Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    Parth Samthaan Admits He Was Hesitant To Take Up CID 2; ‘The Fact That They Would Have To Address Me As ‘Sir’ On Screen Felt A Bit Unusual And Awkward’

    April 9, 2025

    Palak Tiwari On Criticism Of New Gen Actors: I Feel Like We Will Get Our Audiences To Love Us At Some Point

    April 5, 2025

    Woh Kaun Thi: Did You Know Raj Khosla Had Almost Rejected Manoj Kumar-Sadhana’s ‘Lag Jaa Gale’ Song For His Film?

    April 4, 2025
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • Bollywood
    • Kannada
    • Tamil
    • Telugu
    • OTT
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Cutting ShotsCutting Shots
    • Home
    • Review
      • Bollywood
      • Kannada
      • Tamil
      • Telugu
      • OTT
    • Interview
    • Features
      • Box Office
      • Retro Diaries
      • CS Special
    • TV
    • Web Stories
    • CS Gallery
      • Photos
    • Others
      • Author
    Cutting ShotsCutting Shots
    Home»Reviews»OTT»Bawaal Movie Review: Varun Dhawan-Janhvi Kapoor’s Film Is Made Up Of Both ‘Love’ And ‘Chaos’
    OTT

    Bawaal Movie Review: Varun Dhawan-Janhvi Kapoor’s Film Is Made Up Of Both ‘Love’ And ‘Chaos’

    Madhuri PrabhuBy Madhuri PrabhuJuly 21, 2023No Comments7 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    Bawaal movie review: This Varun Dhawan-Janhvi Kapoor starrer fights an ‘unusual’ war but finds its real, lasting victory outside the battlefield.
    Bawaal-Movie-Review

    Cast: Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor, Manoj Pahwa, Mukesh Tiwari, Anjuman Saxena, Hemang Vyas, Prateek Pachori
    Director: Nitesh Tiwari
    Writers: Piyush Gupta, Shreyas Jain, Nikhil Mehrotra, Nitesh Tiwari, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwary (story)

    Throughout the film, Ajay aka Ajju (Varun Dhawan) is heard telling his bestie, “Beta, mahaul aisa banao ki logon ko mahaul yaad rahe, result nahin.” Well, in Bawaal, director Nitesh Tiwari takes his protagonist’s advice a bit too seriously and ends up leaving you with mixed feelings.

    What’s Yay: A unique approach to drive home a relevant social message
    What’s Nay: Cumbersome execution, less heart-tugging moments

    Bawaal-still

    Story
    A black-and-white montage of Lucknow’s ‘sadabahar‘ folk to the tunes of MM Keeravani’s ‘Kaise din kate hain‘, Udit Narayan’s ‘Mat Ro Mere Dil‘, Kumar Sanu’s ‘Tumhe Apna Banane Ki Kasam‘ and Shabbir Kumar’s ‘Teri Meherbaniyan‘ sets the stage for a ‘tadakta-bhadakta’ introduction of Bawaal’s hero- Ajju aka Ajay (Varun Dhawan).

    A few minutes later, we are told that this ‘masakali‘ of Lucknow with a magnetic personality, is actually a narcissist, image-conscious history teacher who is unhappily married to Nisha (Janhvi Kapoor). Theirs is an arranged marriage where Ajay prefers to keep Nisha out of sight and behaves coldly with her. Reason? He fears his wife who suffers from epilepsy, might end up embarrassing him in public with her ‘fits’ and tarnish his carefully-crafted image.

    Every night, Ajay lets down his façade and wallows in self-pity after gulping down a few drinks with his best friend. Until one day, he ends up slapping a politician’s son in his class in a moment of anger and gets suspended from work. In order to rescue his image, Ajay concocts a bizarre plan of live-streaming history lessons from the World War II sites (Paris-Normandy-Amsterdam-Berlin-Auschwitz) for his students. To make his scheme look ‘authentic’, he reluctantly allows Nisha to tag along with him under the pretext of giving their marriage another chance.

