Chandni Chowk to China

Bollywood movies are likely to receive a welcome boost from the success of multiple Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire. Director Nikhil Advani's Chandni Chowk to China stars Akshay Kumar (India's answer to Jackie Chan) as Sidhu, a somewhat dull-witted, cowardly cook working in Delhi's Chandni Chowk neighborhood. Mistaken for the reincarnation of a legendary Chinese hero, Sidhu is spirited away to China where he finds himself being prepped to take on a ruthless industrialist named Hojo (Gordon Liu). Baffled by this turn of events, the cook muddles along while learning martial arts from the father of twin girls (both played by model Deepika Padukone) who are on opposite sides of the law. As is generally the case with Bollywood movies, Chandni Chowk to China boasts several extravagant, eye-popping music production numbers enthusiastically performed by principals and extras alike, while the action scenes are exhilarating if more than a little farfetched (at one point our hero uses a bullet-proof umbrella as a parachute). Oh, and did I mention the magic potato? A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include nine minutes of additional scenes. Bottom line: a small extras package for an intermittently entertaining film.] (E. Hulse)