SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2019 (PAGE 4) MOVIE-REVIEW NATURE A funny take on the modern relationships Termites are beneficial LUKA CHUPPI is the story of a couple living-in with their a comedy, it’s also going to make a social comment. Audi- Maneka Gandhi that it will keep reseeding the environment. These mounds prevent fragile dry land from slipping into lifeless wasteland. family. Superstar Nazim Khan (Abhinav Shukla) gets into a ences however will go by the trailer and they expect to see When my husband died, I inherited his work table, a long Termites have been historically widely eaten by people suf- controversy when it comes to light that he is living-in with his romance and some dash of situational fun. And they definite- wooden desk with huge drawers. It has travelled with me from fering from malnutrition due to protein deficiency, fed to ani- girlfriend and is unapologetic about it. The moral police come ly get that once the characters get introduced. At the same house to house and I kept everything of value in it : letters out in full force to protest against his 'indecent' act. One such time however the film takes a while to get into its element. from my husband, wedding albums, unfinished manuscripts, mals, and used as medicine across the continents of Asia, organisation is Rashtriya Sanskriti Manch and in Mathura, it The falling-in-love happens quite quickly. The way the equa- pictures of my childhood and my son’s childhood, letters from South America and Africa. In fact, these insects are among the is led by Vishnu Trivedi (Vinay Pathak). His daughter is Rash- tion between Guddu with Vikas and Babulal is established my mother and mother in law. most commonly consumed insects on the planet, second only mi (Kriti Sanon) and she joins a local news channel after com- seems forced. In fact the dream sequence where Guddu imag- When I moved into 14 Ashoka Road in 2002 , The British- to grasshoppers. In a survey on the consumption of termites, pleting her media studies in Delhi. Here she bumps into Gud- ines that his nephew Chiku is getting married falls flat. It’s in built house had been the badly kept and was the office of the held in Côte d’Ivoire, from 500 people surveyed, 97% con- du (Kartik Aaryan) and both fall in love. After a fight with his the scene where the Gwalior neighbours create a havoc is Communist Party for 30 years. I should have paid more atten- sumed termites, demonstrating that such use is part of the elder unmarried brother Vikas (Himanshu Kohli) and broth- when the film picks up. This particular scene is quite hilari- tion to it, especially when I saw the fungus seeping in and ter- reality of rural and urban populations in that country. er in law Babulal (Pankaj Tripathi), he decides to tie the knot ous and even heroic and will be greeted with claps. The inter- mites eating the doors. But every time I called the government Zambia uses termites to combat child malnutrition, Soma- ASAP. He proposes to Rashmi. She however refuses to mar- mission point, when Guddu-Rashmi’s ‘luka chuppi’ gets engineers in, they either replaced the doors or painted over lia to suture wounds. Brazil uses termites for asthma, flu, ry him so soon and insists on a live-in relationship. Guddu exposed (though not entirely) is also quite entertaining. Post- the fungus. bronchitis and as antifungal, India uses them for asthma, obviously freaks out. However inspired by an idea given by interval, the film gets even better as Guddu and Rashmi pre- I tried lots of old grandmother remedies : planting banana ulcers, body pain, rheumatism and the enhancement of lac- their colleague Abbas (Aparshakti Khurana), they decide to tend to be married when they are not. The sequence at the trees in the garden, as this is supposed to keep away termites, tation. Nigeria uses termites to stop sickness in pregnant live in when they go on a 20-day assignment at Gwalior, where temple is quite impressive, especially when it brings a new putting fresh cow dung patties in different places so that ter- women, soothsaying and to ward away ghosts! no one knows them. Hence they could live in without any fear. angle into the film. Guddu-Rashmi attempting to get married mites would be attracted and then, as they clambered on, we Termites of the species Macrotermes have high levels of But in order to get the flat on rent, they pretend to be a mar- in their house is touching and yes, guffaw-inducing. The best could get rid of all of them. however is reserved for the finale. Usually, One day I decided to finish my book on garden plants. But comic capers tend to go all over the