Bunty Aur Babli Dissaponts

By Pranay Mathur

OKAY, so yashraj's new product is here. yet another attempt by Abhishek to hit stardom and another by Shaad Ali (SAATHIYA) to create magic at the box office.

A yashraj film is always special to me. I have always looked forward to the release of their movies. After churning out good films consistently, notable works being KABHI KABHI, CHANDNI, LAMHE, DDLJ, DTPH and the recent hits DHOOM, HUM TUM and VEER ZAARA, my huge expectations from BUNTY AUR BABLI were inevitable.

Someone close to me recently commented that people's high expectations from any film ruins the movie-going experience. Picture this: someone going into a theatre with a blank mind, not knowing what the film is all about, and maintaining a nice grin and a good mood while coming out of a theatre.

But I didnt belong to this category of an audience, obviously I had a good amount of knowledge of the film I was going to watch, thanks to an excellent yashraj publicity campaign (Abhishek and Rani acting as journalists in that news channel NDTV was quite an innovative strategy), the appealing promos and an impressive star cast. I just couldn't resist myself from expecting high.

The movie starts off well, with some well handled sequences involving confrontation of the star pair with their respective parents. But as the film progresses, it starts losing steam. However, Abhishek and Rani do manage to bring a smile to your face with their sincere effort.

It gives hope to the viewer in the scene when they meet each other for the first time, and a couple of scenes that follow involving the one in which they commit their first crime, by robbing an investor of Rs. 15,000 in a hotel. But thereafter, the pace keeps on decelerating.

The major problem with B & B is that its not consistent enough to hold the interest of the viewer for its entire duration. The plot is practically non-existent and barring some well handled sequences, it gets irritating and sluggish most of the times.

Amitabh Bachchan's entry just before the intermission grabs your interest. You actually enjoy watching his trademark style which he used to posess during his DEEWAR/TRISHUL/LAAWARIS days.

the second half again starts off well, thanks to the hilarious sequence when abhishek gives the taj mahal on rent to a foreign millionaire. But after that, the pace just keeps on dropping...

The major block that comes in the way of B & B becoming an utterly enjoyable flick is its screenplay. Its not a bad film, but could have certainly been better.

The music is good but some of the songs like NACH BALIYE and that item number involving ash were quite misplaced. They only contribute to the sluggish pace of the film. The last portions are long drawn and test the viewer's patience.

The performances of the lead characters are quite good. Amitabh Bachchan stands out, delivering another superb performance as a weird, unconventional police officer. Abhishek Bachchan gives a sincere performance, and has become only better with every film. Rani proves once again her acting calibre. Watch out for her comic timing!

BUNTY AUR BABLI is a chance lost for Shaad Ali, thanks to a weak screenplay. If it weren't the acting of the lead characters, it could have ended becoming an utter waste of time.

rating: ** and 1/2