Ek Chalis Ki Last Local

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (English: Last Local of 1:40) is a 2007 Indian Bollywood adventure comedy thriller directed by Sanjay Khanduri, starring Abhay Deol and Neha Dhupia.[1] The film released on 18 May 2007.[2]

The story revolves around two people who miss the last local train at 1:40 am at Kurla Station and how it changes the rest of their lives forever. The protagonist Nilesh works in a call centre firm cultivated by the men-centric IT Industry. Night shifts, booze, beer parties seem to occur day-by-day. When Nilesh misses his last train from Kurla to Vikhroli, he is rudely shoved off by a police constable who wants to keep the station clean from anti-social elements like him. Nowhere to go, he strolls outside for an auto-rickshaw, where he bumps into a beautiful damsel in distress, Madhu, also wanting a ride to Vikhroli. As it turns out, the rickshaws are on strike due to a bomb blast earlier in the day at Ghatkopar. Nilesh and Madhu are forced to walk to the next rickshaw stand. Nilesh stops at a local pub and is unable to resist his temptation to have a drink or two alongside Madhu. He meets an old friend, Pat, who appears to have earned a lot of money within a year through gambling. Knowing his expertise with the cards, Pat invites Nilesh to join him in the inner chambers to play with the high rollers. Upon some persuasion from Madhu, he gives in and gambles. Taking over Nilesh's turn, Pat loses all the money they have won to an underworld don. In the meantime, in his search for Madhu, Nilesh stumbles into the restroom where he finds Madhu apparently being forced upon by a local goon. He accidentally kills that local goon. A police encounter specialist with two constables, a religious but notorious south Indian Don (Ponappa), a Gay underworld Don and his gang soon get involved. At last, in a twist and turn of events, all die trying to get 2.5 crore bag except Nilesh at Don's house. Starting the adventure with just Rs. 70 in his pocket, when he catches the first morning train home 2-½ hours later at 4:10 AM, he has Rs. 2.5 crores in his hands and proposes Madhu 3 days later on the same railway station and lives happily after.

The album of Ek Chalis Ki Last Local was composed by a Pakistani rock band Call and lyrics were penned by Gulzar.

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3 stars out of 5, saying that "EK CHALIS KI LAST LOCAL is a decent fare that stands out for a few individualistic episodes in the narrative. At the box-office, the film caters to the multiplex audience mainly, especially big city multiplexes. Business in Mumbai multiplexes should be better due to its Mumbaiya flavor."[3] Khalid Mohamed of Hindustan Times gave the film 3 stars out of 5, writing "Where were these guys hiding their extraordinary talent? Why haven’t they been seen in the big movies? Indeed, just for the zany Mistri-Samarth-Rajwar, and the mad mirthful spirit, it’s worth riding the Last Local."[4] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote "It's a little too long, losing steam in patches. Twenty minutes off, like with most debut movies, would have made it tight and terrific. It's also not for the squeamish, or those who are easily offended. It's for the rest. Go have yourselves some great chuckles."[5]

Conversely, Tanveer Bookwala of Rediff.com gave the film 2 stars out of 5, writing "Abhay Deol has an interesting 'Mark Ruffalo' like innocence and childlike quality but looks completely lost in this enterprise. Neha Dhupia has become the industry's first choice to play a prostitute. Other than Laree Choote, the soundtrack is uninspiring. In what could have been a brilliant dark comedy ends up as a mishmash of everything weird. Bizarre!"[6] India Today wrote "Debutant director Sanjay Khanduri tries too hard to create a Quentin Tarantinoesque mix of black humour, blood, bodies and bullets. So anything is possible, including a scene in which a gay don tries to make Deol his boy toy. Deol has a wonderful unassuming charm but it isn't enough to make this derivative train ride engaging enough."[7]