Review : Masala Entertainer : Bachchan Pandey!
In the wake of remakes comes #BachchanPandey which is a remake of a Tamil film ‘#Jigarthanda’ (2014) which in turn was inspired by a Korean movie ‘#ADirtyCarnival’ (2006). This #AkshayKumar and #KritiSanon starrer is an out and out masala entertainer. In fact the title ‘Bachchan Pandey’ was introduced as Akshay’s character in ‘Tashan’ which was liked by the viewers. Here Akshay takes full fledge charge of that character and plays this grey shaded character in an convincing manner. In recent times there has been an increase in biopics. Bachchan Pandey treads that path as the film is on a Biopic film on Bachchan Pandey who is a dreaded criminal in the northern India.
Myra Divekar (Kriti Sanon) is an assistant director who is thrown out of film set by the director of the film for taking reins in her hands. She has the support of the producer and she zeroes in on a script of a dreaded criminal Bachchan Pandey. Bachchan Pandey is a remorseless and cruel gangster who kills even police officers and journalists. No one dare arrest him as he is the most dreaded criminal stationed in Baagwa, a sleepy town in Uttar Pradesh. His cronies include Kandi (Saharsh Kumar Shukla), Bufferiya Chacha (Sanjay Mishra), Pendulum (Abhimanyu Singh) and Virgin Bhai (Prateik Babbar). Bachchan Pandey wants to instil fear in everyone around him so that his ‘business’ keeps flourishing.
In the meanwhile Myra reaches Baagwa and meets her childhood friend Vishu Mhatre (Arshad Warsi) who agrees to help her make this film. They try to extract as much information as possible about him including his love life. It is understood that Bachchan Pandey had killed his girlfriend Sophie (Jacqueline Fernandez) in cold blood. While collecting information on Bachchan Pandey they get caught and come face to face with this dreaded criminal. He thinks that they are planted by police but when he finds out the real reason he decided to cooperate with them. He even plays the lead i.e. himself in the movie. What happens later and in between is the story of Bachchan Pandey.
The plot is interesting but the screenplay doesn’t live up to it’s potential. The director Farhad Samji concentrates more on action. In fact comedy is his forte and that peeps in between. The movie neither is an all out action film nor a comedy. But the mixture of these two genres make the film from being a disaster. In fact director had a bunch of artistes like Arshad Warsi, Sanjay Mishra, Pankaj Tripathi and of course Akshay Kumar at his disposal but their comic veins are not cashed. Apart from Akshay all these artistes’ roles are half baked which mars the entertainment quotient of the film. The director’s bid to justify Bachchan Pandey becoming the good soul, Bhola Pandey, makes the film lose focus. Music is passable as none of the songs are remembered after exiting the cinema hall. The production values are of high quality and the well choreographed action sequences with intermittent one-liners make the film watchable.
Akshay Kumar has done a great job but his good work doesn’t help the film. His action and comic timing entertains but the screenplay and the length (152 Min) fail him. He lives up to his larger than life character’s description – iski aankh aur dil, dono pathhar ka hai. Kriti Sanon shines in a feisty filmmaker’s role. She not only looks beautiful but delivers a very convincing performance. She is the highlight of the movie despite the title being Bachchan Pandey. Arshad Warsi does justice to his role with a few witty one-liners but viewers will feel that his potential is not fully used. Jacqueline Fernandez is passable, so is Pratiek Babbar. Others lend good support.
Bachchan Pandey is a masala entertainer which’ll please Akshay Kumars fans who love action and comedy.
Rating : ***