Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd.'s CHAMELI, directed by Sudhir Mishra, is a story of a man who has lost his wife and a hardened prostitute.

Chameli (Kareena Kapoor) and her encounter one night with investment banker Aman Kapoor (Rahul Bose). Aman is stranded as his car breaks down and in true filmi style he finds himself taking shelter at a spot where Chameli is waiting to hook her clients for the night. What follows is a series of incidents that make up the film. Chameli tries to proposition him, even does a seductive dance number but Aman is not moved. She even pays hafta to a cop, sleeps with him (a real quickie). The problem arises when she refuses to sleep with a customer who has AIDS.

Now starts the chase as her pimp has already taken an advance and the customer is a powerful guy. Aman tries to pay off the pimp, who tries to attack him for more money. But Aman knocks him out, and both Aman and Chameli are arrested. So Aman pulls some strings to get them released. Of course, all's well that ends well. Don't forget this is a commercial film.

Although the concept of the film is interesting and director Sudhir Mishra has handled a few sequences with dexterity, the film doesn't strike a chord thanks to a half-baked screenplay.

Kareena Kapoor tries very hard to act like a streetwalker, and the problem is, she overdoes it. She looks more a streetwalker than any real streetwalker. The bright red lips and her garish outfits, flashy footwear etc. make it seem that she went all the way to create an impression.

Rahul Bose has a "been there done that" approach to his role. He seems to sleepwalk through it, but still manages to give in a decent performance.

On the whole, CHAMELI does not rivet, does not leave you wondering why you wasted the last couple of hours.