Chandni Chowk To China (From Asian Image)

Chandni Chowk To China

10:17am Tuesday 6th January 2009

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Akshay Kumar is back with a bang in one man’s journey from simple cook to kung fu fighter.

Chandni Chowk To China is the first-ever Bollywood Kung Fu comedy that highlights the amalgamation of cultures of Asia’s biggest superpowers, China and India.

The film takes you on an journey through the historic alleys of Chandni Chowk to the grandeur of the Great Wall of China.

Directed by Nikhil Advani (Kal Ho Na Ho) and starring Akshay Kumar, with Deepika Padukone playing his romantic interest in the film, Chandni Chowk To China also stars Bollywood veteran Mithun Chakraborty and Chinese martial arts expert and actor Gordon Liu (Kill Bill Volume One and Two).

The film parallels Akshay Kumar’s own journey to Bollywood fame – Kumar worked in a restaurant as a cook before pursuing his passion for martial arts, in which he is an expert.

Kung Fu lovers can also “eat” their heart out with stunts from veteran stunt director Huen Chiu Ku, whose credits include Oscar winner Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Matrix (2 and 3), The Forbidden Kingdom, Lethal Weapon 4 and The Mummy.

The film revolves around Sidhu (Akshay Kumar), a simple cook from Chandni Chowk who longs to escape his dreary existence and looks for shortcuts with astrologers, tarot readers and mystical magicians, believing in anything and everything except himself.

His epic heroic journey begins when two strangers from China claim him to be a reincarnation of a war hero from the past and enlist him to come back with them to their village in China.

Sidhu dreams of the women, wine and princely existence that await him in foreign lands, thanks to a devious translator, a conman by the name of Chopstick (Ranvir Shorey).

Little does he know that he is being taken to the promised land to take on the vicious smuggler Hojo (Gordon Liu) and help his new friends reclaim their village.

So, blissfully Sidhu sets forth to China with Chopstick joining him as translator. Along his exciting and adventurous journey he meets Sakhi (Deepika Padukone), a stunning model who has embarked on her own adventure to pay homage to the land of her birth, her dead father and twin.

Deepika Padukone, better known for her dazzling performance in Om Shanti Om, portrays a dual role as Suzy, Sakhi’s long-lost twin.

Chandni Chowk to China was shot at locations including The Great Wall of China, as well as in Thailand and India.

The screenplay was written by Sridhar Raghavan (Bluff Master, Khakhee), with musical trio Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy composing the eclectic, foot-tapping melodies that add spice to this fast-paced, fun-filled comedy. The melodies accentuate an Indo-Chinese fusion of exotic and enchanting music that brings out the symphonious expression of the two biggest and most culturally innovative communities.

Chandni Chowk to China, Warner Bros. Pictures’ first Indian production, is released in cinemas worldwide on 16 January.

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