Besharam Review: Ranbir Kapoor

After delivering one of the biggest Blockbusters of all time in the form of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, the youngest Superstar of Bollywood, Ranbir Kapoor is back in Besharam. The trailers, and the buzz have been underwhelming so far with people expecting a lot more from this Abhinav Kashyap directed film. The buzz has certainly picked up recently with the promotions getting into fifth gear and Ranbir Kapoor is now hoping audiences will be pleasantly surprised by Besharam. So is it surprising? If so, is it surprising in a pleasant manner? Let’s find out.

Story and Screenplay: Besharam revolves around an orphan drifter called Babli (Ranbir Kapoor) who lives in Delhi and is a car thief who swindles people posing as a mechanic. He is a swindler because he wants to help the orphanage he grew up in. He is quite shameless (as the title implies) in the way he goes about it. He thinks there is always a right way to do the wrong thing. But things take a turn for the amusing and oddly baffling in his life when he hurts his lady love (Pallavi Sharda). Things get even funnier when two Haryanvi cops Chulbul Chautala and Bulbul Chautala (Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor) go on an hunt to chase him. The story becomes even more convoluted when the villain of the film (Javed Jaffrey) is introduced as a comic sadist. Films like Besharam don’t have a Bible-sized script and we don’t expect one either. To know what eventually happens, go watch the film in the theatres!

Besharam Movie Review

Direction: Much was expected from Abhinav Kashyap because he was the man behind one of the best entertainers of recent times – Dabangg. But alas! Abhinav Kashyao sorely disappoints in all aspects of the film he is a part of. The script was supposed to be funny but the humour was nowhere to be seen or heard. The film’s pace kept lagging throughout the first half and even a surprising climax couldn’t save the film from drowning into unamusing delirium. Besharam could have done with a more compact script and the flow of the film should have been swifter. The blame for this must rest on the shoulders of Abhinav Kashyap. Besharam turns out to be an all out disappointment because of him.

The other creative aspects of Besharam can’t redeem it either. The editing works but the film doesn’t benefit from the editing. The art direction manages to catch our eyes with two songs shot in picturesque locations across North India. The costume design is outrageous but works well with the overall theme of the film. Ranbir Kapoor looks like a scrawny street smart guy and the costume design plays a major part in establishing this important ingredient of the film.

Music: Lalit Pandit has lost his mojo in recent times. Entrusted with the task of such a major film, he underwhelms with the songs. Most of the songs fail to make a mark with only the title song having chartbuster elements attached to it. All said and done, Lalit Pandit should have given a much better soundtrack in Besharam.

Performances: Ranbir Kapoor is the heart and soul of the film as his Babli is in almost every frame. He hams it up probably for the first time in his career but given the fact that he was required to play a character like this, he does reasonably well even when he is hamming it up. Rishi Kapoor is amazing as always. His Haryanvi accent is spot on. Neetu Kapoor is also a laugh riot in some of her scenes with Rishi Kapoor. The Kapoor trio deserved a better film because their talent is wasted in this drab of a film. Pallavi Sharda thankfully doesn’t just play the part of an eye-candy. She has genuine acting credentials and it will be interesting to see what she does in her next few films. Javed Jaffri is hilarious as the funny baddie as he imbibes shades of comedy and evilness in his performance without ever going overboard.

Conclusion: The trailers of Besharam disappointed a majority of the audience and the film doesn’t surprise us, unlike what Ranbir Kapoor was hoping for. It is overlong and unfunny and Ranbir Kapoor shows he can also ham it up if need be. Besharam could have done away with the lazy writing and the conceptualisation of the set-pieces could have done with a lot more imagination. Besharam disappoints and how!

Box Office: Besharam will have a huge opening day thanks to the star power of Ranbir Kapoor and the national holiday in the form of Gandhi Jayanti. But I expect the film to see major drops from second day onwards. The 130 crore mark looks like the upper ceiling for Besharam. If the response is too negative and the falls are huge, Besharam might even struggle to get to the 100 crore mark. There’s only so much Ranbir’s goodwill can get the makers.

Positives:

• Ranbir Kapoor’s hammy performance suits the character
• Costume Design
• Pallavi Sharda’s confident act and Javed Jaffrey’s funny performance make the film watchable

Negatives:

• The slow and unfunny screenplay
• The direction is messy
• The music is the worst ever for a Ranbir Kapoor film
• Outlandish set-pieces
• Laggy moments slow down the flow

Rating: