critic's rating: 2.0/5

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz Review

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami, Shraddha Das, Divya Dutta

Director: Kushan Nandy

Quick take: Quirky but severely inconsistent

Rating: 2/5

Any film with a generous doze of gun slinging, dollops of sex, punchy dialogue, loads of profanity and a screenplay with twists and turns  should be a sure shot winner. While Babumoshai Bandookbaaz has all of that and some memorable music too, this hitman's saga turns turtle thanks to it’s lackluster execution. Despite Nawazuddin Siddiqui's superlative performance, this one just doesn’t rise above its low-budget feel.

To say that Babumoshai Bandookbaaz lacks finesse is an understatement. It’s one thing to make a gritty film with deliberate focus on stark realism, but this revenge drama with sex charged ideas is just too brazen for it’s own cause. From it’s very first scene, the film establishes that it’s a story of lewd men with guns, trigger happy fingers and insatiable carnal desires. Babu (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) starts with a bang as he kills an influential man in cold blood and broad daylight. He stalks sultry women and bumps off his contract kills with consummate ease. He’s a motor mouth killer who doesn’t fear anyone. Not even his employer Jiji (Divya Dutta) who’s like a local politician cum Godmother rolled into one. Things get overtly dramatic when Baby falls in love with Phulwa (Bidita Bag). And then he also runs into Banke ( Jatin Goswami) who is a competing contract killer but he calls Babu his guru. As the story chugs along there’s plenty of twists in a game of deceit and murder.

With it’s rural landscapes, rustic characters and affinity towards violence and sex, Babumoshai feels a lot like Anurag Kashyap's Gangs Of Wasseypur. While this film has all the right ideas and even a patchy but commendable eye for detail, its execution is downright disappointing. The worst part is the inclusion of songs, which shoots holes into an otherwise engrossing screenplay. Every time the narrative hits a dramatic crescendo, a song and dance routine comes along to ruin the fun. Even though the compositions by Gaurav Dagaonkar and Abhilash & Joel as well as Debjyoti Mishra is fantastic, even the lyrics by Ghalib Asad Bhopali are sublime, these songs serve only as distractions to the film. The camera work and editing is barebones and doesn’t make Babumoshai a pleasant experience.

The performances though are phenomenal. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s efforts at making Babu a quirky but intense man are simply magical. His buddy chemistry and repartee with Jatin Goswami gives the film a steady and healthy dose of entertainment. There’s a steamy romance between Nawazuddin and Bidita Bag which serves up a lot of seductive moments. If there’s one reason to watch Babumoshai Bandookbaaz above all its shortcomings, it’s for the performances. 

Sadly, the film doesn’t quite do justice to its own potential and that definitely squanders the efforts of the actors. The second half of the film especially, feels a bit too contrived and indulgent. The themes and the underlying subtext of the film is notable. But this violent tale if killers and lovers isn’t quite as dark and delicious as it should have been.