I went into this movie with neutral expectations. And that’s basically still how I feel about the movie now - netural.
There’s nothing horribly objectionable. But there’s nothing much to praise either. Bluff Master is the story of a conman (Abhishek Bachchan) who loses his love (Priyanka Chopra) and regains her, and forges a friendship with an apprentice (Ritesh Deshmukh) to whom he delivers trite life lessons ... until .... a twist. Yawn yawn.
I found the twist genuinely surprising (not amazing, just surprising). However, the story still has holes and the twist takes away whatever power the story had. For an example of what seems to me to be a plothole, what if the main character Roy had really been hurt when he was walking dazedly in the middle of the street? Are we to believe that the street has been blocked off without Roy noticing at all when he came to the area, and all the cars are really moving extremely slowly (in which case why didn’t it look like that on screen)?
Also, it’s unclear to me that Roy has changed after what has happened to him -- the movie is not even satisfying on that level. What lesson is he supposed to draw? Why should the people who teach the lesson, think that it will work, given the methods they use to achieve it? Where is the justice of the ending? The money is hardly where it belongs.
Roy’s reactions don’t ring true after the twist. Anger, anxiety, or relief would have been appropriate and believable responses -- but instead there was just nothing, just a bit of amusement. Earlier, some attempt to figure out a way to both save his life and Simmi’s would have made sense when he got a phone call about Simmi being held hostage; Roy would not have thought that Simmi wanted him to die.
Emotional scenes that might have lingered leave a nasty aftertaste after the twist is brought into consideration. How cruel many of them seem, looking back. What were once suspenseful con scenes also become forgettable after the twist.
The songs are okay. I don’t remember much in the way of picturization or how they sounded. I remember a little more of the picturization of the ending credits song; it was okay, but Abhishek’s heart didn’t really seem in it.
The acting in the movie lacks energy somehow. Most people seem to move and talk slowly. The overall pace of the scenes and of the movie also seems slow. The movie is both slick and slow at the same time, but not in a particularly neat stylized way.
Priyanka Chopra is a real highlight! I loved her, particularly in the first half. She had excellent chemistry with Abhishek in the first half, and her portrayal of a range of emotions (betrayal, love, fear, confidence, happiness, others) was good. The first few times she came on, there was this same background music playing, and it was pleasantly stirring.
Ritesh Deshmukh is okay. Nana Patekar is somewhat memorable, but the character he plays, especially after the twist, fails to convince. Boman Irani’s character has some funny moments, but any greater impact is lost after the twist ending pulls the rug out from his and every other character.
Overall, I’d say one should watch this movie for Priyanka in the first half. But that’s as good as it gets. The movie is an okay timepass, but that’s it.
My rating: 7/10.