Baang movie review: Raghu Dixit-Shanvi Srivastava film is more whimper than bang
This dark comedy by debutant director Sree Ganesh Parashuram has a simple premise with promise, but misfires
2.0/5
Aug 17, 2023
Shanvi Srivastava in a still from the film
Baang
Story: A night of merriment for a bunch of friends, Aarav (Ritvik Muralidhar), Sunil (Sunil Gujjar) and Bhushan (Natya Ranga), turns into a literal nightmare for them, when they get caught in the power struggle between two factions of gangsters – one led by Daddy (Raghu Dixit) and the other by Leona (Shanvi Srivastava) – and inadvertently become subjects of interest in the case of a very valuable bag that’s gone missing.
Review: Debutant director Sree Ganesh Parashuram had a simple story in hand, which, with the right treatment, would have been a fun watch. He’s tried to do something, and there are flashes of what could have been, but unfortunately, they remain just that – flashes that come and go every now and then that if you blink you miss them.
The narrative pattern is interesting, told in chapters detailing different perspectives of situations, like, for instance, how a bag meant for Daddy (Raghu Dixit), ends in the boot of Aarav’s (Ritvik Muralidhar) car and goes missing not long after, only to find its way back to them and disappear again. And amid all this is the pressing matter of a young boy Aayush (Aarav’s brother) dumped in an industrial freezer that is set to drop from 13 degree Celsius to 0 in 13 hours, presumably enough time for the lad to freeze to death. This is also the time that Aarav and gang have to retrieve the bag and save Aayush. No prizes for guessing if they make it on time.
Read also: Baang director Sree Ganesh Parashuram: 20 years of watching movies was my film school
In these 13 hours, which, thankfully plays out in a short span onscreen, Aarav and his pals have to come up with a plan to either retrieve the bag, or find a substitute, which includes a shoot out at a drug lab, while the protagonists are high and flying like kites. It’s meant to be fun, but doesn’t stick the landing. That’s probably because the focal point of Sree Ganesh’s narrative is Shanvi as gangster Leona and not the trio, actually quartet (Saathvika has a minor role), who are trying to save little Aayush.
It is crystal clear that Sree Ganesh is a Shanvi fan . As the leather jacket-clad, gun-totting Leona, she gets some of the most stylishly choreographed sequences of the film and that too in slo-mo. Hell, he even gets her to ‘jump’ from one vehicle to another, so that she can pump Aarav’s get-away car with the might of a machine gun. That this ‘wonder car’ and its occupants survive this assault with little damage to the former and none to the latter, is meant to be a part of the film’s comedy, but when it is also a part of a ‘chase’ sequence against a studio backdrop, all you can do is sigh at its ludicrousness.
Shanvi, though, looks incredibly good in these sequences and pulls off the role quite well. It would have helped a great deal if her character was a tad more fleshed out and not just about spouting her murderous intentions all the time. The film is the acting debut of composer Ritvik Muralidhar, who has an easy-going charm about him. Sunil Gujjar and Natya Ranga pass muster. Raghu’s big-screen debut does not have the impact one hoped for. Sure, he looks imposing and menacing as Daddy, but it’s not a role one will remember when you walk out of the theatre.
Read also: Exclusive! Ritvik Muralidhar: I’m excited about my music for Baang and nervous about my acting
Verdict: Baang feels like a prime example of a squandered opportunity. There was promise, but it didn’t quite live up to it. However, if you were to set aside logic and watch it as nothing but ‘timepass’, it may still be appealing.
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