Hrushitesh Kamerker, Mangal Mishra, John Stewart, Salim Merchant
3. "Khulla Asmaan" – K K, Salim Merchant
4. "Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii" – Kunal Ganjawala

Critical reception

Rediff.com rated it 2.5/5 stars & stated, 'it has a cute story & performances are good. All in all, not a bad movie.'

Box office

Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii failed to get a good response at the box office. The film released after schools had re-opened, which resulted in collections in single digits, earning only Rs. 6.2 million in its opening week. It was declared a disaster at the box office. But it has gained popularity due to TV telecasts and has attained a cult status.