Chocolate!!!

Starring: Anil Kapoor, Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Irrfan Khan, Emran Hashmi, and Sushma Reddy

Director: Vivek Agnihotri

Music: Preetam

Producer: Ram Gopal Varma, Anil Kapoor

CHOCOLATE also reminds you of Vijay Anand's classic JEWEL THIEF [Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Vyjayantimala, Tanuja] in terms of narrating the story. The story is told in two different time frames: In the present and looking back at the events. Also, the persons attempting to put the missing links in CHOCOLATE are con men themselves, it’s similar to Ashok Kumar’s character in JEWEL THIEF.

Krish (Anil Kapoor) is a sharp lawyer who always wins the case. There is Rocker (Suniel Shetty) who is obsessed with love. Nothing gets in his way. Pipi (Irfan Khan) is a thinker who always prefers to follow the right path. We also have Tubby (Arshad Warsi) who is a Casanova, while Sim (Tanushree Dutta) is a seductress with a dubious past. Suniel Shetty as Rocker There is also Devaa (Emran Hashmi), a passionate musician... while Mansoon (Sushma Reddy) is a charming out-of-luck journalist trying to make a name for herself in the media world.

Director Vivek Agnihotri knows the power of technique and there’s no denying that CHOCOLATE is a refined product. The execution of a few sequences deserves good marks, but Agnihotri is saddled by a script that the average Indian cinegoer wouldn’t comprehend at all.
Irrfan Khan is convincing as a man caught in someone else's mess and Emraan and Arshad are very bankable. Anil Kapoor gets into the skin of the lawyer, but sometimes overdoes it while trying to lend a tinge of eccentricity to his character. Tanushree Dutta, who has a sufficiently meaty role in the film, has the goods to carry off the role of a conniving sex goddess, but she could brush up on her acting skills. Sushma Reddy's character is cutting-edge journalist, clumsy klutz, scatterbrain and sexy woman all rolled into one.

Cinematography [Attar Singh Saini] is splendid. Suniel Shetty puts in a sincere effort. Arshad Warsi and Emraan Hashmi, competent actors both, are sidelined completely. Sushma Reddy is cute, but doesn’t have much to do.

On the whole, CHOCOLATE is body beautiful, minus soul.