Amongst all the high-flying thrills and frills of Bollywood comes one very bitter sweet little film that promises to entertain one and all – CHEENI KUM. This punchy romantic comedy is produced by Sunil Manchandani and written/directed by R Balki, with Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Paresh Rawal, and Zohra Segal making up the veteran cast.

CHEENI KUM revolves around Buddhadev Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan), a 64 year old chef who cares for absolutely nothing in life except his cooking. He lives a completely sugar-less life (hence the title) which volleyballs between his job and his equally bitter 85 year old Mother, played by none other than Zohra Sehgal.

Although he owns London’s largest and most successful Indian restaurant, Gupta is unable to find that flame of happiness within him. Amidst his comically bitter relationship with his mother and his one-dimensional passion for cooking, Buddhadev finds solace in one and only one person, 9 year old neighbour (played by Swini Khara), with whom he shares all his stories, feelings, and emotions. For this young girl is plagued with the ailment of Lukhemia, and Gupta fears she will not age to see films with Adult Certification.

But between this tasteless journey Buddhadev calls his life, he is to encounter a young woman that would change his life in a deep, profound, and somewhat comical manner! It all happened when Nina Verma (Tabu) walked into his restaurant one fateful evening. She is a 34 year old intelligent, charming, and beautiful Indian woman. Independent and firm-minded, Nina was everything Buddhadev is not. Their early interactions were not pleasant at all, but it was Nina’s personable attitude that eventually rubbed off onto Buddhadev. And viola! Romance was in the air. The two decided to get married, and as any decent Indian man would do, Buddhadev approached Nina’s father for her hand in marriage. This is where the story suddenly becomes hysterical in nature, as Nina’s father, Omprakash Verma (Paresh Rawal) is 58 years old, six years younger than his potential son-in-law.

It was a rude awakening for Nina, as she realized that bitterness wasn’t only personified by her man, but was a perfect fit for her father as well. From here on develops a story of how Buddhadev tries to persuade Nina’s father to look beyond such limitations as age, and to appreciate the love that the two share.

With an ensemble cast in Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Paresh Rawal, and Zohra Sehgal, CHEENI KUM truly promises to be a great romantic comedy, all the while a quality product from Sunil Manchandani and R. Balki.

CHEENI KUM is set for a worldwide release on May 25, 2007.