Jul 04, 2014 03:33 PM
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After Mr Joe B Carvalho and Samrat & Co, Bobby Jasoos is the third detective film of this ‘sleuth season’ in Bollywood. However, Bobby Jasoos stands out from the rest of the detective films of the current season as well as of the past as the protagonist is a female. Besides, it is based in Hyderabad which gives the film a novel touch. The premise is interesting as well but sadly, the script and direction fails to do justice. The result: Bobby Jasoos is sadly an average flick!
The story of the movie: Bilkis Ahmed aka Bobby(Vidya Balan) lives with her family in Hyderabad and aspires to be a detective. She fails to get employed in a detective agency and hence starts her own agency. After taking up couple of trivial cases, she finally gets a case that interests her. The mysterious Anees Khan(Kiran Kumar) asks Bobby to trace few people and offers a large amount of money. Bobby gladly takes up the offer. When she realizes that she might be putting the lives of people in danger, it’s too late.
Bobby Jasoos’s opening credits are fun and Vidya Balan’s entry scene is clapworthy. But soon, the film gets on shaky ground. Things begin to seem interesting as soon as Anees Khan enters the narrative and offers a case to Bobby. The manner in which Bobby goes around finding the missing people is nothing extraordinary but makes for a great watch. The intermission comes at a significant point and one hopes for the second half to be rocking. And sure enough, the drama in the five star hotel is superb and in many ways the best sequence of the film. But again, the film slips only to rise once again in the scene when Bobby tells Tasavur(Ali Fazal) to talk to his father. Also, when one waits for bathed breath for the mystery to unravel, the romantic number ‘Tu’ is forced in the narrative. It’s beautifully shot without a shred of doubt but it was just not needed in the film. The twist unveiled in the climax is bound to catch one unawares but it’s not been executed very well. Same goes for the final scene in the film.
Vidya Balan is brilliant and a big reason why the film is worth watching despite its minuses. The actress had no reference point as such as there have been no films on female detectives that one can easily recall. Hence, Vidya’s approach towards her character is quite original and it makes for a great watch. And the highpoints of the film are when she gets into various disguises – it’s brilliant, especially her unrecognizable beggar avatar! However, one wonders what’s next for Vidya now especially if Bobby Jasoos doesn’t work. Because if that happens, it would be Vidya’s third flop in a row after Ghanchakkar and Shaadi Ke Side Effects. Moreover, she turned down Durga Rani Singh, which might have been an ideal film for her as it will be helmed by Sujoy Ghosh, who directed Vidya’s landmark film Kahaani. The only film in her kitty is Hamari Adhuri Kahani and I hope it works big, big time for Vidya. After all, she is one of the finest actresses of Bollywood and deserves to have a very long innings in Bollywood!
Ali Fazal performs confidently and delivers a lovely, adorable performance. Most importantly, he proves that he has the ability to be the lead protagonist. Bobby Jasoos might not work but it would surely benefit Ali. Kiran Kumar is fine and does as per his character. Arjan Bajwa(Lala) does well and it was good to see him after a hiatus. However, it’s high time we get to see him in lead roles or at least something on the lines of Fashion. Anupriya Goenka(Afreen) looks beautiful and leaves a huge mark. Same goes for Benaf Dadachandji(Noor) and the actress playing Aamna. Supriya Pathak(Bobby’s mother), Tanve Azmi(Kausar Khaala) and Zarina Wahab(Afreen’s mother) were okay. Aakash Dahiya(Munna) and Prasad Barve(Shetty) deliver fine performances. Rajendra Gupta(Bobby’s father) is flawless.
Music is disappointing and except the title track, not a single song is memorable. Tu is lovely but as said before, it is placed at a wrong time. Background score gels well with the narrative. Vishal Sinha’s cinematography is praiseworthy. The locales and most importantly the spirit of Hyderabad are very well captured. Story is brilliant – no two doubts on that. Sanyukhta Chawla Shaikh’s dialogues are simple and effective. But screenplay is fine but only in places. Debutant director Samar Shaikh’s direction too is inconsistent. Also, Bobby’s relationship with her family doesn’t quite make for an interesting watch. Hence, all those scenes where Bobby is with her family members fail to make an impact. Moreover, the sequence after the twist is unveiled should have been powerful but that’s not the case.
On the whole, Bobby Jasoos rests on a very interesting and promising premise but the inconsistent script and direction fails to do justice to it. What makes this average flick watchable are Vidya Balan’s bravura performance, few well-executed and scripted scenes and the Hyderabadi setting. Here’s hoping the debacle of Bobby Jasoos doesn’t dent the star power of Vidya Balan and that her upcoming films get her back to the big league!
My rating-2.5/5!
