Hello all. This is my first review on this site. I hope everyone finds it useful. Better still if its appreciated. However if u find it wanting then your comments and criticism will be most welcome.
A bereaved and belligerent brother (oops too many B?s) wages a war with a decadent legal and judicial system, triumphs against unscrupulous cops and sniveling attorneys, reinstates the ?family name? and last but not the least gets the girl (excuse to add a song, flaunt designer wear and a trip to Alps, Himalayas etc.). This is as hackneyed a plot as one will find in movies. However it is Bobby Deol?s tour de force that makes Bardasht with all its platitudes not only tolerable but also fairly gripping.
So let?s cut to the chase. Aditya Shrivastava (Bobby Deol) is a gallant and decorated ex army man who faces a court martial due to an extremely contrived and preposterous turn of events. Disgraced by the armed forces and dumped by his girl (Lara Dutta), Aditya moves on in life to be successful businessman and a quintessential Bollywood ?bada bhai? (sorry again for the B?s) to the talented but vain Anuj (Ritesh Deshmukh).
Harrowing times beckon when Anuj fails to return home following an altercation with Aditya. After dealing with apathetic cops (typically Bollywood) and a stone hearted (defies belief) guy at the morgue Aditya discovers that Anuj was killed a in a police crossfire while he was being chased for drug possession. Although the facts seem clear Aditya?s ?dil? cannot accept the fact that his brother was a drug peddler.
Aided by a kind constable Mehmood (Virendra Saxena) and Anuj?s traumatized girlfriend (Tara Sharma) Aditya finds out that his brother been made a scapegoat to cover the high handedness of top cop and city vanguard Yeshwant Thakur (Rahul Dev) and his cronies. From then on a battle ensues, starting in the court with the help of his ex beau (who?s a lawyer) and ending in a skyscraper reminiscent of the Kevin Spacey, Samuel L. Jackson movie, Negotiator.
The plot is clichéd and not very clever. Courtroom scenes have never been a forte of Bollywood directors and those here only strengthen my opinion. I need to go back as Damini and still farther back to Mera Saya to recollect good court case depictions. Songs are just there to ease the tension but they do impede the story. Support cast including Anuj?s friends, college principal etc. show little attention to detail. Tara Sharma is okay acting jittery in the court room. Ritesh does little of note in a very small role.
Nagesh Bhosle plays the cunning defense lawyer as if he were Shakuni mama. Good actors like Virendra Saxena and even Harsh Chayya are wasted. Lara Dutta is good as the lawyer plus love interest. She could work a bit on her dialogue. She sure has a personality and promise to deserve a meatier and a more meaningful role. Rahul Dev looks menacing. That?s all that he actually needs to do and does it well without ever going over the top.
The film however belongs to Bobby Deol. Honestly I am no big fan of his. But here he is excellent. Apart from one or two scenes there is no outburst or the typically vengeful monologues. Bobby emotes through his eyes, face and body language. He conveys it all ----- denial, distress, betrayal and rage. He reminded me of Amitabh in Zanjeer or Sunny in Arjun. The action sequences unnecessarily borrow from Matrix and some John Woo films. But Bobby?s poise and power makes the ridiculous, viewable.
Despite the oldest story line ever Bobby and director E Niwas lend a strong but restraint treatment to the movie. It could have been a little tighter. Portions of Aditya?s rise to fame and decline in the army could have been shortened so also a couple of action sequences at the end. Especially the one where Bobby staves off a bunch of SWAT cops by short circuiting the electric power in the building (duh.. there?s something elementary called a fuse). Action oriented, tension packed films should be wrapped in 2 hrs. This one drags on a little more. Still here?s a fun film for Bobby?s fans and a huge slice of humble pie for his critics.