place. For- I couldn’t get the drawers to open. When I called the carpen- tunately in the case of LUKA CHUPPI, it does- ter in, we discovered everything had been eaten by termites n’t happen and it ends on a good note. – and I mean everything. In one stroke I lost all my treasures. Kartik Aaryan once again is in a great form. I cried. I had the house broken down from inside and de- His boyish looks work instantly but it’s his per- termited room by room. It took 16 months. formance that makes it even more endearing. So many people ask me questions about why nature invent- In one scene in the bedroom with Kriti and ed mosquitoes, cockroaches or termites! Even though termites Aparshakti, he does go into the ‘monologue’ zone but quickly composes himself. His silent, have robbed me of my most precious belongings, I acknowl- deadpan expressions, especially in scenes edge that they are more important to the world than I am. when his family members are calling him Pests to homeowners, they are actually beneficial insects. names, are quite hilarious. Kriti Sanon has a They can digest tough plant fibres, or cellulose, because of the fantastic screen presence and maintains a specialized bacteria in their guts. They break down tough strong position. She also surprisingly shines in fibres, they recycle dead trees back into the soil, contributing an important emotional sequence in the sec- towards a rapid recycling and turn-over of minerals. When ond half. Aparshakti Khurana as always is they tunnel through the soil they aerate and improve it, which dependable. The prejudice that others have helps tropical forests and agricultural lands grow faster as towards his character’s religious identity is water and nutrients reach the plants and trees. Some species quite hard hitting. Pankaj Tripathi’s humour attack living trees, but these are trees that are weakened, or seems forced initially but later, it’s him who under stress, which release a chemical (kairomone) used by raises the maximum laughs. Vinay Pathak is a the termites to locate it. ried couple. Rashmi also has to go out wearing mangalsutra revelation. Till now, he has been associated with funny and Only a handful of the 3,000 or so known termite species proteins and lipids and are abundant in Africa. They are and apply sindoor. All is going well when Babulal catches light roles. But in this film, he plays a role of a dreaded politi- are pests to people. The rest are soil engineers who create the known as “big termites”, and are considered one of the them getting cosy in a public place. Assuming they are mar- cian and he looks very convincing. Himanshu Kohli is the sur- ground under your feet and keep it healthy. Termites thrive by favourite foods, not only of humans but also of gorillas and ried, he tells his family about it and they all land up at their prise of the film and his character helps a lot in adding to the eating what others can’t or won’t: wood, dung, lichen, even dirt. chimpanzees and wild birds. pad in Gwalior. What happens next forms the rest of the film. humour quotient in the film, especially post-interval. Vish- By poking holes as they dig through the ground, termites Their mounds, or termitaria, are also important to Rohan Shankar's story is novel and entertaining and dif- wanath Chatterjee (Guddu's brother Varun) and Neha Saraf allow rain to soak deep into the soil, rather than running off humans. For instance, researchers E.Arhin, M.C.Esoah and ferent from other such films in this genre. The characters are (Guddu's bhabhi Janki) also get a chance to make their pres- or evaporating. Termites mix inorganic particles of sand, B.S.Berdie, have studied the Economic Importance of Termi- very well fleshed out and most importantly, they are relat- ence felt. Chiku (Master Samarth) is adorable. Sapna Sand stone and clay with organic bits of leaf litter, discarded taria in Mineral Exploration. Termites transport deep seated able. Rohan Shankar's screenplay is effective for most parts (Mrs Srivastava) is good as the nosy neighbour in Gwalior. exoskeletons and the occasional dead animal, a blending that inorganic and organic material into their shelter. In areas and evokes the right humour. At some places however, it is a Ajit Singh (Srikanth) is irritating as Vishnu Trivedi’s sidekick helps the soil retain nutrients and resist erosion. where minerals are not immediately apparent, miners analyse bit weak, especially in the first half. In the attempt to estab- but that was the idea as his character has a villainous tinge. The stickiness of a termite’s faeces gives body to the soil the soil of termite mounds before choosing the area.