Bholaa movie review: Ajay Devgn pours a whole bottle of drama but the action is more magical

1.5/5

Story:

Bholaa is a truck driver who gets involved with fighting goons who are trying to bag drugs (cocaine). The movie makes up for how Bholaa ends up helping police officer Daisy keep her fellow officers safe.

Review:

"Vardi bandook ke saath nahi, bahaduri ke saath pehni jaati hai," Tabu says in the movie, Bholaa. That is all there is to the movie – a hint of bravery but a forced one. Nobody ever faces all types of enemies and a cheetah at once. Except when it’s Bholaa. Even though the action that follows is partly good, the story and its execution make little to no sense.

Bholaa begins with a drug bust. The story is much at par with that of its South counterpart, Kaithi. The Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial starred Karthi in the lead role and it worked well. Here though, it has an almost opposite effect. Here, Ajay tried to add the Bollywood flavour but that is just not up to the mark of the original.

The buildup to Bholaa's character, though, is something. However, unfortunately, that is the only interesting part and it comes towards the end of the film.

Ajay Devgn's dialogues could have worked but the intense music does not help at all. Tabu also suffers the same fate. In the role of Diana, she has very little to offer.

Deepak Dobriyal's look as Ashwathama works but he is unable to justify it with his acting, at least initially. There are some very subtle actions that work for him slightly. The character becomes predictable after a while. Deepak’s acting is at peak only as his role comes to an end.

Sanjay Mishra as Hawaldar Yadav is out of his character. He has nothing new to offer, till he does.

Makarant Deshpande, on the other hand, is very much in his character. He, unfortunately, doesn't have much to perform.

It won't be wrong to say that Ajay Devgn has found his own Nikitin Dheer, in what is not a Rohit Shetty franchise film. It is in the form of Aprit Ranka who just comes with the benefit of height and fairly good acting.

Amala Paul has a brief role and that too is nothing more than a damsel in distress. Her character is all about the beauty.

Kiran Kumar has a brief role as a police officer. Given the kind of actor he is, the makers failed to justify his talent.

The jokes do land but are mostly a bore. Shot in the dark, this film barely has anything new to offer.

The camera angles don't work for the film either. The extra long shots definitely don't help the scenes. They end up making you dizzy in one scene even.

The music of Bholaa along with the VFX work but only to an extent. The dramatic music does very little to add to the scenes.

Action is the best part of the movie. There's a suspense factor which goes well with the 3D VFX and the music partly works with the action.

There's a bike scene which, as expected, Ajay nails. That is one of the highest points of Bholaa.

The movie is commercialized where it wasn't required. There are wrestlers and cheetah in a scene just to up the fear factor. And it does not end there. It is guns vs muscles vs carnivores.

Slow motion before action and fighting 10 men at once is as commercial as it can get. However, the film does not grip you enough to enjoy those scenes either.

Most of the action in this movie is gory. So, if you are not one who likes that, Bholaa is absolutely not for you.

Fortunately, the post-interval scene works really well. The film has its moments but they are very few.

Bholaa is, to sum it up, all bits commercial, even when it doesn’t really work. It is the over-commercialization that works against the film.

The resurrection period is just forced. Ajay's love for Shiva continues but this time, the scenes appear forced. This is just because of the constant reference to Shiva while almost doing tandav during action scenes. The song 'Aaj phir jeene ki tamannaah hai' is an absolute drag. It doesn't get any more obvious than that.

Ajay even has a Tiger Zinda Hai moment in Bholaa (PS: This was there in the original movie too). He tries to be Salman Khan but of course joins the party seven long years later, leaving very little impact.

There's a huge surprise at the end of the film. It is in the form of a famous actor.

Even though it is these moments that somewhat keep you gripped, you wonder what is the intent of remaking the film. Of course, there’s a hint of a sequel of the movie, which, hopefully, will have more to offer than just shot in the dark action, literally.

Verdict:

Bholaa is a movie that is high on action. Combined with the VFX, this film works well. The only thing working against it is the constant music in the background. Without that or rather, with lesser usage of the same, this film might have worked wonders. Watch Bholaa if you are not faint-hearted and are an Ajay Devgn fan.