Despite Negative Reviews, 'Bawaal' Is An Interesting Film If You Watch It With An Open Mind!

Director: Nitesh Tiwari

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Jahnvi Kapoor, Manoj Pahwa, Anjuman Saxena, Mukesh Tiwari, Gunjan Joshi

Run time: 136 minutes

One of the biggest OTT releases this week included Nitesh Tiwari¡¯s directorial Bawaal starring Varun Dhawan and Jahnvi Kapoor in the lead. While I¡¯m not such a big fan of either of the two, the early audience reviews put me off even further.

However, by Saturday night I decided to give it a try and not let the general view fog my vision. To say that I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.

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Despite what¡¯s being said, Bawaal turned out to be quite a decent watch. Let¡¯s check out why!
(P.S - I didn¡¯t get paid to write well about the film. It¡¯s just a personal opinion of someone who lives and breathes entertainment.)

Instead of drawing parallels between Varun Dhawan aka Ajay and Jahnvi Kapoor aka Nisha¡¯s relationship and World War 2, the idea hinted at how there are people who go through much worse in life and most of us take our privileges for granted.

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The general consensus is that director Nitesh Tiwari committed a sin by drawing comparisons between World War 2/Adolf Hitler/Holocaust and the lead couple¡¯s relationship. However, if you try to understand it with a rational approach, Bawaal wasn¡¯t about that. Instead, it revolved around how people with so many privileges take little things for granted and choose to run after things that they don¡¯t have while forgetting to celebrate what they actually do possess.

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Furthermore, it is also an interesting take on hollow pride and 'fake image' that people desperately try to build in front of others just to look a certain way. We also get to know the root cause as Ajay comes to terms with it when he confesses to his wife that throughout his life he had always been mediocre and battled low self-esteem. Therefore, he faffed around a lot and tried to build an aura around him so that people would notice and think highly of him instead of deeming him as a loser.

Bawaal is quite a refreshing romance drama film especially at a time when there¡¯s a dearth of good films in this particular genre. The chemistry between the leads Varun Dhawan and Jahnvi Kapoor doesn¡¯t look forced and the closeness that they form gradually came out to be authentic.

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I can¡¯t remember a good romantic film that I watched recently which made a lasting impression. Bawaal, on the other hand, had all the right ingredients that are needed to leave an impact. Although the plot of the film is the most predictable one in the romance genre, the treatment is what made it stand out. Both the leads gave phenomenal performances. Varun, in particular, was such a treat to watch, especially in emotional scenes. Jahnvi was also equally fabulous - be it her expressions or the silences, together this duo had me invested throughout the course of the film.

At the risk of a convoluted vision, Nitesh Tiwari did full justice to the WW II scenes. All of them were tastefully done and managed to emote the ruins of war in the most significant manner.

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It came as a learning not only for the characters of Ajay and Nisha but even for the audiences. In all the scenes where they were visiting the iconic places of World War 2 and discovering the stories behind them, it felt like we as viewers were with them. The pain and the sufferings of those 10,000 soldiers at the Omaha beach in Normandy or the house where Anne Frank hid and wrote her diaries were emoted beautifully and just like Ajay and Nisha, even the viewers could deeply feel it in their bones.

Backlash over the dialogue - ¡°relationship goes through its own Auschwitz.¡±

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This particular dialogue of the film went viral on social media as it hasn¡¯t gone down too well with the people. Jahnvi¡¯s character Nisha says, ¡°Har rishta apne apne Auschwitz se guzarta hai.¡±

Many are calling it tone-deaf as they feel that the makers have trivialized one of the biggest tragedies in the world which led to mass destruction and loss of several lives.

They feel that a rocky relationship comes nowhere close to those horrifying incidents that took place at the Auschwitz concentration camp. This perspective isn¡¯t entirely wrong as the film does take a questionable route at several places which reflects the shoddy writing. Recreating the gas chamber scene just for Ajay to finally accept Nisha¡¯s epilepsy was another nail in the coffin.

Verdict: Is It Worth The Watch?

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Despite its flaws, Bawaal has substance. The execution could have been refined at some places but it deserves applause for trying something of this magnitude even though the stakes were so high. Also, let¡¯s be realistic and accept the fact that people like Ajay really do exist in real life as well. As unfortunate as it may seem, in our society, a woman is not only judged but sometimes not accepted if she has a disease as serious as Epilepsy. It¡¯s easy to express point of views and judgements but the reality remains unchanged.

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As for the World War references, let¡¯s give the benefit of the doubt to the man who gave us movies like Dangal and Chhichhore. I¡¯m pretty sure it wasn¡¯t his intention to come out as insensitive in certain scenes. Sometimes, the emotion that you want to show doesn¡¯t translate at the time of execution and the result comes out to be half-baked.

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Coming to the references, don¡¯t we casually call someone ¡®Hitler¡¯ when they try to impose on us in real life? Aren¡¯t we excited to watch a biopic of Oppenheimer who created the atomic bomb that perished Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Instead of harping on the negatives, can we just acknowledge the things that this film got right? The film has heart and it¡¯s a well-told story. It¡¯s not as bad as it has been made to sound.

There is no unnecessary heroism, vulgarity or over-the-top drama. Not even one scene feels out of place. More than the World War 2, it is a take on internal war that is within a person¡¯s mind and heart. It¡¯s a novel take on life, relationships and desires.

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While respecting the intellectual opinions, I reiterate that Bawaal is a decent watch if you have it in you to keep an open mind.

Plot Synopsis:

Ajju bhaiya, a history teacher from a small town with a fake public image embarks on a World War II trail along with his wife Nisha, only to discover war within him. Differences grow between them as they continue to fight their inner demons.

Bawaal is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.