Chup Twitter review: Audiences hail Dulquer Salmaan’s ‘edge-of-the-seat thriller’ as his best, ‘Bollywood is back’

It seems that the confidence on the part of the makers of Chup, starring Dulquer Salmaan and Sunny Deol, to hold free public screenings across several cities in the country three days ahead of the R Balki directorial’s release was justified. The first reviews from the audience flooded Twitter late on Tuesday and they are generally positive.

The movie, which also has Shreya Dhanwanthary and Pooja Bhatt, is a crime thriller about a serial killer who targets film critics. Told through doses of dark humour, the early responses hint that another big hit is on the cards for its lead actor Dulquer, who is fresh off the success of his movie Sita Ramam that has grossed over Rs 90 crore worldwide.

Also read: Chup advance booking: Dulquer Salmaan, Sunny Deol’s film set for grand opening with positive buzz, Rs 75 tickets 

Audiences in select theatres where the preview was held has been praising the film as well actors Dulquer and Sunny Deol for their terrific performances in the movie, which has “an engaging first half” and “an unexpected and gripping interval block”.

Fans have already started comparing the R Balki film to the best psycho-thrillers that had released in Malayalam and Tamil such as Kunchacko Boban's Anjaam Pathira and Vishnu Vishal's Ratsasan. 

The strong performances of Dulquer and Sunny Deol along with the engaging storytelling have been quoted as the highlights of Chup: The Revenge of the Artist. 

Malayalam star Dulquer' previous theatrical releases in Malayalam and Telugu - Kurup and Sita Ramam - have grossed over Rs 200 crore collectively, and it seems that the actor's Midas touch could rub off on his Bollywood venture too. The Hindi industry has been struggling lately to produce big hits, with a few exceptions such as Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Gangubai Kathiawadi, The Kashmir Files and Brahmastra: Part 1 - Shiva. Some of the audience, after Chup's preview, tweeted Chup could very well join the list. 

Balki, during the film's making as well as its promo interviews, had said that Chup is a tribute to Guru Dutt, whose films were bashed by the critics when they had initially released but now have gained a huge following and admiration for his craft. 

While most of the reviews have praised the film's story and performances, some found the violence disturbing. Considering that the movie is rated A, there's a fair warning from the side of the makers about the movie's content. 

Chup: The Revenge of the Artist's initial audience reviews would be heartening for the makers, who are now gearing up for the movie's theatrical release on September 23. The movie's advance bookings after the free previews were already poised to overtake that of Akshay Kumar's Samrat Prithviraj and Raksha Bandhan with 32,000 tickets already sold. The movie marks Dulquer's third straight Bollywood release after Karwaan and The Zoya Factor. The actor is also gearing up for his Netflix series Guns and Gulaabs, which is helmed by Raj and DK.