Babumoshai Bandookbaaz review: Useless love conquers well built conspiracy
Director: Kushan Nandy
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Divya Dutta, Murli Sharma, Jatin Goswami and Shraddha Das
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz was in the news for having explicit content. Touted as one of the most intense dramas of the year, the film is nothing but a haywire affair of politics and a love triangle. With 48 cuts asked by CBFC, this A-certified film is directed by Kushan Nandy, who directed 88 Antop Hill in 2003, a box office disaster, followed by Hum Dum which also went unnoticed. He is back with BB where Nawaz plays the titular role of a contract killer. However, the film tries to ape the treatment of Anurag Kashyap's GOW and Raman Raghav 2.0.
Babu Bihari (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is a contract killer and works for godmother Sumitra aka Jiji (Divya Dutta). He falls in love with Phulwa (Bidita Bag) who is a rape victim and a cobbler by profession. Life changes upside down for Babu when he gets a contract to kill Triloki (Murli Sharma) who is an earnest disciple of Sumitra.
On the other hand, Banke (Jatin Goswami) is an ardent follower of Babu, but tension rises when a local politician Dubey hires him to kill Babu. Will Banke be able to kill Babu? Why Dubey wants to kill Babu? This is all what the film unmasks in 2 hours 5 minutes.
Director Kushan Nandy builds the tension and thrill so well in the first half that one can't take eyes from the screen, but gradually the second half dips down abruptly. The issue with the film is its cluttered screenplay. There are so many things running at the same time that the film loses its original track. With the backdrop of a corrupt local political system, the film becomes an unlikely love triangle, which is awful. However, few dialogues are good and comical. In totality, the film looks a lot like Anurag Kashyap's and Tigmanshu Dhulia's cinema sans good plot.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is undoubtedly a master of his craft. His aggression and agony will win your heart. Special mention to him in a few scenes where he is fearlessly shooting people, the way he carries himself in those vintage glasses and the scene where he suddenly slips in and out of his violent character, is commendable. His performance is a joy to watch in every single frame of the film. Another performance to watch out for is of Bidita Bag who is lusty, rustic and raunchy in her role. Shout out to Jatin Goswami for his power-packed role. Divya Dutta using cuss words looks great and real. Murli Sharma is good to watch as he adds a lot of finesse to the scenes. Shraddha Das is just about average.
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz has only good performances to watch else the film is surely not worth your ticket price. Since there are two other big releases this Friday, pick this one only if you are an ardent Nawazuddin Siddiqui fan, because the film holds not much surety to entertain you.
