BADLA - Movie review


BADLA – MOVIE REVIEW



A very riveting story, with a gripping climax, BADLA promises a lot & delivers on several fronts. A strong story revolving around just 2 protagonists, keeps you rooted on the seat for most part of 2 hours. At the climax you are at edge of your seat and even screaming, “Get to the end of it; why are you prolonging it so much” ? In a way, it’s an admission of the fact that the climax has just been stretched or probably you are just as excited, where you are like “come on, let’s get on with it.” Its that kind of a story that you want to move along but the director Sujoy Ghosh, decides to hold back on each frame. He is telling his story at his own pace and he holds us so woven in the spell that even though we want to fast forward to his last frame, we are compelled to hang on to the rusty handle and take the rough ride to the end.

Amitabh Bachaan (Badal Gupta) & Taapsee Pannu (Naina Sethi) become the showcase of this Bollywood classic, that has been officially originated from a 2017 Spanish movie, Invisible Guest. I will safely assume that none of us have watched this movie, so I will save the comparisons for now.

The story starts off on a slow pace but captures a lot of ground as the screenplay progresses. Taapsee (Naina) is a docile wife but having an extra marital affair and caught closed indoors with a dead body of her lover. All evidences point out to the fact that she is the only likely murder suspect. Her only hope is Badal Gupta ( Amitabh), who is set to retire and taking his last case and for the record, he has never lost a case.

What happens after that is really a case of cat & mouse. You sit across the table & watch the ultimate game of truth & deceit explode in all its subtleties. Naina is playing with Badal as she is trying to assesses if he has the right credentials to defend her while Badal, constantly tries to review if he has the right and accurate knowledge from Naina. This cat & mouse game is played over and over again until it brings the viewer to a boiling point, to question, now what ? The permutations & combinations of what actually happened & what could have transpired is slow trajectory on the truth but still keeps the viewer at a distance. Its intriguing to say the least.



The whole movie is about … ’flirting with truth ! “ The pace of the movie changes every 15 mins. It starts with Naina being charged with murder as she is the only person in a locked hotel room & all evidences are against her. The only attorney who can save her is Badal who has never lost a case in his 40 years career. Badal tries to dig in deep and we viewers wait with unabated breath to figure out who is playing whom. The narration oscillates between the two, rarely leaving the room, sometimes, it’s a story from Naina and at that times some speculation from Badal. All in all, the same scenes are revisited & each time a different flavour comes out. The sole source remains Naina, who is swinging from one branch to another as she finds the right shelter to confide in.

So when we start with 1 dead body at the hotel, we are also given to grapple with the fact that there is a second dead body which is unknown to the most. Now we have two dead bodies & two different locations !! The spin to this drama is that Naina agrees to having being involved in the first murder.



In that way, we see Naina , neither to be a culprit or a victim throughout the movie. Her expressions and emotions, have been immaculate & 10/10 for her acting effort. Amitabh, as always, a towering presence. Amrita Singh has a very small role but still very powerfully executed. She should get more such roles rather that the saas bahu ones. I was happy that a mystery drama did not involve any sing and song & also no melodrama of Naina getting away from her hubby, kids family etc. A whole lot of wasted melodrama spared.



All in all, I feel that this has a Class effect but not a Mass effect. Not a very main stream impact movie but a genre that Bollywood can definitely pursue going forward.



Yogi Says : 3.5*/5 …. MUST WATCH for mystery movie lovers. SRK fans please avoid. 

Comments

  1. Lavi25 March 2019 at 16:19

    Very well written review. Watched the movie. Amitabh as always was awesome, Taapsee a bit cold. Thanks, Lavi

    ReplyDelete

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