Cinema is just not all about entertainment, for if used properly it is a strong means of conveying important messages and bringing a positive change in society. Filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari who has given films like “Dangal” and “Chhichhore” in the past is well aware of this power of cinema. When the trailer of his latest “Bawaal” starring Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor was released it got all of us curious about how he’s going to link an Indian love-story to the second world war.
The story of the film is about Ajju Bhaiya aka Ajay Dixit (Varun Dhawan) living in Lucknow. Ajju, who has the stature and style of a hero, is a simple history teacher. To polish his image, he has told many lies to the people around him such as he rejected jobs from the Army, NASA, Collector to become a teacher because he wanted to help build the future of children. But the truth is, Ajju is quite disappointed with himself in life.
As the story progresses, it is revealed that his marriage with the educated and self-reliant topper Nisha (Janhvi Kapoor) is going through a rough phase. In fact, Nisha has been complaining of a disease since childhood but in spite of it Ajju decides to get married to her just to set up his image, but when Nisha has an epileptic attack on the wedding day Ajju fears that this might hamper his public image and starts maintaining a distance from her.
Twist in the tale comes when he is suspended from his job for slapping an MLA’s son. Even in such a situation, Ajju tries to cover up his image and plans a trip to Europe. He tells the school children that he will go to Europe and give students live information about World War II, places and events, free of charge. In this journey, he is forced to take Nisha along with him. On reaching Europe, he realises that just like the second world war, a war has started within him. How will he get himself out of this false image while trying to balance his job and deteriorating relations with his wife is the crux of the story.
Varun Dhawan is totally in his character of Ajju Bhaiya. He has depicted the character of Ajju living a double life in a very simple and realistic manner. From being very image conscious to being a caring husband, his character growth from a selfish person to a sensitive person is so good that our heart sympathizes for him and this is Varun’s victory. Jhanvi Kapoor is slowly progressing with every film and is making a place amongst the audience with her acting. She has done full justice to the character of Nisha as a middle class girl who lives, suffers and then raises her voice. But there is no special chemistry between the two.
Daniel B George’s background music complements the scenes of World War, but the trio of Mithun, Tanishk Bagchi and Akashdeep Sengupta have not been able to show any wonder in terms of music. Cinematographer Mitesh Mirchandani, through his lens, depicts Lucknow and Europe in its true beauty and splendor.
“Bawaal” is a good take on how in today’s time man is trapped in the cycle of maintaining a social image. The film leaves us thinking about what we’re actually gaining and losing in this trend of showing off. The first half of the film is woven with fun and light-hearted comedy so you don’t even realise when that half of the film is over, but the second half feels long and drawn out.
Nitesh Tiwari definitely tries to do something different but isn’t able to present it correctly. He has used many stories of the Second World War as a metaphor in the film and linked it with the complexities of relationships in today’s times but it lacks that gut-punch where your heart sinks and rises with the film. It comes out to be very half-baked and choppy. In a very limited way, are happenings from the Second World War taken. There is not much depiction of its tragedy, its horrors and the aftermath. Such a causal presentation of history has neither done any good to the people nor can it do any good to the film.
The looseness of the script is the biggest drawback of the film. The film tries to convey a myriad of messages – from fighting barriers, to a middle-class man’s hunger for recognition, to creating awareness about epilepsy, to paying tribute to the martyrs of World War II.
The parallels between the Second World War and the war of the human mind don’t go well at many points. For instance, human tendencies and desires have been compared to Hitler. “Hum sab bhi thode Hitler jaise hai jo apne paas hai usse khush nahi hai”, this is just an example of how the film lacks sensitivity and goes on about comparing anything just in the name of creating thought-provoking parallels.
With everything together, the story is new and a good effort, trying to understand the internal war within humans, from the mistakes in history but the execution and presentation isn’t well enough to convey the exact message or excite the audience.
“Bawaal” is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