    ALSO READ: Varun Dhawan Explains Why It Isn’t Possible To Make A Film Without An OTT Partner In Today’s Times.

    Once, the couple lands in Paris, Ajay realizes that there’s more to his docile wife- she’s quick-witted and well-travelled. With a dark chapter from the worst tragedy in world history unfolding at each of their pit-stops, Ajay realizes that ‘every love story has its own war.’

    Direction
    “Two things greater than all things are, the first is love, and the second war,” said Rudyard Kipling in his famous poem ‘The Ballad Of The King’s Jest’. After all, these two things are the peak of human emotions. In Bawaal, Nitesh Tiwari picks up World War II- one of the greatest human tragedies for two things- to offer the hero a chance of redemption to save his crumbling marriage and give the audience some lessons on greed, ambition and contentment. Does it work? Well, in parts and pieces.

    To begin with, it’s clear right from the start that Ajay is a flawed character whose questionable behaviour makes you loathe him at places. He is a pathological liar and full of himself. There are several scenes especially in the first half which builds his character. That’s why later, when Ajay lets down his guard and reveals his compassionate side, the changes feel organic even when some of the setups misfire.

    At one point in the film when Nisha asks him why he is so conscious about his image, he reasons it out as his way of not becoming the ‘dhaniya’ of a paneer dish, and you slowly realize the root of his toxic behaviour.

    On the other hand, except for a few adjectives like ‘independent’, ‘outgoing’, ‘happy’ and a bit ‘unfortunate’, Nitesh Tiwari and his team of writers barely give us any insight into who Nisha was before she got hitched to Ajay.

    Heard of courtship in arranged marriages? Well, there’s no place for it here as the makers straight away dive into the marriage-followed-by-revelation plot device. This is exactly why things look a bit off when Nisha gets optimistic about her loveless marriage early in the film. Why does she want to stay with Ajay? Has she developed feelings towards him? Is she scared that she might not find a partner again because of her medical condition? Why do the makers want us to root for this couple? The writing is foggy here. Tiwari tries to redeem a bit by giving us a cool set of parents; one of them even says, “Divorce koi halva nahi hai” and advises her daughter to walk out of her marriage if she’s unhappy.

    Quite early in the film, Nitesh warns us through Ajay that his plan is a bit ‘revolutionary’ and needs to watched with an open mind. Interestingly, he structures his screenplay as three stages of war- cold war (Ajay-Nisha’s unhappy marriage), the war (slapping incident) and the aftermath of war (Ajay’s coming-of-age trip). However, the idea of linking Adolf Hitler’s hate and the tragic repercussions of World War II to a pompous man’s greed and need for constant validation might repulse a few.

    Tiwari uses Nazi fury as a metaphor to show Ajay’s inner conflict and journey towards redemption. While the idea sounds ambitious on paper, Nitesh’s execution comes across as clunky at many places especially when he turns his characters into ‘tourists in history.’ Further, dialogues like “Anne Frank ke ghar se nikalne ke baad thodi philosophy toh banti hain” comes across as tone-deaf.

    More than in the World War II portions, Bawaal leaves its impact the most when Tiwari allows his simple moments to do all the talking. For example, take the scene where Ajay keeps bickering about his lost bag while Nisha smiles at the sight of Paris from her car window. The imagery is enough to depict their contrasting personalities. Another effective scene features the duo tipsy-dancing post a happy-hour binge. For the first time, a carefree Ajay and Nisha find themselves on the same plane as they unsuccessfully try to match steps with the other dancers, only to find their own rhythm in the end. Is that what happy relationships are made of?

    What Bawaal probably needed was more warmth of love!

    Bawaal-Movie-Still

    Performances
    Varun Dhawan has most fun when he is playing the cocky Ajay. He leaves you grinning from ear to ear when he professes his love for Govinda or when he turns into a budget travel enthusiast in Europe. At the same time, he effectively portrays the flawed parts of his character with conviction.

