Ajay Devgn’s nocturnal thriller, Bholaa meets your truck-load of expectations only in bits and pieces.
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Deepak Dobriyal, Gajraj Rao, Amala Paul, Vineet Kumar
Director: Ajay Devgn
Writers: Original Story by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Screenplay and Dialogues by Aamil Keeyan Khan, Ankush Singh, Sandeep Kewlani and Sriidhar Rajyash Dubey
“Yeh gym se aaya hain ke jail se?” a character asks another in one of the scenes in Bholaa. Likewise, Ajay Devgn pumps up the scale in his version of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Tamil hit, Kaithi but fails to retain the essence of its source material.
What’s Yay: The scale of the film
What’s Nay: Lack of elevation moments, jarring background score
Story
Set in Uttar Pradesh, Bholaa dives straight into action with SP Diana Joseph (Tabu) seizing a large amount of cocaine in a drug bust and hiding it in a secret cell under the police commissioner’s office in Lalganj. ‘Bandook ki naukari ki hai, goli toh khaani padegi,” she tells an officer in her team when the latter points out her injured arm in a sling and advises her to seek rest.
The contraband confiscated by Diana belongs to Ashwatthama (Deepak Dobriyal), a dreaded drug mafia who runs the crime syndicate with his brother Ashu (Vineet Kumar). Unknown to her, he has already got a whiff of Diana’s drug raid with the help of a compromised cop, Devraj Subramaniam (Gajraj Rao).
Ashwatthama cooks up a sinister plan to retrieve his contraband wherein he leaves several cops hanging between life and death by spiking their booze with a dangerous tranquilizer at a senior police officer’s farewell party. Diana, who didn’t consume the poisoned alcohol due to her medication, finds herself in a fix until her eyes fall on an ex-convict Bholaa (Ajay Devgn) seated in one of the police jeeps at the venue. When she learns that he is in a hurry to reunite with his daughter Jyothi whom he has never met, she arm twists him into helping her to load the unconscious cops into a truck and drive them to the hospital.
On the other hand, Ashwatthama plans to lay siege to Lalganj police station to retrieve his confiscated drugs. A rookie cop, Angad Yadav (Sanjai Mishra) and a bunch of students who were detained for their roadside escapades are left to defend the police station. The rest of the film revolves around how Diana and Bholaa race against time to thwart Ashwatthama’s malevolent attacks.
Direction
Ajay Devgn picks up the basic premise of Karthi starrer Kaithi and makes a few modifications in them. Unfortunately, in this process, the rawness and the intensity of the source material gets crushed under his lofty ambitions. While the scale of his film is impressive, one wished that he had kept the soul of Kaithi intact in his version.
In the Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial, the iconic ‘biryani’ scene was enough to establish the main protagonist’s voracious appetite for violence. Whereas, the makers of Bholaa constantly feel the need to underline Devgn’s character’s superhuman abilities. So, you are bombarded with dialogues like “Jab yeh bhashm lagata hai pata nahin kitno ko bhashm kar deta hai’ or ‘Baahar se khamosh, andar se toofan,” every time our hero transforms into a weapon of mass destruction.
Ajay Devgn has a knack for innovative set pieces and action choreography and that’s evident in Bholaa too. Sadly, the two major ‘mass’ sequences- the six-minute long bike-truck chase scene and the climax fail to give you pure, unadulterated adrenaline rush.
Performances
Ajay Devgn excels when he goes on a bone-breaking spree. There are moments where he lets his intense eyes do all the talking. However, the film barely gives us a chance to connect with his character on an emotional note.
When Tabu, sporting Ray-Ban glasses, goes on guns blazing in her introduction scene, you expect more of such ‘dhamaka’ on screen until you get reminded that the film is titled Bholaa and not Diana! Nevertheless, the actress still stands out in the scene where she and Devgn’s Bholaa share some poignant exchanges amid the backdrop of the CGI-induced waterfall.
Arjun Das’ deep baritone voice, cocaine snorting Anbu becomes the kohl-eyed maniac Ashwatthama (Deepak Dobriyal) in Bholaa. Dobriyal is one of the reasons why Bholaa packs in some silly fun amid all the bloodbath. Sanjai Mishra as the hapless constable stuck in a sticky situation is sincere in every frame. Gajraj Rao suffers from a poorly-written role. Amala Paul settles for a quick cameo in the form of a song. Vineet Kumar as Nithari is confined to some bulging bloodshot eyes and tight close-up shots.
Technical Aspects
Aseem Bajaj’s flashy cinematography adds a distinct flavour to Bholaa. But in a few scenes, the frequent close-up shots of the characters to establish the tension in the air derails your viewing experience a bit. The 3D format barely contributes anything significant to this nocturnal thriller. Dharmendra Sharma’s editing is botched at a few places.
Music
Following the quintessential Bollywood template, Ajay Devgn inserts two songs in Bholaa. The raunchy ‘Pan Dukaniya’ track is as redundant to the narrative as Gajraj Rao’s obnoxiously accented Hindi. ‘Nazar Lag Jayegi’ which serves as a vehicle for Bholaa’s backstory is passable. Ravi Basrur’s deafening background score drowns some of the dialogues especially in the first half.
Verdict
Whether you are a ‘rakht ka bhakt’ or not, Bholaa leaves a tad bruised by the end. This journey is strictly for Ajay Devgn fans.
