Bombay Velvet (2015) Review!!

Synopsis – An ordinary man goes against all odds and forges his destiny to become a ‘Big Shot’.

My Take – Its really exciting when one of your favorite yet underrated directors signs on two of the most popular leading actors of the young brigade to star in a crime thriller set in the post independence day. On paper the film may sound exciting but on screen it doesnt neccessarily means it will turn out well. Made on a hefty budget of 120 crores, this is without doubt Anurag Kashyap’s weakest film, even weaker than the visually tempting No Smoking (2007). Anurag Kashyap has excellent films to his name (Gangs of Wasseypur, Ugly & DevD) etc but he fails miserably this time. His attempt to make a commercial entertainer falls flat! No doubt, he has presented the movie very well, but the nutrients like entertainment, story, style, content, etc are thoroughly missing. Based on historian Gyan Prakash’s book Mumbai Fables, the film is a soulless exercise of the yesteryear’s. Kashyap & his Team of Writers deliver a story full of loopholes. For one, you don’t feel for any of its characters. Be it Johnny Balraj, the protagonist, or his lady-love, Rosie. You never feel ecstatic when they rise above the odds or feel sad when the powerful bodies intend to destroy them. The story begins in 1949, as a young Balraj (Ranbir Kapoor) spends his time in the red light district nursing frustrations of seeing his mother getting slapped and abused. Youth throws him in the boxing ring of free-for-all fighting to earn some ready cash. He then comes across Chiman (Satyadeep Misra), who not just becomes his partner in crime, but also his friend for life. As they march ahead in life, they, gradually land up becoming the henchmen for Kaizad Khambata (Karan Johar), editor of the tabloid ‘Torrent’ and also a top wheeler-dealer.

Impressed with his dare devil attitude, Kaizad appoints Balraj to manage his club named ‘Bombay Velvet’. In addition to this, Kaizad also entrusts him with the task of wiping out the ‘Communist’s opposition to this ‘Capitalist’ plan. But he meets with a roadblock called Jimmy Mistry (Manish Chaudhury), editor of pro-labor class tabloid ‘Glitz’. It is then, that the beautiful jazz singer Rosie (Anushka Sharma) is sent as a honey trap to lure Balraj by Jimmy. But the duo consummate their passionate romance and become inseparable. The henchman wants to have his share of the pie in the new money-order and that’s when the drama turns bloody and what-happens-after. Meanwhile, Kaizad tries to adopt the policy of divide and rule between Balraj and Chiman. Does Rosie become successful in her role of a honey trap, does Kaizad become successful in separating the Balraj-Chiman duo and what ultimately happens to ‘Bombay Velvet’… is what forms the rest of the story. Right from the conception of the early crimes, its obvious director Kashyap is heavily influenced by Martin Scorcese (whom he also thanks in the opening credits), not necessarily a bad thing, but there is a huge difference between being inspired & down right lifting sequences, as result, the predictability of the sequences tends to send you down the ‘yawn’ path. I am tired of watching rip offs of that Godfather gun-in-the- flush bin idea, and that is when the film starts to fumble. There is no doubt that the film is highly ambitious & passionately made, but where this biggie falters is its Script. And no film, no matter how big your budget or how rich in treatment, can rise above a weak screenplay. The love-story is ordinarily treated, while the aspect of ambition & crime combined, is lackluster to say the least. The first-hour is a blend of love & creed, while the second-hour is twisted mix of thrills & grotesque action. Sadly, nothing really works! That’s actually a shocking thing as Anurag has been a director of detailing , remember how he made us experience the evolution of Bihar and Jharkhand in Gangs Of Wassypur. The same doesn’t happen is case of Bombay. The movie tells us that the base of Bombay has been put up on conspiracies and scams but the screenplay is such a haywire that you can’t actually understand what is the conspiracy going on. Neither the actions of opposite parties clears any of their intentions. And how could you relate to characters if you don’t know their intentions. This is really sad as both lads – Ranbir Kapoor & Anushka Sharma have clearly given their hearts out for their respective roles.

Ranbir Kapoor, is simply superb as the power hungry protagonist. He has always give his 100% and he does the same here. Ranbir displays rage, affection & helplessness, with remarkable conviction. He’s doesn’t fail to engage, even when the film fails too. His madness for becoming BIG SHOT and his childish intensity in love are something to watch out. Anushka has given a powerhouse performance! Here her character of Rosie is although glamorous but there is a grounded attitude in her. She knows her boundaries , she know this glamor life is not her own and is gifted by someone else. Debutante (that’s what the intro credit says) Karan Johar seems to have borrowed his natural effeminacy into the screen as he puts up a rather bad show at being a cool gay tycoon. His character could have been a little better if he would have a real maniac which actually he is but in a gentlemen manner. He is not a kind of person who will beat his enemy to death by his own hand rather he will ask his man to do that job while watching it simultaneously eating his food. Some of the good comic scenes has been given to him related to when on using wrong English by the other person he goes out of the room to laugh and also some indications to his likeness of gender in sexual preferences . Satyadeep Misra & Manish Chaudhury stand out! While K K Menon & Vivaan Shah hardly have anything to do. Director Kashyap’s Direction oozes dreamlike ambition, but its his shoddily written screenplay, that spoils the fun. Technically, the film doesn’t falter on any level. Right from the richly done cinematography, the dazzling art & costume design or Amit Trivedi’s mesmerizing Score. Its all done with pure skill. How one wishes, if the Script was half as strong as its technicalities. If I try to draw comparisons between Martin Scorsese’s 1990-blockbuster Goodfellas and our very own Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet, they will look like twins, though born in different eras. While the former has already proved itself a masterpiece, the latter simply looks like a wanna-be to that classic. On the whole, ‘Bombay Velvet’ is a huge let down! A perfect example of how no matter how glamor or class you show in movies, it should have a script, screenplay and a climax which is important! If you are a huge Ranbir Kapoor & Anushka fan, you can try to give it a watch, but as a fan of Anurag Kashyap I would suggest to avoid this film & wait for him to make a comeback with his next whatever it is!