Movie Review BOMBAY VELVET Is Classic Case Of Too Much Style And No Substance
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Friday, 15th May 11:55 AM IST
BOMBAY VELVET Is Classic Case Of Too Much Style And No Substance
Pluses:
Ranbir Kapoor is intense and presents an honest act, Anushka Sharma is good too, Vivaan Shah to Kay Kay Menon all supporitng actors perform well, spectacular art direction Minuses:
too slow at times, cliche screenplay, Karan Johar fails pull off such a complex character, music is intolerable so is background score
Critic Rating: 2/5
Business Rating: 2/5
Verdict:
Watch it for lavish sets and Ranbir Kapoor
Detailed Analysis:
Anurag Kashyap gave gems like 'Blackfriday', 'Dev D' and 'No Smoking'. Now he tries his hand on 100 cr budget extravaganza with stellar cast and international production house.
The film is set in the era of 1949, opens with a track by Raveena Tandon in a special appearance. On the other hand, while a young Johnny Balraj (Ranbir Kapoor) is taking baby steps in this man-eat-man world, he also spends his time in the red light district nursing frustrations of seeing his mother getting slapped and abused (one more art house cliche). Youth throws him in the boxing ring of free-for-all fighting to earn some ready cash (copied from Amitabh Bachchan in 'Naseeb' to Robert De Nero in cult film). He then comes across Chiman (Satyadeep Misra), who not just becomes his partner in crime, but also his friend for life. As they march ahead in life, they, gradually land up becoming the henchmen for Kaizad Khambata (Karan Johar), editor of the tabloid 'Torrent' and also a top wheeler-dealer. Impressed with his dare devil attitude, Kaizad appoints Balraj to manage his club 'Bombay Velvet'. Kaizad also entrusts him with the task of wiping out the 'Communist's opposition to this 'Capitalist' plan. But he meets with a roadblock called Jimmy Mistry (Manish Chaudhury), editor of pro-labour class tabloid 'Glitz'. It is then, that the beautiful jazz singer Rosie (Anushka Sharma) is sent as a honey trap to lure Balraj by Jimmy (remember those Zeenat Aman - Amitabh - Pran films). But the duo consummate their passionate romance and become inseparable. The henchman wants to have his share of the pie in the new money-order and that's when the drama turns bloody and what-happens-after. Meanwhile, Kaizad tries to adopt the policy of divide and rule between Balraj and Chiman (innumerable films from 80's). Does Rosie become successful in her role of a honey trap, does Kaizad become successful in separating the Balraj-Chiman duo and what ultimately happens to 'Bombay Velvet'... is what forms the rest of the story. Performance wise Ranbir Kapoor is superb with honest act and consistent intensity throughout the film. Watch out for sequence when he confronts Khambhata! Anushka Sharma should be applauded for reinventing at this point of career with such a look and unwavering intensity. But Karan Johar fails to impress an actor as he falters to bring menance and he looks like more of an actor trying too hard. Supporting cast is exemplary with Manish Chaudhari, Satyadeep Mishra, Kay Kay Menon all in top form. Film has very interesting premise and screenplay which again proves disastrous. Screenplay and dialogue deserve special mention for spoiling the film. Not a single point comes out at the end, whether it was about evolution of Mumbai or it was ajourney pf love and passion. Film slows down at places and songs make it even worse with worst music from Amit Trivedi. Film has very good set design. Camerawork is average.
Director Anurag Kashyap has habit of garnering media attention for all wrong reasons. He keeps blaming media to audience for misunderstanding him. But this time he had budget, good actors, big banner and his dream story but he presents such a boring and mediocre film that its tough to digest even for his ardent fans. He once again proves that making a small film is one thing and handling a big budget film is another. Film released today and despite very wide release across 2500 plus screens, it will struggle. Film has very good chances at box office as there is not much competition because both 'Gabbar Is Back' and 'Piku' had good run and these films are in their 3rd and 2nd week respectively. But with such bad content, it looks tough for the film to survive at box office.
Go for this one with limited expectations! |