Bholaa Review: Ajay Devgn returns as a director after his 2022 film, Runway 34. The action thriller stars him in the titular role, Tabu, Sanjay Mishra, Deepak Dobriyal, Gajraj Rao, Vineet Kumar, and Amala Paul. Tabu as IPS Diana Joseph, Deepak Dobriyal as Ashwathama ‘Ashu’, Gajraj Rao as Devraj, Sanjay Mishra as cop Angad Yadav, Vineet Kumar as Nihari, and others. The screenplay is written by Aamil Keeyan Khan, Ankush Singh, Sandeep Kewlani and Shridhar Dubey. The music is by Ravi Basrur. The movie is produced by Ajay Devgn FFilms, Reliance Entertainment, T-Series Films and Dream Warrior Pictures.
Bholaa is a Hindi remake of the 2019 Tamil film Kaithi, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and stars Karthi in the leading role.
Bholaa Movie Review: Plot Summary, Discussion
If you ask me to describe Ajay Devgn’s Bholaa in one word, I would say it’s ear-splitting. The music by Ravi Basrur is so loud that you find it hard to focus on the motion picture on the big screen. But as a critic, I can’t focus on just one aspect, no matter how painful it is.
The screenplay ruins the movie further. Bholaa starts with Tabu chasing some bad guys smuggling drugs, then shifts to a disjointed introduction of Bholaa, who is imprisoned. The story then jumps to Tabu again, then to Ashwathama, and then keeps jumping here and there.
We learn that Bholaa is out of prison after over 10 years and looks forward to meeting his daughter, Jyoti. Jyoti has been living in an orphanage and is unaware that her father is alive. But he was at the wrong place at the wrong time and got embroiled in a mess that might take away his chance of meeting his daughter.
I don’t know about the screenwriters, but the audience needs time to process so many characters and subplots. The multiple subplots make the pace look fast, but it isn’t. The narrative goes nowhere when Ajay’s character helps Tabu. We are stuck in a world where they are in a truck, and he gets down and keeps beating up or killing the goons.
As the director, Ajay has gone into Zack Snyder mode with too many slow-motion scenes of the fight sequences. But there is no room for error when the movie has many slow-mo sequences in 3D. One can notice the soft punches and kicks. He barely touched the enemy sometimes, yet the men would bleed to death. Oh, so many men dropped dead till the end. I wonder why the movie wasn’t titled Bodies Bodies Bodies! There is so much violence, most of which feels over the top.
Also Read: Rahul Talks to People Review: Hilarious Crowd Work That Doesn’t Skip a Beat
Similarly, there’s a scene where Deepak Dobriyal holds a hammer in hand and hits a few teenagers. But they are also hardly injured because the hammer attack doesn’t come across as aggressive. It looked like they were playing kabaddi. The first half feels like forever, yet we have no clue what is happening. Before the intermission, there is an intense fight sequence. Just when I found something that impressed me, it was ruined by a loud and agonising song by B Praak.
The second half of Bholaa is a bigger disappointment than the first half. It seems like after having several subplots, the writers were overwhelmed and just gave up. Things fall into place like it’s no big deal. We never get to see the showdown we were expecting. We are never told clearly what really happened to Ajay and why he went to the prison. Actors like Deepak Dobriyal, Gajraj Rao, and Vineet Kumar are wasted. Anyone could’ve played Tabu’s character because once Ajay takes over, we forget she’s there until she talks.
The movie doesn’t provide anything magnificent in terms of thriller or action. The story lacks flow, and the emotional angle between Bholaa and his daughter does nothing. Our patience is tested so much in the search for the plot that we don’t care about the family angle. The B Praak song will butcher even the little sentiments anyone has for the father-daughter union.
Another absurd part is how we have Makarand Deshpande narrating the story of this undefeatable man with an indestructible body (is it made of vibranium) and goes into beast mode once he applies bhasma (ash) on his forehead. During the climax, he tells his jail inmates and the audience that he has been narrating the story of a man named Bholaa. What was the need for this scene when we had the loud BGM screaming his name into our ears every 10 minutes?
Bholaa Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, Bholaa is Ajay’s weakest work of the last 4–5 years. He struggled to create an impact as a director and actor, despite getting a chance to play such a powerful character. The loud BGM is the story’s biggest villain, and other problems include the weak and scattered screenplay, an overstretched first half, and a rushed climax that only makes it look worse.
Book your tickets here.
Are you planning to watch the movie? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Also Read: The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 15 and 16 Review: Betrayal and Death