Baadshaho

BAADSHAHO is a dumb heist drama!

With a superfluous plot, uninspiring twists, banal dialogues and strictly mediocre performances, BAADHAHO is a disappointing big budget flick. Despite a brisk narrative and impressive locales, the film fails to leave any cognitive impact whatsoever, thanks to the gaping holes in its script. While it doesn’t bore you, it’s a mediocre film which can be missed!

Baadshaho takes us to the emergency era of 1975, when there was political unrest in the whole country. A time when power was absolute, the quasi-government went after royal families all over the country, especially in Rajasthan, claiming that they had not declared their wealth when the privy purses were abolished. When Rani Gitanjali's (Ileana) palace in Jaipur is raided for gold, she is arrested for withholding it without declaration. The government seizes the gold and decides to transfer it via road to Delhi in a truck. Maharani Gitanjali then takes help of a group of thugs to loot this gold confiscated from her, and bring it back safely in her possession.

The duo of director Milan Luthria and writer Rajat Arora, seems to be churning out same products in different garbs, ever since the success of “Once Upon A Time In Mumbai”. The combination of bloated dialogues, the lofty character representations, historical setup and over-the-top scenarios, seems to be their formula, which is being recycled again and again. They need to hit the refresh button and start all over from scratch to start providing something new to the audience. BAADSHAHO isn’t a boring flick, but it disappoints because it has nothing new to offer. It’s the same old formula, packaged in a new plot. And this time it’s a heist plot, which frankly isn’t intelligent enough to even impress a kid. The twists in the tale garner very little interest, and the climactic suspense is as insipid as it gets. The sets look authentic, but they never produce a ‘wow’ effect. The grand landscape of the Rajasthan desert makes for a pretty visual, but that’s all it offers. This film proves yet again, that no matter how well-paced or engrossing your screenplay is, it will still fall flat if there’s no content to back it up. Even the political scenario is too thinly scripted to leave any impact. From the music department, the song ‘Mere Rashke Qamar’ shines. The last scene of the film hints at making this a sort of a franchise, but, I heartily wish against it.

Of the performers, it’s Emraan Hashmi who steals the show this time. He’s consistently surefooted and is the most riveting element of the film. Ajay Devgn is sadly never given a chance to rise above the ordinary. This film is a sheer waste of his talent. Sanjay Mishra is excellent, adding some value to this otherwise bland film. Ileana D’Cruz and Esha Gupta look very pretty, but hardly contribute with their acting prowess. Vidyut Jammwal is strictly average. All others are subpar.

To summarize, BAADSHAHO is formulaic and forgettable. It isn’t a drag, but not a worth your time and money either. Avoidable!