Bholaa movie review: Ajay Devgn smashes it out of the park

Bholaa movie review

Bholaa in its storyline and making is quite similar to Kaithi. Some things have been changed or added, like an item song, which is more of an eyesore, though. The setting is in Uttar Pradesh and its gang war culture and alleged nexus with the police. Therefore, no crime and no amount of violence seems impossible here. The film piles on action sequences one after the other, sometimes illogical or cringe worthy, at times eye-catching.

The stunts are all there – bike stunts, jungle car chases and night-time action in the dark, hand- to-hand combat of one man with hundreds, guns, trishul, blood and gore… The Action Directors are Ramazan Bulut of Bullet Action Design, Germany, and RP Yadav, who had also done the action of Devgns 2020 blockbuster Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior.

The cinematography by Aseem Bajaj is excellent. The VFX also seems in place. The feel may not be like Kaithi but the ‘south Indian cinema in a north Indian setting’ vibe is pretty evident.

Since this is what film consumers &’ pan-India’ want these days, Bholaa will not disappoint them.

We love the way mystery is built around the character of Bholaa, by a narrator (Makrand Deshpande) in a prison. Bholaa’s name is revealed only towards the end – the mystery about who he is and where he’s from and what he did before being incarcerated is maintained.

There are some neat edge-of-the-seat moments where you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen next. For every scene, the end could be good or bad!

However, the end of the film seems rushed. After all that storytelling and build-up, it is still not clear what exactly happened to Bholaa’s wife and why he ended up in jail in the first place.

These things may well be narrated in the sequel to Bholaa, the making of which is imminent!

How do we know this? Thanks to a post-credits scene that has a cameo by [SPOILER] none other than Abhishek Bachchan! Yes, the story had some answered questions and those will be tackled in the sequel. Bachchan Jr. will have a fantastic villain character to play.

Ajay Devgn’s direction in Bholaa

Bholaa is Devgn’s fourth film directorial. The actor’s direction is always on a grand scale and the films he directs have something different to tell – a unique storyline or added effects. Bholaa has touches of his film 2016 Shivaay in terms of action, emotional connection with daughter, and the supreme connection with the divine – Lord Shiva aka Shivaay aka Bholaa.

As a viewer, a piece of advice that Devgn may follow as a director is to know where to pause and / or trim. But then it is the director’s vision, and if he wants to make a south-cum-Hollywood style actioner for the audience, so be it.

But as a director, Devgn does bring out the best from his team of actors. Be it his real-life good friend Tabu, or Deepak Dobriyal, Sanjay Mishra, Gajraj Rao, Amir Khan, Vineet Kumar, Makrand Deshpande, Amala Paul, Kiran Kumar, Raai Laxmi (in the song), Yuri Suri, Jahangir

Khan, and Abhishek Bachchan.

Flaws

Bholaa is everything that an action movie buff needs. It does have some emotional moments in keeping with the core storyline of a father wanting to be reunited with his daughter, but these seem to be given shorter screen time. Some father-daughter scenes may bring a tear to your eye but nothing to make you break into tears as such. The plot primarily focuses on the maar-dhaad.

Verdict

Bholaa overall is a good film to watch and also expect a better sequel. It has a UA certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), India, and therefore will be fit for viewing with the family with kids 12 years old or older. Go in for it if you like action masala on screen.