Movie Review: Badlapur..a dream start but not a great journey

Badlapur could’ve been a landmark movie. The first 15 minutes quite rightly emphasised as critical, certainly showed the potential. Yes, the first 15 minutes are critical and no, you cannot afford to miss them. However, its not so much that you won’t be able to understand what follows if you don’t. While they certainly prop the remainder of the story, a more pressing reason to not miss the first 15 minutes is that they are amongst the most shining moments of the film. I don’t think anybody else, could’ve done better with those scenes, either within Bollywood or outside it

Unfortunately, after that – everybody seems lost. ’Badlapur is said to have a brilliant plot. I think a key problem is that the plot, as a whole, is anything but brilliant. In parts, it glitters and has its moments but as an overall package – it seems terribly contrived and doesn’t deliver the goods.

Badlapur is certainly bold – both literally and figuratively. It’s a big change from a standard revenge saga and for the most part, the change is for the better. It breaks new ground in some aspects but offers some unexpected unsavory scenes as well. This movie is certainly not at all for kids, so make sure its an adults only audience if you end up watching this one

While Varun Dhawan really lifts his game and delivers a fine performance for his limited experience, one wonders if this movie could’ve been a little better if a more veteran actor had taken on this role. While he looks the part, most of the time, his voice lacks the edge it should and his crazed look lacks conviction. Nawazuddin Siddique on the other hand, delivers a convincing performance. That said, a lot of the blame should actually go to the characters themselves – while a lot of time is spent on them – its hard to understand them or connect with them – even towards the end of the movie. A word for Radhika Apte who plays her unique role quite convincingly and makes her presence felt. Huma Qureshi also does justice to her role. Yami Gautam looks pretty as a picture but doesn't get much in the way of dialogues.

Sriram Raghavan is an exciting director. He treads off the beaten path and has a few smart tricks up his sleeve in all his movies. While the first 15 minutes (and maybe a few glimpses post that) stamp his authority, Badlapur sorely misses the tight packaging of an Ek Hasina Thi or a Johnny Gaddaar

While there is only a fleeting reference to trains in the movie, this sums up the experience of  Badlapur - The journey to Badlapur starts smooth as silk, then encounters a few rough spots here and there. The train itself slows down, taking in vast expanses of empty space. Then it enters a few dark tunnels that end up being dead ends. However, because the driver and its passengers are particularly keen on having us on board we still go along for the ride.. If only the ride could’ve been shorter with a great destination in mind, the journey would’ve truly been memorable