Review: 'Babli Bouncer' is a mixture of being Tamannaah's best and a light-hearted entertaining watch

Babli Bouncer

Small town comedies have become such a genre in itself thanks to Ayushmann Khurrana that more and more filmmakers seem to be resorting to that idea to present a story that belongs to the heartlands of India. Babli Bouncer definitely belongs to this category but it is a novel turn for director Madhur Bhandarkar, who is usually known for his realistic films. Granted he did Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji a decade ago but that film was not well received by critics and audiences alike.

Does that change with Babli Bouncer here? Having had the chance to see the film before hand, here's what I thought about it-

The Tropes are Unchanged

As the story belongs to a village setting and has a female protagonist at the helm, the tropes that you expect are all there. Right from a mother only worrying about her tomboy daughter's marriage to stereotypical fellow villagers questioning and wondering everything Babli does even in her normal life, an obese best friend - and all that. Even with the love angle presented, there is a sense of 'I know what is going to happen' almost all the time. These tropes don't quite hinder per se but what they take away from - is the novelty of any story. There is a constant predictability right from the first frame till the end and hence there is no factor that can surprise you - not that it is a bad thing but then the movie overall and the screenplay has to be entertaining enough to make up for it.

Quite a Few Surprises

And does Babli Bouncer deliver with the entertainment factor? It totally does. I have to give special kudos to Madhur Bhandarkar and writer Amit Joshi for not resorting to fat shaming, gender bias at the expense of humor, which many filmmakers do trying to justify the story being in a 'rural setting.' Bhandarkar and Joshi would have probably been conscious about choosing not to do that and hence deserve brownie points for that. Apart from that, even though the screenplay does get predictable, there are plenty of humorous and emotional scenes along with little set pieces that churn up a surprise thus keeping you entertained and glued. Even the treatment of the characters is done with care where things would have been convenient and wrong so easily but that doesn't happen; especially with the likes of characters of Babli's friend, Kuku (Sahil Vaid), Babli's father (Saurabh Shukla) and a few others. It was refreshing in every manner.

Tamannaah in Top Form

Even though the supporting cast do a great job as you would hope and expect but this film is all about Tamannaah Bhatia and entirely rests on her shoulders. And the actor delivers with absolute conviction. Any reservation that anyone had about her accent in the trailer for the character she is portraying is immediately eradicated with in the first few scenes itself. Bhatia goes unhinged, uninhibited and all out trying her earnest best for this character and it shows in the best possible way. Be it Babli's chirpy and tomboy-ish side or the side where she is beating up men left, right and center or even the emotional sequences, the actor doesn't miss a beat and has probably delivered a career best here.

Underwhelming Aspects

While an enjoyable watch, Babli Bouncer does have a few issues. One of the biggest ones is the chemistry between Bhatia and debutant actor, Abhishek Bajaj. To no fault of Bhatia, who is giving her best; for some reason Bajaj isn't able to reciprocate as well as his able co-star hence being rather disappointing in almost all sequences. This further doesn't translate into good chemistry on-screen. Apart from that, the character of Kuku (Vaid), while well-written overall and performed does leave you underwhelmed with the actual arc he is given. The film also falters a tad bit in the second half owing to the predictability factor at play.

Subtle Feminism & Realism

Needless to say, Babli Bouncer, from the outset was always supposed to a feminist film but what it does well is that it doesn't do that in your face. There are no long speeches about beating the odds, gender discrimination etc. Rather, Babli's decisions after being heartbroken and towards the end is what portrays feminism subtly. What is also applaudable is the realism that Bhandarkar has chosen to keep with all sequences. To make it believable yet brave, the action set pieces of Babli hitting the men are designed well. She isn't beating up muscular men out there but the ones she is beating up, she is doing it realistically without showcasing any Rohit Shetty styled action.  

The Verdict

In the end, Babli Bouncer is an entertaining watch that has you begin your film viewing with a smile and end proceedings with a smile as well. It might be predictable and have its own problems but Tamannaah Bhatia in fine fettle coupled with a novel storyline is enough to have you see the film and feel satisfied.

Rating - *** (3/5)