Babumoshai Bandookbaaz review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui FAILS!

Movie: Babumoshai Bandookbaaz

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Divya Dutta, Jatin Goswami

Director: Kushan Nandy

Producers: Kushan Nandy, Ashmith Kunder, Kiran Shroff

Rating: 1.5/5 Stars

If you’d think that the getting cast that populated Gangs of Wasseypur and replacing the dramatic plot with a narrative built around trigger-happy goons with the powerhouse performer Nawazuddin Siddiqui at its center will work wonders, Babumoshai Bandookbaaz will prove that theory wrong!

Director Kushan Nandy does bring the authenticity to the film in terms of the lingo and the location, but one could only digest so much of GTA-style gun slinging, super-kinky moments and pointless side stories in a film before one wants to walk out of the auditorium.  The film is an overdose of bullets, blood, rage and sick dialogues that can make even the most liberal movie buff out there sick to their stomachs.

The film (obviously) revolves around Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Babu Bihari, a calm and composed contract killer who has been on a killing spree for a living since the age of 10. The opening scene gives you great expectations but Kushan Nandy artfully burns them all to the ground. Accompanying Nawaz Bhai, there is his fan, an aspiring contract killer called Banke Bihari, (Jatin Goswami) who, before you know it, is challenging Babu into a game of “who drops more bodies to the ground first”. As far as love tracks are concerned, Nawaz’s Babu Bihari finds solace in Phulwa (Bidita Bag) while Banke is deeply (and irritatingly) drawn to Yasmeen (Shraddha Das), who brings Banke contracts and grooves to Bollywood remixes. Babu and Banke, although take most of the screen time, are nothing but disposable foot soldiers to politicians who would happily deploy the two for their personal gains.

Things just get more pointlessly complicated when the local police join the party. It is at this point, you know that the film is going to be a mess of epic proportions. Although Nawazuddin’s self-deprecating remarks and his seamless transformation from killer to lover is applause-worthy, and Jatin Goswami’s lean frame and interesting voice lend to his screen appeal, you will begin caring less and less as the story goes on. Special applause goes to Divya Dutta, who is spot-on as the pan-chewing, fire-spitting Behen Ji.

The film could have just been better on so many levels. Had Kushan Nandy and Ghalib Asad Bhopali stuck to a much simpler and tighter script with an ounce of common sense in it, the film might have been a game changer.

We stay disappointed until Nawazuddin reinstates our faith in him with Manto.