| ||||
Thursday, 3rd July 11:00 PM IST
Pluses:
Vidya Balan displays her command over medium with some aplomb, Ali Afzal is good, Rajendra Gupta is awesome as father
Minuses:
Arjan Bajwa looks listless, Kiran Kumar sleepwalks, pathetic music, tacky and dated writing, uninspiring direction, Supriya Pathak wasted in small role and so are Tanvi Azmi and Zarina Wahab
Critic Rating: 2/5
Business Rating: 2.5/5
Verdict:
Watch it for only and only Vidya Balan
Detailed Analysis:
Vidya Balan brought belief in producers that women centric cinema can score at box office. Her blockbusters like 'Kahaani' and 'The Dirty Picture' opened the gates for films like 'Queen'. But last two films, 'Ghanchakkar' and 'Shaadi Ke Side Effects', of Vidya failed at box office. Now she is back as detective to regain her box office glory. Film is set in old Hyderabad and a Muslim family of modest background resides there. Out of three daughters, Bobby (Vidya Balan) is eldest and despite turning 30, she is no way interested in getting married. Her father (Rajendra Gupta) is so upset with Bobby that he is not in speaking terms with daughter anymore. Local goon Lala (Arjan Bajwa) adds to the proceedings. Bobby is struggling to make name for herself as detective at least in her small area but no one takes her seriously until one day one big shot Anees Khan (Kiron Kher) meets her. He offers her big money in return of finding two girls and a boy. Bobby manages to find two girls but after that she comes to know that things are not so simple as it seem. In middle of all this, Tassuvur (Ali Afzal) who hosts a crime show falls in love with Bobby. How she unfolds secret behind her assignment forms the rest of the story. Performance wise Vidya Balan is simply outstanding. She carries this half baked drama on her shoulder and despite patchy writing, she makes her character believable. She has some energy which adds to the character but one wonders if same was the case with other actors and writer/director. Rajendra Gupta is honest and Ali Afzal pitches in honest act. But Kiran Kumar sleepwalks, Zarina Wahab, Supriya Pathak and Tanvi Azmi are wasted in poorly written roles. Aakash Dahiya is good as Munna and so is Gangadhar Pandey as Naeem. Arjan Bajwa looks listless. Music is big minus as every song works as loo break and that is a shame considering quality names Swanand Kirkire as lyricist and Sahntanu Moitra as composer. Writing is so bad that at times it looks difficult to believe such a shallow screenplay especially towards end when cat comes out of the bag. Art direction is authentic and camerawork is decent. But it is director Samar Shaikh who makes a very weak debut as there is no concrete effort to take film to another level considering such a brave act from leading lady. Film has so much promise in its inherent plot but it never rises above that idea of being lady detective only. The main case which Bobby solves is so childish that even 'CID' from small screen (ironically few shots of that serial are there in the film in background) will look kinda super intelligent in comparison. Film will release tomorrow and should get decent release across 1000 screens. Film will get some competition from Hollywood's 'The Fault In Our Stars' and Bollywood release 'Lekar Hum Deewana Dil'. Still film should open with some initials due to presence of Vidya Balan. But still film will find it tough to score over weekend considering mediocre content and no big star/music power.
|