    Janhvi Kapoor seems to be getting better at her craft with every film. She brings an equal mix of resilience and vulnerability to Nisha. However, it tad weird that both the actors fare better individually but suffer from lack of chemistry in love portions.

    The ever-dependable Manoj Pahwa impresses on screen. There isn’t much scope for Mukesh Tiwari in this film. Prateek Pachori as Ajay’s friend does a good job. Hemang Vyas who plays a Gujju backpacker tries to add some laughs in Bawaal and succeeds a few times.

    Technical Aspects
    Mitesh Mirchandani uses color scheme in an effectual manner to capture the mood of the narrative. Be it the joyful palette of Paris, the dim-lit rooms and the hues of red to showcase the blooming of a relationship or the monochromatic frames depicting pain, destruction and pathos. Charu Sree Roy’s editing scissors are in place.

    Bawal2

    Music
    What’s a film about love and conflict without some soul-stirring music? Unfortunately, Bawaal misses a mark in this department. Barring Arijit Singh’s ‘Tumhe Kitna Pyaar Karte’, none of the tracks linger with you for long.

    Verdict

    There’s a famous Sun Tzu proverb- ‘In the midst of chaos, there lies an opportunity.’ With Bawaal, while Nitesh Tiwari misses the opportunity of making a great memorable film, he does make us ponder over his thoughts on happiness and contentment in this fast-paced world that we live in.

    bawaal bawaal movie review janhvi kapoor nitesh tiwari varun dhawan
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    blog-author-img
    Madhuri Prabhu

    Madhuri Prabhu is a post-graduate degree holder in Electronic Media (Department of Journalism & Communication, Mumbai University) and the brain behind Cutting Shots. She began her journey in showbiz with an internship under a TV producer and worked on a couple of daily soaps. Post her brief stint as an executive producer and assistant casting director for a YouTube channel, Hindi Kavita, Madhuri hopped into the world of entertainment journalism.

    Related Posts

    Jackie Shroff On Baby John’s Box Office Failure: You Do Feel Bad, But Not For Yourself, But The Producers

    January 15, 2025

    Rajpal Yadav Reacts To Baby John’s Box Office Failure; ‘If This Wasn’t A Remake, Then This Would Have Been The Most Well-Made Film Of My 25-Year Career’

    January 9, 2025

    Ram Gopal Varma On Janhvi Kapoor: I Don’t See Sridevi In Her Yet; Have No Intention Of Doing A Film With Her

    January 4, 2025
    Add A Comment

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    What's Trending

    Palak Tiwari On Criticism Of New Gen Actors: I Feel Like We Will Get Our Audiences To Love Us At Some Point

    April 5, 2025

    ‘Sunny Deol Was Dragged By The Bike, Amrish Puri’s Eyes Were Completely Damaged’; Director Guddu Dhanoa Recalls How A Stunt Went Horribly Wrong On ‘Jaal’ Sets

    April 3, 2025

    Anil Kapoor Recalls Feeling ‘Naked’ After Shaving Moustache For Sridevi Starrer Lamhe; ‘People Were Shocked, It Wasn’t A Very Positive Reaction’

    April 2, 2025

    R Madhavan Defends ‘Stalking’ Angle In Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein; ‘At The Time When Phones And Social Media Didn’t Exist, How Would You Contact A Girl?’

    April 2, 2025

    ‘Shah Rukh Khan’s Philosophy Seemed To Be That The Whole Film Has To Be Great, Not Just His Part;’ Jugal Hansraj Recalls Working With The Superstar In Mohabbatein

    April 1, 2025

    Welcome to our cinematic cave called Cutting Shots.

    Quick Links
    • About Us
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    Reviews
    • Bollywood
    • Kannada
    • Tamil
    • Telugu
    Features
    • Box Office
    • CS Special
    • Reader’s Pen
    • Retro Diaries
    Entertainment
    • Interview
    • TV
    • Web Stories
    • Photos
    Facebook Instagram YouTube Twitter
    © 2025 Cutting Shots.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.